South Korean contestant withdraws from Miss World
The South Korean contestant in this year’s Miss World has withdrawn from the competition after it was marred by religious violence that killed more than 220 people in Nigeria.
Jang Yu-kyong, the 19-year-old who was to have represented South Korea in the pageant, has flown home.
“I have decided to withdraw from the London contest because I could not participate with a smiling face after witnessing a crisis that left hundreds dead,” Miss Jang said.
Organisers changed the contest venue from Nigeria to London after the deadly riots.
The Muslim-Christian violence in the West African nation broke out last week after a newspaper defended Miss World against its Muslim detractors and implied the Prophet Mohammed would have enjoyed the show.
The newspaper apologised for the remarks on subsequent days, and the violence - which also left about 22 churches, eight mosques and hundreds of homes destroyed – subsided over the weekend.
:: Meanwhile, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo today said “irresponsible journalism” about the pageant had sparked the bloodshed.
And he told CNN he was sad to see the departure of the contestants to London.
