Yuna Kim builds a school in South Sudan

[cooper]

remember this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB1fwzjtmnw

courtesy from all that yuna blog and gnij

http://cfile233.uf.daum.net/image/26687333522F2D0528511E

The photo is from newsletter for scholarship committee for children in Sudan. According to the newsletter, ‘Kim Yuna School’ for Sudan’s children is under construction. Yuna donated to help a campaign for “Building 100 schools in South Sudan” last year and one of the schools will be named the ‘Kim Yuna School.’

well done yuna!!

 

[kwanatic]

Very cool.

Oprah's people should contact Yu-Na. I think Oprah would really find Yu-Na fascinating. She's the current icon in the sport, a huge celebrity/trail blazer in her country, she's business-minded but very giving and kind, she's a humanitarian...Yu-Na is immensely complex but still very simple at her core and I think that's one of the things I like about her the most. She and Oprah would have a nice little chat! Besides, if Oprah interviewed Yu-Na Kim, everyone in the US would know who she was by the end of it.

 

[Olympia]

Very cool.

Oprah's people should contact Yu-Na. I think Oprah would really find Yu-Na fascinating. She's the current icon in the sport, a huge celebrity/trail blazer in her country, she's business-minded but very giving and kind, she's a humanitarian...Yu-Na is immensely complex but still very simple at her core and I think that's one of the things I like about her the most. She and Oprah would have a nice little chat! Besides, if Oprah interviewed Yu-Na Kim, everyone in the US would know who she was by the end of it.

Now, there's a good thought! I do hope someone on YuNa's team makes overtures to Oprah, or works through American connections to contact her.

 

[minze]

I love her altruism Good Job Yuna Kim

 

[RABID]

I agree. Yuna isn't just a fascinating sports celebrity, she is a fascinating woman. She is Asian to the core with her values and yet has a Western aesthetic that makes so many western commentators go gaga over her performances so much so that I believe it even baffles some of her fellow Korean commentators. And then there are her interviews and words; so revealing and at times a little heart-breaking and yet never indulgent; never a false note. She is all about "heart". Hers is huge and yet she has this quality of vulnerability that is at odds with how great a competitor she is. When I think of her I think of the Robert Redford movie, "The Natural". There is a purity; a completeness about her much like Robert Redford's character. She is "The Natural" when it comes to the figure skating world. If she was Canadian she wouldn't just be celebrated, she would be revered not just for the glory of her wins and performances but because of who she is. Anyway, if Yu-Na skates as well as she is capable of doing this, her final year, she might very well make herself a coveted interview quest by someone of Oprah's stature......Jenny and Dave?

 

[skateluvr]

this , FAR MORE THAN HER SKATING, is why I love Yuna. May she rake it in and do good. YuNa seems bored already by stuff. She is young but seems so grounded. She already knows that buying 50 coach bags and a variety of diamond jewelry is not what life is about. YuNa needs to meet Pope Francis, as she is a devout Catholic. Forget Oprah and her boring retread network. Oprah is an example of huge consumption. Whether it is food or vacation homes, she is insatiable. She should be doing way more than 10 percent. At her age, she has been and seen most everywhere and has the best of everything. I'm not impressed with her one leadership academy. There should be one in Chicago and every major black area. She once said of her lack of followthrough on Chicago HS students (if they graduated well, shed pay for college-never happened) that Americans did not value education. Amazing, no? She can have all shades, but what does she do to help American blacks? Not until Barack came did she get political and do fundraisers. Her fake diction and her talk recently in the Capitol annoyed me. Such a huge ego. Lets hope she is doing things quietly, but she declined a meeting of billionaires who promised to give away half their billions. She has no heirs. I hope she at least continues and triples the size of her SA leadership academy and spreads it around to other areas of Africa. Her OWN is a flop, and she does not seem to want to change her formula. When people have to pay, I guess they don't want the same celebrity mishmash, and old Oprah shows. I suspect she will be back doing a talk show at some time on network TV or at least her own network. So many people seem to me unduly impressed with her, when we have so many women, minority women who are brighter and doing big things under the radar. I know, I know, it's her money let her spend hours making horticultural O's all over her properties. Just so egotistical.

Her ego/diva ness was obvious to me from the beginning. It put me off. I hated the adulation all these whilte women/middle class threw her way in her . It was unearned. And it amazes me how many people don't get that she started giving away stuff (sponsor stuff) after Rosie O'Donell started out of her own pocket. People are so easily smitten with celebrities. I guess it shows she does not have the fan base people thought as no one wants to buy OWN. Her magazine has her on every cover. Is no one annoyed by the phony that is OPRAH except me? She only did subjects repeatedly that affected her.

