“IU Lookalike” Hilary Chong, 21, Wins Miss Hong Kong 2023

After months of competition and harsh critiques, a winner has emerged from this year’s Miss Hong Kong pageant — 21-year-old Hilary Chong.

Lynn Wang was the first runner-up, while Lovelle Wang was the second runner-up.

Hilary, who’s currently studying nutrition at the University of Hong Kong, has been dubbed a lookalike of Korean singer IU by both media and netizens alike.

However, Hilary’s run was marred by certain criticism. Earlier on in the pageant, she was plagued with reports claiming that she was arrogant and snobbish.

Some claimed that Hilary, who appeared sweet and innocent, was actually “two-faced”. They accused her of trying to curry favour with the staff members to get ahead of the competition.

A few weeks later, it was then alleged that these rumours surrounding Hilary were intentionally spread by fellow contestant Cindy Chan.

Neither Cindy nor Hilary has addressed these reports thus far. Cindy finished in the Top 10 of the pageant.

In a post-win interview, Hilary also expressed interest in acting, and shared that she hopes to act alongside TVB actor Moses Chan in the future.

Moses, along with fellow TVB actors Ruco Chan, Joel Chan and Edwin Siu, were the emcees of the pageant.

When asked if she worries that other contestants would be jealous of her constantly making headlines, Hilary had this to say: “I’ll focus on being a good person. How other people choose to look at me is their problem. It’s their mouths [so I can’t control what they say].”

Looks like she’s well-prepared to be Miss Hong Kong already.