Yuna Kim is a former competitive
figure skater from South Korea. She is the
2010 Olympic champion, the
2014 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time World champion (
2009,
2013), the
2009 Four Continents champion, a three-time
Grand Prix Final champion, the
2006 World Junior champion, the
2005 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time
South Korean national champion. Outside of figure skating, she has been active in a variety of fields, including music, television, and modelling. Formerly one of the highest-paid female athletes in the world, Kim has received numerous endorsements and is one of the most sought-after advertising models in South Korea. She is also a philanthropist and is recognised for her work with
UNICEF, for whom she serves as a
goodwill ambassador.
Cultural impact
In 2010, Grammy award-winning singer
Rihanna remarked that it was a "great honour" for her that Kim had used her song "
Please Don't Stop the Music" for a gala program.[1] In 2012, acclaimed Australian actor
Hugh Jackman, upon hearing that Kim was skating to a song from the
Les Misérables soundtrack, proclaimed that Kim was the “best”. Jackman, who was taking questions after a press screening in Seoul, invited Kim and six of her closest friends to watch the film with him, in case she needed to “get some inspiration" or "listen to the music.”[2] In 2020,
Academy Award-winning director of
Parasite,
Bong Joon-ho, mentioned Kim as one of the people he'd like to invite to his "last supper".[3] In 2023, Kim was one of five featured Korean stars in French painter David Jamin's Le Dandy de Provence exhibition at The Hyundai in Seoul, South Korea.[4]
Fashion
Kim wearing hanbok that she helped design for the event Hanbok Wave.
By 2009, Kim was considered a fashion and beauty icon among her peers, with items she was seen wearing getting an instant upgrade in terms of status.[5] On March 13, 2013, Kim was pictured wearing
Dior's Addict Lip Glow while awaiting the draw for the
short program at the
2013 World Championships, causing the sales of the lip balm to increase from 1000 units a day to more than 3000 units a day. By the day of the
free skate, the lip balm had risen to the top of major search portals, and came to be known as "Yuna Kim's lipstick".[6] Kim is an ambassador for Dior.[7] She attended Dior's Fall 2022 show held in
Seoul, their first ever show in South Korea.[7][8]
In 2022, Kim helped design a collection of hanbok, or Korean traditional dress, inspired by her "personality and image", in collaboration with ten hanbok brands. The designs were showcased in a London fashion show titled Hanbok Wave, held at the
Korean Cultural Centre during
London Fashion Week. The show was hosted by the
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Craft and Design Foundation, with the goal of promoting hanbok internationally. A video of the event appeared on the
Victoria and Albert Museum's exhibition website for Hallyu! The Korean Wave. The hanbok worn by Kim was also featured in a photoshoot with Marie Claire, and a video of her wearing hanbok during the photoshoot was displayed on electronic billboards in
Times Square.[9][10][11]
Kim has been featured on the cover page of many top fashion magazines, including the Korean edition of
Vogue.[12] The Korean edition of Harper's Bazaar put her on the cover of its November 2019 issue with the title "The Queen".[13]
Kim has appeared in many commercials in South Korea. Her commercial for a new touchscreen
haptic phone from
Samsung Electronics, dubbed "Yuna's Haptic" (SPH-W7700), sold over one million devices in a record seven months.[16][17][18] During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Forbes magazine named Kim, along with American snowboarder
Shaun White, as the top-earning athletes participating in the Olympics with $7.5 million each to their name.[19] In August 2010, Forbes magazine listed her as one of the highest-paid female athletes in the world, with annual earnings of $9.7 million.[20]
Since her retirement, Kim has continued to dominate the commercial scene and remains an advertising giant in South Korea. Kim is said to earn 1 billion to 1.4 billion
South Korean won (US$930,000 to US$1,300,000) per advertisement.[21][22]
Kim has donated more than 5 billion
won to various charitable causes, as of February 2022.[23] In July 2010, she was named an international
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, with a stated aim of helping vulnerable children around the world.[24] In September 2010, she was invited to the
United Nations' New York headquarters to mark the annual
