Young Siberian models being sent to China | Unreported World 

It's scary when they spoke about how all their money goes to the agency and they have a debt to work off.. it's trafficking just under a different name..

This looks like human trafficking to me. The scene where the photographer takes pictures of a fifteen years girl in underwear to send it to potential clients convince me.

My son is an international model, and has also worked in Japan, Korea, and China. He said that most of the girl's were from Russia & Ukraine and they were young & barely spoke any English. All the models, both male & female, would share a tiny, cramped apartment, and if you didn't get booked for enough jobs, they would send you home! They would also charge them all rent each month. If you didn't work enough, they would bill them, so not only would these girls get sent home, they didn't return with any money!

"After we work off the debt" -sounds like trafficking!

You can guarantee 90% of these models are going to be getting pressured to do adult work.

As Rick and Morty have said, "Sounds like slavery with extra steps"

I can’t believe that girl left a beautiful farm and dog to life that life. It’s so sad they were tricked.

"We are looking for the baby-face" Not suspicious at all.

They pay for their own rent, transport, airfare and living expenses, are in debt, the agency gets a commission, are overworked, tired and remain hungry, this seems like modern day slavery.

alternate title: “Young Siberian models sent to China for human trafficking”

The more I see these stories, the more I'm inclined towards studying hard and get a secure job, if I have raw talent for something, I would do that as a part time thing

I like how the guy always rushes in to land a helping hand whether it's interpreting or just to life a heavy suitcase, a real gentleman.

There's always something creepy behind documentaries about beauty and models

They said the tallest dark haired girl wasn’t tall enough but then they hire the shortest girl in the room???!??? This industry is absurd.

I just hope from the depth of my heart that these girls are not sexually harassed or violated on the way up during their career.

I don't understand why the agency doesn't pay for their expenses. I mean they're the ones who will profit when one of their models gets selected.

I’m Ukrainian and I was modeling once . So I had a friend from agency that went to China and she said that it was hell on earth

I am polish and also was send to Japan when I was 17 because of the “baby face” I met mostly Eastern European girls in Asia. I advice young girls to be careful, as many men are taking advantage of them but I think that’s universal.

I went to Japan from London when I was 17 with the same deal. The agency pays for your flight, your apartment and gives you pocket money. They detract everything including their fees from your earnings and you go home with the rest. It was agency risk. If you didn´t work, they lost money but if you put on weight you broke the contract. Nobody owed the agencies money though. The worst thing that happened is you got sent home prematurely with no wages.

"She's not tall enough :/" girl: *is literally towering over them*

I modelled in China for 6 months. It was AWFUL. Gruelling 12 hour days at trade shows and constant dieting. 172cm and 50kg I fit into couture but it wasn’t healthy. I’m 8kg heavier and 8 times happier now 👍🏼

15 years old and posing in lingerie..... Where do you peeps even draw the line

One of my friends is a full time model and has been working for about 6 years now, and she explained a few things to me about how it all works.Actually agencies all over the world work the same way,models get their expenses covered in advance by the agency so it makes sense that you will have to repay them, you can also pay for everything out of pocket but it’s hard to do when you’re just starting. Some models after they have established themselves pay everything out of own pocket and it can be cheaper but some use it in their advantage that the agency advances everything in case they don’t work and their losses won’t be as high. Basically yes you have a debt you have to pay off but that money will be taken out of what you get paid for the jobs the problem can be that as long as you’re in debt to your agency you can’t switch to a different one in that specific country/city but girls still change agencies and nothing really happens. A lot of models are send home once the agency sees they’re not working. It is true that modelling in china is way harder than in Europe for example since they have more rules and the working hours are extremely long. Also no one will keep you there even if you’re in debt if agency is trying to make you stay by force they’re a bad agency a good professional agency wouldn’t do that,models have to be very careful when choosing and agency since some of them will be very unprofessional and won’t care about the model. If an agency want money from you or wants to sign you or makes you pay for model school they aren’t a good agency so it better to leave, a good agency won’t as for any money. The problem is that some girls are very desperate so they just go with any agency that wants them it’s sad but not everyone is made for that business,a lot of girls just want to get out and some agencies want to take advantage of that. In Eastern European and South American countries there’re a lot of “fake” agencies that won’t care where they will send the girls. While it’s better in Europe those situations can still happen. Sometimes girls won’t make money for some years at the start of their careers so sometimes you have to know when to give up,some girls keep trying to make it and lose way more.Models can also get a guarantee in china that means the model will get paid wether or not she will be in debt to the agency but that’s usually for models who have worked in Europe or the USA,if the agency is good they will try and get a grantee for their models but of course it’s easier for the agencies to just send the model to china without.

