{
  "id": 16098905,
  "title": "African architect's career break leads to unexpected modeling fame in Korea",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/african-architects-career-break-leads-to-unexpected-modeling-fame-in-16098905",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-22T20:07:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/globalcommunity/20261023/african-architects-career-break-leads-to-unexpected-modeling-fame-in-korea"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Tanoé Akouba Leïla Olivia, a talented architect from Cote d'Ivoire, found herself unexpectedly becoming a full-time model in Korea. Her professional journey in interior design and 3D visualization throughout the U.K., Italy, and Spain initially solidified her dedication to the architectural field. However, a career break in Korea prompted her to reassess her aspirations and embrace a new path.\n\nBorn to an Ivorian father and Malian mother, Leïla experienced a multicultural upbringing with childhood memories spanning Manchester, Spain, Italy, Nigeria, Togo, and Senegal. This diverse environment instilled in her a sense of belonging to \"un enfant du monde\" – a French term meaning \"child of the world.\"\n\nHer time spent interning in Marbella and Valencia proved instrumental in shaping her career trajectory. Following this, Leïla made the bold decision to relocate to China and pursue a career as a 3D visualizer. Little did she know that this move would eventually lead to her transformation into an unexpected modeling sensation in Korea.",
  "summary": "For Tanoé Akouba Leïla Olivia, modeling was the last thing on her mind when she came to Korea, because she was certain about her aspirations of working as an architect. Her professional training in interior design and 3D visualization in the U.K., Italy and Spain cemented her commitment to the field, until a career break in Korea made her rethink her path and eventually become a full-time model.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}