A Korean college student has scored a surprise victory in an international supermodel contest sponsored by the elite modeling agency, Ford Models.

Twenty-one-year-old Kang Seung-hyeon took top honors in the Supermodels of the World contest held Wednesday in New York, becoming the first Asian to win in the contest's 25 years of existence.

A modeling major at Dongduk Women`s University, she competed with 49 other contestants to become Korea's first Ford Supermodel.

Kang will take home 250-thousand dollars in prize money and sign a contract with the agency.