International Day of Peace celebration alongside high level UN officials, including UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon, and Goodwill Ambassadors representing other branches of the United Nations. There, she advocated peace messages on behalf of UNICEF.[25] Kim is a member of UNICEF's Honors Club, a group for major donors.[26] She was named an ambassador for the
2010 G-20 Seoul summit alongside actress
Han Hyo-joo and soccer player representative
Park Ji-sung.[27] First lady
Kim Yoon-ok appointed her an ambassador for the 2010–2012 Visit Korea Year, promoting Korean tourism as part of a three year campaign.[28]
Kim has funded multiple scholarships for aspiring figure skaters in South Korea,[29][30] and donated the proceeds from her 2011 duet with
IU, "Ice Flower", to the national figure skating team.[31] She commented: "I know how hard it is to be a skater. Even if there were a young, talented skater, she might be forced to give up skating because of financial trouble. I'd like to help her and others reach their goals."[32] Kim donated the prize money from the 2011 World Championships to children affected by the
2011 Japan earthquake;[33] the competition had been scheduled to be held in Japan before being reassigned to Russia as a result of the disaster.[34] She has also aided relief efforts in Nepal, Haiti, the Philippines, Turkey and Syria.[35] In 2014, she donated 100 million won to the families of the victims of the
Sewol ferry disaster, in addition to the proceeds from her retirement medal.[36] During the
COVID-19 pandemic, she made several donations to help provide vaccines to developing countries and conduct treatment initiatives.[37] On March 7, 2022, Kim donated 100 million won to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association to help the victims of the massive wildfire that started in
Uljin,
Gyeongbuk and spread to
Samcheok, Gangwon.[38]
In September 2022, she participated in a "women roundtable" held at the residence of the US Ambassador in
Seoul by
Kamala Harris to discuss gender equality, and the stories of Korean women having achieved parity with male rivals in their respective fields. The participants included
Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon,
Kim Sagwa,
Youn Yuh-jung and the head of the Korean Medical Women's Association Baik Hyun-wook.[39][40] In December 2022, she was appointed an honorary ambassador for the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Canada. Kim was selected for the role by the Canadian Embassy in Seoul due to her years spent training in Canada. She participated in various activities throughout 2023 to promote the relationship between the two countries.[41]
Books and television
On January 28, 2010, Kim published a book, Kim Yu-na's Seven-Minute Drama, about her experience with figure skating from the age of seven to her preparation for the
2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The Chosun Ilbo stated that the book "deals with her attempts to overcome her obstacles and to become the world's top figure skater."[42] In addition, she wrote a book called Like Yuna Kim, published on March 30, 2010. This book targets younger readers.[43]
In May 2011, Kim began to host a program called Kim Yuna's Kiss and Cry as part of
SBS' Good Sunday. The show depicted ten celebrities learning how to figure skate from professional skaters. The contestants included comedian
Kim Byung-man, singers
U-Know of
TVXQ,
Krystal of
f(x),
IU and
Son Dam-bi, actors Park Joon-geum,
Seo Ji-seok,
Lee Ah-hyun and
Jin Ji-hee, and speed skater
Lee Kyou-hyuk.[44] The winner of the show was Krystal and her partner Lee Dong-hoon. The runner up was Kim Byung-man and his partner Lee Soo-kyung.[45] As a reward, Krystal and Lee Dong-hoon got to showcase their skating with Kim in the All That Skate exhibition that was held in August 2011.[46]Cha Jun-hwan appeared in this show as a professional skater.[47]
Kim has worked on several projects as a singer. She recorded a duet with
K-pop singer
Lee Seung-gi titled "Smile Boy (Rock Ver.)", the
2010 Football World Cup commercial song.[48][49] She also sang with South Korean band
BigBang and rock group Transfixion on the single "The Shouts of Reds Part 2", created for the Korean World Cup soccer team.[50] In 2011, she recorded a duet with IU, titled "Ice Flower", for her television show Kim Yuna's Kiss and Cry.[31] Between 2008 and 2014, Kim released four albums compiling her skating music and other favorites, beginning with Yuna Kim: Fairy on the Ice. The combined sales surpassed 100,000, a rarity for classical music.[51]
Singles
As lead artist
List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and sales, showing album name and year released
^"Move Like This" was released as a promotional single in collaboration with
Gatorade.[56]
^"Move Like This" did not enter the Circle Digital Chart, but peaked at number 25 on the component Circle Download Chart.[57]
References
^Jang, Seo-yoon (February 11, 2010).
