Yuna Kim's Own Words: "My Life and My Future" | Golden Skate

Yuna Kim's Own Words: "My Life and My Future"

Julie K.

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 6, 2014
Yuna Kim's Own Words: "My Life and Future"

Yuna Kim met her Korean fans in Seoul yesterday and expressed her own plan about her future.

Major points she made are as follows in a rough translation:
  • I wanted to retire after the 2010 Vancouver but changed my mind later.
  • I have lived under high pressure and fear but am happy now as I can relax after all.
  • It has been a while since I hated skating, but now I feel no regrets. I did it all.
  • Figure skating is the only area about which I have confidence. I know nothing about anything else.
  • I cannot let FS go forever in my life. I'll be a FS leader. I'd like to teach young players. I'll do so as long as I can.
  • I'm qualified to be an IOC committee player member, but I understand getting the position is not guaranteed.
  • I don't want to be a judge, which is merely one of many people, or a choreographer, which I am not talented for.
  • Married in 10 years? Of course! A 34-years-old single will be too late for marriage.
  • My three best performances in both SP and LP were Vancouver, Sochi, and the 2013 World Championships.

You can search her detailed interview news articles online.
 

Hanmgse

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 20, 2014
I wish her the best in whatever she does :) So nice that she wants to teach skating , she will be a great teacher if she does .
 

millie

Medalist
Joined
Nov 1, 2004
I can't image the pressure put on those skaters by their country!!! The pressure to win...
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I can't image the pressure put on those skaters by their country!!! The pressure to win...

I agree. It must be unrelenting if the skater is especially good and promising.

Interesting how YuNa says that skating is the only thing she feels confident about, and that she knows nothing about anything else. That's probably a common feeling with all elite athletes. Dorothy Hamill was quoted somewhere on this board saying that after her skating career ended, she wondered whether she would ever again be best in the world at something.

I hope YuNa grows to realize, though, that by now she has modeled, sung, and taken part in charitable and diplomatic endeavors, so she's not without potential in many areas.
 

pointyourtoe

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 11, 2013
I hate the Asian expectation that if you're not married by late 20's you'll be doomed to eternal spinsterdom

Even MK marrying at 33 was seen as "late"

I'm glad Yuna has a bf though
 

bebevia

On the Ice
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
I hate the Asian expectation that if you're not married by late 20's you'll be doomed to eternal spinsterdom

Even MK marrying at 33 was seen as "late"

I'm glad Yuna has a bf though
I know. However, her boyfriend would be 39 by then, 40 in Korean age calculation, so it could be that too... Also, I hear they're taking each other seriously. Who knows if she's being a progressive one and pushing him to propose her before then? Lol.
 

usethis2

Medalist
Joined
Feb 11, 2014
I hate the Asian expectation that if you're not married by late 20's you'll be doomed to eternal spinsterdom

Even MK marrying at 33 was seen as "late"

I'm glad Yuna has a bf though
If you take pregnancy in consideration 20's is certainly better than 30's. Both for males and females. Not sure how much of that is Asian thing or empirical facts, or both.

Of course it doesn't mean that pregnancy requires marriage or vice versa. ;)

Why don't she open a shop in North America? She could easily hold a few shows a year with her friends, and maybe even teach young skaters on a seasonal basis (let's say 2 months a year). There will be demands and if not she can still have some semblance of anonymity.

And what does an IOC committee member do and what are their qualifications? I thought they were simply representatives of each nation.
 

Julie K.

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 6, 2014
I hate the Asian expectation that if you're not married by late 20's you'll be doomed to eternal spinsterdom Even MK marrying at 33 was seen as "late"

That is Yuna's personal opinion. Koreans marry quite late (over 30 on average) or never marry. I guess she said so because she has a boyfriend and wants to marry him eagerly.
 

peg

Medalist
Joined
Jan 17, 2014
Why don't she open a shop in North America? She could easily hold a few shows a year with her friends, and maybe even teach young skaters on a seasonal basis (let's say 2 months a year). There will be demands and if not she can still have some semblance of anonymity.
I could be wrong, but I get the sense that she really wants to help develop figure skating in her own country.
 

jace93

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 8, 2014
I truly hope that if yuna has kids they will just skate as hobby and not as a competitive sport... way too much expectation for them, and it would be quite bad to always be in the shadow of their mother legacy...
 

bartlebooth

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 19, 2010
I truly hope that if yuna has kids they will just skate as hobby and not as a competitive sport... way too much expectation for them, and it would be quite bad to always be in the shadow of their mother legacy...

Yes, indeed. Often great champions are children of people involved in sports at amateur or low/middle level, but seldom great champions' children can bear the burden their name carries with it.
Yagudin and Totmianina said that they want their daughter to study and learn music, not to skate competitively.
 

Julie K.

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 6, 2014
I truly hope that if yuna has kids they will just skate as hobby and not as a competitive sport... way too much expectation for them, and it would be quite bad to always be in the shadow of their mother legacy...

Who can escape people's over-interest in them if their parent(s) are celebrities? That's their destiny, good or bad.
 

Julie K.

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 6, 2014
I truly hope that if yuna has kids they will just skate as hobby and not as a competitive sport... way too much expectation for them, and it would be quite bad to always be in the shadow of their mother legacy...

I think golden skaters are born, not taught. Korea never had world-class figure skaters before Yuna not because they were not trained properly but because born skaters didn't have a chance to play.
 

juppiter

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
I truly believe she has gotten everything she wanted out of competing and I wish her a happy retirement. She could be a great coach OR commentator.
 

anyanka

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 8, 2011
I truly believe she has gotten everything she wanted out of competing and I wish her a happy retirement. She could be a great coach OR commentator.

I agree, she could help really build the national program in Korea.
Or she'll just become their new queen.
 

Julie K.

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 6, 2014
I truly believe she has gotten everything she wanted out of competing and I wish her a happy retirement. She could be a great coach OR commentator.

I guess Yuna can be a good commentator, but there is no Korean figure skater who can compete in the world's events. so her chance to comment will be rare. She doesn't speak English fluently, so she may not suit well as a commentator outside Korea.
 

nguyenghita

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 13, 2012
I guess Yuna can be a good commentator, but there is no Korean figure skater who can compete in the world's events. so her chance to comment will be rare. She doesn't speak English fluently, so she may not suit well as a commentator outside Korea.
Why would she want to be a commentator? It's not the high-level job in Korea in everyway, especially with the super-one (super famous, super wealthy) like her :laugh:
 

Julie K.

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 6, 2014
https://olympictalk.nbcsports.com/2014/03/21/south-korea-yuna-kim-figure-skating-olympics-judging-complaint/

“Together with the Korea Skating Union (KSU), we have decided to file an official complaint [to the ISU] over the controversial ruling and will demand the body look into the makeup of the judging panel and whether a fair judgment was possible,” a Korea Olympic Committee (KOC) official said Friday, according to the Korea Times.

- Yuna reacted that she would respect KSU and KOC's decision.
 
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