AAP

Fans and friends on Saturday expressed shock at the death of a South Korean model who was found hanged in her central Paris apartment earlier this week.

Daul Kim’s friends remembered her talent and the difficulties she faced, while her internet homepage was swamped with tributes following reports of the 20-year-old rising star’s apparent suicide.

Ahn Seong-Jin, a photographer who had often worked with Kim, said she was full of ideas and creativity.

“She was able to make various looks and postures on catwalks that can hardly be matched by others. She had an optimum body shape and an amazing capacity to adapt herself to changing circumstances,” he told journalists.

A modelling agent said on condition of anonymity: “She was an excellent model, but she used to say she had hard times off the job.”

Kim wrote on her homepage on August 22: “I need to learn how to stop destroying myself, stop being hard on myself and be nice to myself.”

She added: “I need to keep wanting something nice, something warmer than just a fur coat.”

The last entry on her blog “I Like To Fork Myself” – posted Wednesday, a day before her death – was headlined “say hi to forever”.

One poster named Eun Hyo-Sun wrote: “I sincerely hope and pray that you will find that ’something nice’ and ’something warm’ up there (in heaven)…. All the fashion industry is mourning.”

Another contributor said:”I believe that you can find what you want. I’ll pray for you.”

The 1.78-metre Kim, who was known for her thick mane of dark hair and quirky look, was born in Seoul and raised there and in Singapore.

She made her catwalk debut for Chanel, Dries Van Noten, and Maison Martin Margiela in 2007 and recently appeared in a commercial for Christopher Kane’s Topshop line.