By Kim Jae-heun

Musinsa CEO Han Mun-il

The country's largest online fashion mall Musinsa is facing criticism for hiring mostly white fashion models for its brand Musinsa Standard, according to industry officials Friday. Musinsa Standard's main model is actor Yoo Ah-in. However, a significant portion of the pictorials for single items on its website show Caucasian models.

"Korean brands need to stop the discrimination and follow the new trend of accepting racial diversity. It will not only help the brand raise awareness but also improve profitability," a fashion industry official said on condition of anonymity. "Local customers prefer white models and they sell clothes well too. At the same time, their model fees are lower than Korean models', which gives more reason for companies here to favor Caucasian models over locals."

Other local fashion brands such as KIRSH and COVERNAT also hire Caucasians as their main models and use Asian models mostly as substitutes. CNN Apparel, which is a brand launched by a Korean firm with a license to use the branding of the U.S. cable news channel, has mostly white models.

This trend has also spread to children's fashion, with mainly white children aged between six and 10 appearing in fashion catalogues.

"It is mostly parents in their 30s and 40s who purchase children's wear and they prefer white models in the ads. However, the global trend is shifting to diversify its casting standard by hiring Black and Asian models now," the official said. "Victoria Secret has recently been casting transgender models to fight discrimination."

But Musinsa said there is no standard for selecting models based on race or nationality. "We hire models who can best express the concept, design and characteristics of Musinsa Standard's products," a company official said.

Caucasian models appear on Musinsa's online mall / Screencapture from Musinsa's official website

Global fashion brands have been taking a different approach in hiring fashion models compared to Korean fashion brands like Musinsa.

French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton has been hiring K-pop boy band BTS as its brand ambassador since last year. The brand said it wants to utilize the idol group's popularity, stressing the importance of fighting racism in the fashion world.