Why Soo Joo Park Feels Like She's Gone Back in Time
For our June/July issue’s Where the Heart Is portfolio, celebrities and beauty pros share portraits and thoughts while staying at home during the pandemic. Park (above) and her boyfriend, artist David Alexander Flinn, are with his family on Long Island.
As told to Brennan Kilbane.
David Alexander Flinn, photographer: We're in Long Island, New York, on the North Fork. The first four days we tried to bunker up at Soo Joo's apartment in the East Village, and when things started turning south, we decided we were better off here, where there’s a little more room. We’ve been out here awhile. We're bunked up with my sister, her husband, and my nephew too.
Soo Joo Park, model: We started getting into a mini routine: Wake up, maybe 30 minutes of yoga and stretching, and then some free time.
David: Soo Joo also does kundalini yoga, so she'll sometimes do an extra hour, and I'll go into the backyard. I have a bow, and I just shoot my bow at a target for an hour while she does yoga. It's real adolescent, summer camp vibes here.
Soo Joo: I've actually been cherishing this time. I know that it can be difficult. We're aware of how fortunate we are in this situation. We have access to nature here and a Ping-Pong table. We're almost going back to being very pre-technology and pre-Internet in some ways. I have nothing for my roots that are going to be growing in black in two weeks.
David: Yesterday I did my first haircut. My best friend is an amazing barber and owns a great shop on Orchard Street. I FaceTimed him and I was like, "All right, run me through this." I've watched him do it a million times on my head, but I definitely had no idea what I was getting myself into. Turned out pretty good! The thing I'm learning most is that even with these notions of self-care, we're just getting to know ourselves so much better.
Soo Joo: We wanted to do a self-portrait with both of us in it, and obviously the most accessible is a mirror to reflect on. I think it was kind of a funny thing because over the quarantine I've looked at myself, like, once every day. The hat I’m wearing was a gift for my birthday, which was last Thursday, day seven of quarantine, or something. David went to the gas station and bought me a $5 hat and lottery tickets.
David: Actually, it was $9.99.
A version of this story originally appeared in the June/July 2020 print issue of Allure. Learn how to subscribe here.
Read more stories from Where the Heart Is:
Tracee Ellis Ross Is Missing the Smell of Loved Ones Right Now
Model Herieth Paul is Practicing Her Makeup Skills While Social Distancing
Now, watch a ballerina's 10-minute morning routine:
You can follow Allure on Instagram, or subscribe to our newsletter for daily beauty stories straight to your inbox.
Originally Appeared on Allure
