When 31-year-old South Korean pistol shooter Kim Yeji took the podium at the 2024 Paris Olympics, little did she know that she would become globally famous not only for her medal but also for her appearance at an earlier event. Of course, everyone now wants to know more about Kim Ye-ji, who she is as a professional, and facts about her sporting career.
For the past couple of days, Kim Ye-ji has taken the internet by storm and, according to AFP, she has been crowned the “Paris Games’ breakout style star.”
At the ongoing games, Kim took silver in the women’s 10-metre air pistol event on 28 July. The gold was won by her 19-year-old compatriot Oh Ye-jin, while the bronze went to India’s Manu Bhaker. Kim lost to Oh by just 1.9 points to settle for second place.
At a press conference after the 10-metre air pistol event, Kim likened Oh to a “younger sibling.” Oh is 12 years younger than Kim.
But the internet sees things differently. Kim is one of the most stylish athletes participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Therefore, Kim’s incredibly calm demeanour, her eye-catching appearance, and her movie-star look are also as important as her precision shooting skills. And all this is connected to a viral video from Baku, Azerbaijan.
How did Kim Yeji become famous?
Kim Ye-ji became popular overnight after her Olympic silver for an unrelated video that went viral on X (formerly Twitter).
In that 27-second video, which is from the ISSF World Cup in Baku held in May 2024, Kim is seen taking a successful shot that broke a world record while wearing her black South Korea uniform zipped up to the neck, a baseball hat worn backwards, a sharp bob, and wire-rimmed shooting glasses comprising a blinder, a lens and a mechanical iris.
She maintains an icy cold expression despite knowing that she has achieved an incredible feat. Kim is seen casually unloading her pistol, adjusting the South Korean flag on her table, and lifting her blinder from over her left eye while glancing sideways at a screen placed at a downward angle from the shooter to check her scores before striking a stylish pose for a better look at the screen.
Since some of the cameras capturing the event are usually placed at a similar angle, it appears as if she is giving the camera a cold stare.
It was this moment that cemented her internet fame. Kim has since been called everything from a “sci-fi assassin” and “Lady John Wick” to someone with “the most main character energy” (a social media term for someone who is the centre of attention). She has been compared to fictional characters James Bond and Satoru Gojo, a sorcerer in the popular manga Jujutsu Kaisen.
The most “Main Character Energy” I’ve ever seen in my life.pic.twitter.com/ExuXVxB3VB
— Del Walker 🇵🇸 (@TheCartelDel) July 30, 2024
Billionaire Elon Musk, who is always active on X — his own platform, called for Kim to be cast in an action movie.
“No acting required!” Musk wrote.
Kim has since become a pop-culture icon, with her Baku appearance becoming part of memes, GIFs, and edited K-pop music clips.
Even the official Olympics platform has taken note, calling Kim the “coolest sharpshooter at Paris 2024.” At the Games, Kim wore similar wire-rimmed shooting glasses but paired them with a white baseball cap and sported a ponytail.
A particular photograph of Kim at the ongoing Games, with her chip up and eyes angled towards the camera has also gone viral for exactly the same reasons — her steely looks.
All the facts about Kim Yeji you wanted to know
This is her first Olympics
The 2024 Paris Olympics marks Kim Ye-ji’s debut in the grandest tournament of all. Though she is 31 years old, she isn’t among the oldest competitors in shooting at Paris. That place could go to Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikeç, the other viral sensation from the same sports at the same tournament, who is 51 years old.
Thus, Kim’s achievement in her first Olympics becomes all the more memorable. She was even leading the competition in the initial rounds before Oh took the lead by a whisker.
All her five major medals so far have come in 2024
One of the most interesting facts about the career of Kim Ye-ji is that all her major medals have come in this year.
Her first was a silver in the 25-metre pistol event at the 2024 Asian Rifle/Pistol Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia, in January.
This was followed by a silver and a gold in the 10-metre air pistol and 25-metre pistol events, respectively, in Baku this May.
Her fourth, a bronze, came in the 25-metre pistol event at the Munich leg of the ISSF World Cup, in Germany in June. The 2024 Paris Olympics silver is her fifth.
She is the top rank holder in the ISSF rankings
Kim Yeji is the reigning World No.1 in the 10-metre air pistol category of the ISSF with 6,720 points (as of 2 August 2024). Paris Olympics gold medallist Oh Ye-jin is currently third with 5,628 points in the same category.
She is ranked fourth with 5,678 points in the 25-metre pistol category. Interestingly, she is considered a specialist in this category as she has a total of three medals, including a gold, in this category. It is also this event in which she set a world record at Baku — the moment of which went viral.
She has a chance at making glory (and more internet fame) when she competes in its finals on 3 August.
“I am confident all the time… I, Kim Ye-ji, am going to win gold no matter what,” she told reporters, ahead of the event.
She started shooting in 2005 and loves sleeping
According to her ISSF profile, Kim was born on 4 September 1992 in Maepo, which is close to the city of Danyang in South Korea.
Her club is registered as Chungbuk Physical Education High School. She took up shooting in 2005 and began competing the following year.
On her profile, Kim lists her hobbies as “sleeping.”
She has a daughter whose toy is her ‘lucky charm’
While hardly any facts about her personal life are known, Korean media reports say that Kim Ye-ji has a five-year-old daughter. One of the reasons she is being loved worldwide is a picture of Kim aiming a shot at her Paris Olympics event while clutching a small stuffed elephant in her back pocket. That stuffed grey toy belongs to her daughter. Reports say that it is her lucky charm.
In a conversation with the South Korean media, she said she was looking forward to speaking to her daughter after completing all her events.
“I think I have become a bit famous now,” she said when asked what she would want to tell her.
There is no publicly available information about her husband. Her ISSF profile mentions her marital status as single.
And now, we leave you with this: More Kim Yeji main character energy
— 밤톨러 (@bamtolerate) July 30, 2024
(Hero and Featured images: Korean Sport & Olympic Committee via The Olympic Games/@Olympics/X)
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Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare time, Manas loves studying interactive charts and topographic maps. When not doing either, he prefers reading detective fiction. Spring is his favourite season and he can happily eat a bowl of noodles any time of the day.