The interviewer in this seems like a genuine, curious, nonjudgmental, helpful human who was wiling to help these girls understand when there was a language barrier. Seems like a great journalist but also a good soul.

That "modelling agency" is so sketchy wtf. They're 100% trafficking these girls, I'm shocked they even agreed to be recorded and interviewed for this video

this is sad. the reason why Chinese agencies hire Siberian girls is because they are the only European-looking girls that will agree to work for such a low salary. I bet people do not see many differences between a pretty Russian girl and a pretty German girl. Cheap labor - this is what they are looking for in Siberia.

FYI: if you have what it takes to actually be a desirable model, you're not going to have to pay your own way. Agencies are going to seek you out not the other way around lol.

Him: ''she not tall enough'' 17:46 Also him: chooses shortest girl 18:00

13:08 "1, 2, 3, smell!" "And still, not a sniff of a job." Brilliant.

in 2017 a 14 year old russian model died while working in china most likely because she was being overworked. it's sad that many of them have no clue what they're getting into.

i wonder how many of them actually get out of “debt” i can imagine with all those expenses they never make it out

"Shes not tall enough..." I wonder what it'd look like if he stands next to her...

A CHINESE WOMAN CRITICIZING A RUSSIAN LADY ON HEIGHT NOW IVE SEEN IT ALL

Sleep deprived, hungry, sexually exploited...then left underpaid or in debt if not good enough. What a horrible gamble.

Those models can be social media influencers. They wouldn’t need to do these.

My cousin was a model for one year and he agree that it's true. He said: When you are already a millionaire, you can be a model too. For luck he study and has another good job.

That Chinese man complaining russian girls don't speak English well, meanwhile his colleague say "123 smell" lmao

It makes me so sad to see the interviewer act as an interpreter for these girls, because we know they don’t even get that much language assistance the rest of the time they’re there.

I've been to Siberia twice and there are a lot of Russian girls who look like models. Most European countries lack or rarely possess the model-like qualities that Russian girls possess.

Modeling is a disgusting industry, especially looking at it's origins💔

this seems predatory. they're taking girls off the street who had no previous interest in modelling and throwing them into a world of exploitation and unhealthiness

If they leave russia at the age of 15 for modeling, that means they quit school. Thats disturbing.

Very in depth and informative

the fact that they go to these poor areas and places to recruit girls says a lot about their practice. super easy for them to exploit these girls. so sad.

Nobody is going to talk about how the interviewer was so nice to them?

I think it's really good having the reporter also speak the language, instead of how you are usually listening to someone else interpret. Must be nice for those that he interviews as well.

I was born into an advertising family and I’ve often thought that “modelling” is a cheap cop-out compared other careers in the world of graphic design. I’m well aware that some people get paid fortunes but that’s only for the exclusive and not for the majority.

This is worth a movie. My heart has just sank. I am 19 yo, and I can't imagine how drastically different their life is from mine. I wish I could help everyone. This is a trap, we all know only few will work as models after a few years.

Agencies are like pimps

I'm worried about these girls becoming victims to human trafficking. The younger girls are more vulnerable.

I used to be a model in China while I was studying there as an exchange student. The work conditions were awful like in the video, but, in fact, 200$ per one catwalk in bikini worth it. It was literally all my scholarship in one month. Living in shanghai is cruel, but when you work in smaller cities, the competition level is lower. I saw the girls who came to China especially for model work. And it was awful as after 1 year of work they spent all their money on health.

I like Marcel Theroux in this. The narration is great and the interviews given are always personal and informative with his questions.

This whole thing gives me Jeffrey Epstein vibes

That was so sad when the interviewer told the boy that he was skinny and the boy replied no ,”ask my agency.”

These girls would be so successful if they send their portfolio to an NY model agency

Great doc!

I'm a grown man who has tears in his eyes seeing this. I can't believe people could do this to one-another. At the very least give them a proper wage.

0:37 "The moon looks lovelier in another country" The chinese version of the saying "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence".

All the models look like they were made in the same factory

"1..2..3...Smell" Yeah, complaining that the other side doesn't know English (most of which is coming from the deep countryside in the middle of nowhere in Russia) and coming out with those language skills is pfffff...

People under 18 shouldn't be posing in just their underwear

14-15 isn't that child Labour?

They ALREADY were living in a picture postcard setting in Siberia.. They never realized how blessed they were already.

"None of ate. They has apples. Looking hungrily at the menu" meanwhile, I just had me rice and chicken curry and polished it off with grapes.

lmao "I want to be model" *notices camera filming her* *_immediately starts posing_*

Them:That girl isn't tall enough That girl:The tallest of all the ones that were selected

WAKE UP PEOPLE!! If this isn’t child trafficking I don’t know what is!!