Sorry, I want to see YuNa with a real powerbroker saint that will influence her. I am hoping she does great things for humanity. We need an Asian Prioncess Diana, and she is royalty in Korea. I hope she has popularity in the wider region. God Bless YuNa and use her well! YuNa may one day be a billionaire. For now, she seems like doing good is more important than even gold medals. I hope the second one does not change her humility into big ego.

 

[Mathman]

You don't have to like Oprah, but you can't deny that her success came by her own efforts, not by being born advantaged. Wikipedia says:

Winfrey was born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a teenage single mother and later raised in an inner-city Milwaukee neighborhood. She experienced considerable hardship during her childhood, saying she was raped at age nine and became pregnant at 14; her son died in infancy. Sent to live with the man she calls her father, a barber in Tennessee, Winfrey landed a job in radio while still in high school and began co-anchoring the local evening news at the age of 19. Her emotional ad-lib delivery eventually got her transferred to the daytime-talk-show arena, and after boosting a third-rated local Chicago talk show to first place,[11] she launched her own production company and became internationally syndicated.

As for Oprah's record of philanthropy,

In 2004, Winfrey became the first black person to rank among the 50 most generous Americans and she remained among the top 50 until 2010. By 2012 she had given away about $400 million to educational causes...

 

[Mathman]

I agree. Yuna isn't just a fascinating sports celebrity, she is a fascinating woman. She is Asian to the core with her values and yet has a Western aesthetic that makes so many western commentators go gaga over her performances so much so that I believe it even baffles some of her fellow Korean commentators.

I know, I know! It's like we are all saying, "Look at that girl! Why can't American women be more like her!"

 

[Olympia]

The thing about someone like Oprah is that she doesn't just do things on her own; she inspires others to do likewise. In that respect, I hope YuNa equals her, because she could increase the habit of philanthropy across many regions of the world, not just among Koreans.

I like the idea of YuNa's meeting this pope. Francis would find much to like in her, and I'm sure he would be glad to encourage her to continue along this path.

 

[kwanatic]

this , FAR MORE THAN HER SKATING, is why I love Yuna. May she rake it in and do good. YuNa seems bored already by stuff. She is young but seems so grounded. She already knows that buying 50 coach bags and a variety of diamond jewelry is not what life is about. YuNa needs to meet Pope Francis, as she is a devout Catholic. Forget Oprah and her boring retread network. Oprah is an example of huge consumption. Whether it is food or vacation homes, she is insatiable. She should be doing way more than 10 percent. At her age, she has been and seen most everywhere and has the best of everything. I'm not impressed with her one leadership academy. There should be one in Chicago and every major black area. She once said of her lack of followthrough on Chicago HS students (if they graduated well, shed pay for college-never happened) that Americans did not value education. Amazing, no? She can have all shades, but what does she do to help American blacks? Not until Barack came did she get political and do fundraisers. Her fake diction and her talk recently in the Capitol annoyed me. Such a huge ego. Lets hope she is doing things quietly, but she declined a meeting of billionaires who promised to give away half their billions. She has no heirs. I hope she at least continues and triples the size of her SA leadership academy and spreads it around to other areas of Africa. Her OWN is a flop, and she does not seem to want to change her formula. When people have to pay, I guess they don't want the same celebrity mishmash, and old Oprah shows. I suspect she will be back doing a talk show at some time on network TV or at least her own network. So many people seem to me unduly impressed with her, when we have so many women, minority women who are brighter and doing big things under the radar. I know, I know, it's her money let her spend hours making horticultural O's all over her properties. Just so egotistical.

Her ego/diva ness was obvious to me from the beginning. It put me off. I hated the adulation all these whilte women/middle class threw her way in her . It was unearned. And it amazes me how many people don't get that she started giving away stuff (sponsor stuff) after Rosie O'Donell started out of her own pocket. People are so easily smitten with celebrities. I guess it shows she does not have the fan base people thought as no one wants to buy OWN. Her magazine has her on every cover. Is no one annoyed by the phony that is OPRAH except me? She only did subjects repeatedly that affected her.

Sorry, I want to see YuNa with a real powerbroker saint that will influence her. I am hoping she does great things for humanity. We need an Asian Prioncess Diana, and she is royalty in Korea. I hope she has popularity in the wider region. God Bless YuNa and use her well! YuNa may one day be a billionaire. For now, she seems like doing good is more important than even gold medals. I hope the second one does not change her humility into big ego.