리한나, "김연아 선수가 내 노래 써줘 큰 영광" [Rihanna, "It's a great honour for Yuna Kim to use my song"]. Edaily (in Korean). Retrieved December 20, 2023.
^Kim, Ye-won (February 3, 2023).
프로방스에서 온 댄디보이 `다비드 자맹` [뉴스+현장] [Dandy boy from Provence, David Jamin]. Wow TV (in Korean). Retrieved May 30, 2024 – via Naver.
^Kim, Ji-sun (February 22, 2022).
'50억 기부' 김연아, 이번엔 동계청소년올림픽 응원…"강원2024" ['5 billion won donation.' Yuna Kim, this time cheering for the Winter Youth Olympics... "Gangwon 2024".]. Money Today (in Korean).
Archived from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022 – via
Naver.
^Park, A-reum (April 9, 2014).
"역시 유니세프 아너스클럽 회원" 김연아, 아이스쇼 출연료 전액 기부 ["As expected, a member of the UNICEF Honors Club." Yuna Kim donates all her ice show fees.]. Newsen (in Korean).
Archived from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022 – via
Naver.
^'사치녀' 김연아? 귀국 일주일만에 1억 쏜 통 큰 '기부퀸' ['Luxurious woman' Yuna Kim? A big 'donation queen' who gave 100 million won one week after returning to Korea]. Sports Dong-a (in Korean). July 27, 2010.
Archived from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
^Oh, Hae-won (May 14, 2008).
김연아, 대신증권과 함께 피겨꿈나무에 장학금 전달 [Yuna Kim, together with Daishin Securities, delivered scholarships to young figure skaters]. Newsis (in Korean).
Archived from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022 – via
Naver.
^
abKim, Won-ik (January 3, 2012).
김연아-아이유, '얼음꽃' 음원 수익금 피겨대표팀에 전달 [Yuna Kim and IU donate proceeds from 'Ice Flower' to the national figure skating team]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean).
Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2011 – via
Naver.
^Min, Kyung-hoon (April 28, 2014).
김연아 은퇴 메달 공개..수익금 일부 세월호 참사 희생자위해 기부 [Yuna Kim's retirement medal unveiled...Part of the proceeds will be donated to victims of the Sewol ferry disaster]. Osen (in Korean).
Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022 – via
Naver.
^Jo, Si-hyeong (March 6, 2022).
김연아, 산불 피해 복구에 1억원 쾌척...'피겨퀸'의 선한 영향력 [Yuna Kim donates 100 million won to restore damage from forest fires... The good influence of the 'figure skating queen]. Korea Economy TV (in Korean).
Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2022 – via
Naver.
^Kim, Hyo-jeong (December 13, 2022).
한·캐나다 60주년 홍보대사에 김연아·'김씨네 편의점' 윤진희(종합) [Yuna Kim and 'Kim's Convenience' Jean Yoon to be honorary ambassadors for the 60th anniversary of Korea and Canada]. Yonhap News (in Korean).
Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022 – via
Naver.
^Lee, Yeon-jeong (August 15, 2011).
'피겨 대중화' 꿈 이룬 '키스 앤 크라이' ['Kiss and Cry', the dream of 'popularizing figure skating']. Yonhap News (in Korean). Retrieved October 29, 2022 – via
Naver.
^Kim, Pyo-hyang (May 6, 2011).
'김연아의 키스앤크라이' 스타와 함께할 전문 스케이터 10명 공개 [10 professional skaters partnering the stars of 'Kim Yuna's Kiss and Cry' revealed]. Sports Chosun (in Korean).
Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023 – via
Naver.
^Im, Mi-na (May 11, 2010).
현대차, 김연아ㆍ빅뱅 월드컵 응원가 공개 [Hyundai Motor Company unveils Yuna Kim and BigBang's World Cup cheering song]. Yonhap News (in Korean).
Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023 – via
Naver.