The Chinese guy talking about Russian girls not understanding English,boii when you talk like that ain’t nobody going to understand what you are saying.

Damn it takes a brave and desperate parent to send their kid off to another country without a trusted chaperone in sight. I know it is done out of desperation but damn.

Interesting story. Well done and I wish the women success in fashion or wherever life takes them!

i used to model at a younger age but later stopped because it is such a toxic industry.

This is slavery and trafficking with anew name.

2:52 - The reporter's face and reaction tell everything

I don't know why but I laughed so hard at 2:07 after seeing the girl in violet.😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

21:25 I'm Chinese and four years ago I went back to Shanghai, my home city and stayed at exactly the same hotel with my mom for a month during our trip. And I saw some russian girls going in and out sometimes and wondered what they were doing in Shanghai, well now I know my answer. Poor girls, I hope they will find happiness and success in their lives.

This just sounds like Human Trafficking with extra steps...

I’m so fortunate to live in the United States but I do remember women like this and young girls walking around and trying to rope people into this and my mom would always say “that’s just human trafficking stay away from those people” mommas always right! Like no such thing as being discovered in a Walmart etc 💀💀 I feel so bad for these poor girls!

They can easily make more money online on instagram and such. This modelling thing is just an illusion.

wow I wish I had seen this documentary sooner!! I used to live in Shanghai as a teacher. 8000 RMB? in 2 months?? that is literally NOTHING. that's what he average Chinese person makes a month. I was making 20K a month just teaching. I cannot believe that lady had the audacity to say 8000 was so good for 2 months of work. I always wondered why there were so many Russians in Shanghai and it always annoyed me that "they go to the clubs and don't act like they are having fun". I feel so bad for judging them because now I now what most of them are going through... such a sad thing to go through

Meanwhile there's a Chinese girl living in the forest and living off berries roots farming and making millions from her youtube channel.

Does anyone know what camera she is using at 3:48?

I can't watch this, reading the comments and my realisation, so sad!

I just saw a story last week of a young Russian girl working herself to death as a model in China. She was only 14.

"one, two, three, smell." They said the models can't speak English.

The scene at around 4:45 exactly looks like a scene from the movie "Neon Demon". This industry always scared me...

when she explained the pay i was just thinking, that's definitely indentured servitude

I like how they say the Russian look is "big eyes" when most of the girls I saw have small eyes..

These girls are very beautiful....and they are being trafficked.

just be instagram models ladies. no need to go anywhere and be hungry.

Human traffic has never been so promoted. Also, part of the fact that russian women are going in higher numbers to China is due to the fact that human trafficking is so pursued in the EU that these criminal corporations have developed ways to do it elsewhere. This is our future if the chinese goverment keep on extending it’s grim tendrils over Europe. I hope Russia takes on the job of educating and giving opportunities to all people, no matter how far they are from civilization.

My daughter who is American got a “contract” in Taiwan several years ago, same type of “contract” these models have. She worked tirelessly (she was 16), appeared in several catalogs, Japanese Vogue etc. I actually had customers there who looked out for her while there. They even intervened in getting her copies of her paid work for her portfolio. Ended up in debt after three months. She left with no money from the contract and they did not ask for the difference. It was hard getting a true and accurate ledger of her earnings and work. The records they kept were very haphazard and did not match my daughters daytime which had all her castings and work by date listed in it. The only positive was that she had some awesome portfolio tear sheets of her work (we had to nag to get them from the agency). Everything they are portraying here is absolutely true and it happens in the US and Canada too!

They're are all so beautiful with gorgeous Eurasian features! But so innocent and naïve and overworked. It's so sad. They've got a much fresher look than most supermodels that are pushed down our throats. This is borderline child abuse. Selling them an unattainable fantasy so they can be exploited. Sad.

as a model this is just sad, I wonder what agencies they are signed with

Beautiful documentary. Reality is all they show

"The skin is not good" Bruh... all of them were 2 times darker than the model.... chinese have the most weird aesthetic

"russian girls dont speak good english" chinese woman "uan tchu thri smeal"

13:06 and i Quote „ 1-2-3-smell „ 😂😂😂

21:48 she made $ 1,241 US dollars in 2 months of work ….. she basically worked her ass off for 2 months to buy a plane ticket home because a plane ticket home is going to cost about that much …… this is fucked up on so many levels

show this to kendall jenner who 'choses' her castings

I begged my parents nearly my whole childhood let me model or join beauty pageants. Now that I'm older I know why they never let me. And by watching this I'm grateful. 😔😔