In 1995 Sung Hi participated in the Hawaiian Tropic Beauty Contest where she represented Pusan (Korea) because Seoul was already taken by someone else. Although she was only 3rd runner up, after winner Krista Frazier, her star was definitively born. Even more, the contest led to her appearance on advertisements for e.g. Hawaiian Tropics, Sunkist Orange Juice, Chrysler Plymouth, and Hilton Hotel.