My goodness! You really hate Oprah, don't you? I don't share your sentiment in the least but I respect your opinions. I think Oprah is the example of the American dream: coming from basically nothing and, through your own efforts and hard work, making yourself into one of the most powerful people in the world is incredible. And the fact that she's black and a woman makes her all the more inspiring.

For what it's worth, I don't think Yu-Na and the pope would have as much to talk about as Yu-Na and Oprah. Besides, as great as Yu-Na is, I don't think she's important enough to sit down with the pope. How often does he sit down and have conversations with athletes? I'm just saying...

 

[Olympia]

Kwanatic, a lot of people have papal audiences. I'm not sure of the circumstances, but it's not unheard of--many of them are probably in a group situation, not one on one. Additionally, this Pope is interested in inspiring people to play a role of compassionate action in the world, and YuNa in her capacity as an influential personality way outside the realm of sports (remember her participation in many national and international programs such as the Special Olympics) would be just the sort of person the Pope might want to meet with. Plus she's Catholic? That's extra incentive for him.

 

[kwanatic]

I know he has sit downs with people but my question was how likely would he be to sit down with her? Not saying that she shouldn't or can't...it just doesn't seem very likely. Then again, I could be wrong.

Personally, I'd prefer to see her talk to Oprah...but that's just me.

 

[aftertherain]

I know he has sit downs with people but my question was how likely would he be to sit down with her? Not saying that she shouldn't or can't...it just doesn't seem very likely. Then again, I could be wrong.

Personally, I'd prefer to see her talk to Oprah...but that's just me.

Mmm. Why not both?

 

[skateluvr]

oh, computers... yes, both, even better..but gracie and Ashley are American and we need help here. Asians love FS at least for now.

Huge cuts in teachers in Chicago...help them Oprah!

 

[Mathman]

Chicago schools face problems, no doubt. But in South Sudan the female illiteracy rate is 93%. Here is a charity that would love to get a donation of 5 pounds for a text book or 25 pounds for a desk and chair.

http://www.africanrevival.org/what-we-do/south-sudan.aspx

Oprah has not asked me for advice about what to do with her money , but hooray for Yuna Kim!

 

[GGoldberg]

I think there is obviously far more to any of the super star athletes than their skating alone. Hopefully.

I think with great opportunity and privilege, comes great responsibility - to be a role model, to use your influence and popularity wisely, etc.

There are great examples, and sadly there are less noble ones as well. Lessons to be learned from both.

 

[Olympia]

Let's compare: YuNa Kim, Miley Cyrus.

I love being a skating fan!

 

[aftertherain]

Let's compare: YuNa Kim, Miley Cyrus.

I love being a skating fan!

Why are we comparing the two? I might be missing the point, but there are plenty of other young singers/entertainers who are also doing good work to compare Yuna to. While I object to whatever the heck Miley is doing right now, I don't think people should constantly shame her either. Let's just move on, yeah?

 

[Olympia]

Why are we comparing the two? I might be missing the point, but there are plenty of other young singers/entertainers who are also doing good work to compare Yuna to. While I object to whatever the heck Miley is doing right now, I don't think people should constantly shame her either. Let's just move on, yeah?

Of course I was being facetious. Miley Cyrus is on my mind because I see her everywhere this week, and she's so egregiously....well, there. I brought up the matter because she has gone on record as saying that she did what she did to "make history." It was impossible to resist stating the analogy. In any case, I'm a nobody from nowhere, and hence I doubt anything I say on a skating forum can shame Miss Cyrus.

You're right in that there are other singers/entertainers who are awake and looking out at the world. I'm happy to concentrate on them. Since I know more about classical music, I'll mention violinist Midori, who has set up her own program to take music into public schools in her city. My own favorite Cute Guy, Orlando Bloom, is active in UNICEF. And one of my favorite American Idol contestants, Melinda Doolittle, went with Mrs. Bush when she was First Lady to Africa for a mosquito netting program that is very helpful in fighting malaria. Can anyone here think of others to add to our list?

 

[thinspread]

It’s always inspiring to hear about someone giving to help, Olympia. Rich people are more fortunate since they can give more, I guess.

I’m an ordinary person who sometimes allow oneself indulge with fine things in life, like everyone else. Nobody would blame me for not giving a penny to charity, and I wouldn’t blame anybody, rich or poor, for not being philanthropic. But I too sometimes find it uncomfortable to read about a lavish spender or an extravagant lifestyle.

Anyway, I thank YuNa for being a good example, using her fame at the peak of her career to influence people to give more and think twice about the needy.