Cover Kim Ye-ji at the Paris 2024 women's 10m air pistol event (Photo: Getty Images)
Kim Ye-ji at the Paris 2024 women's 10m air pistol event (Photo: Getty Images)
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With her stone-cold expression and cyberpunk appeal, the world has fallen in love with Kim Ye-ji
Fast becoming the ‘main character’ of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, South Korean sharp shooter Kim Ye-ji is being heaped with praise and applause on social media for her impossibly cool appearance. As she catapulted to internet fame, a new horde of fans unearthed an older video of her performance during the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup (2024 ISSF World Cup) in Azerbaijan.
Read more: Highlights from the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony
In the video, Kim is sporting a monochrome colour palette–a black backward cap, futuristic glasses that look like something out of a science-fiction movie, a jet-black Fila anorak zipped all the way up–which screams cyberpunk swag. With a steely gaze fixed on the target, she extends her arm and fires and barely reacts when the scoreboard displays that she had set a new world record in the women's 25m air pistol event.
This girl is a movie character like how is she real pic.twitter.com/hys1bLyj4t
— Daniel (@growing_daniel) July 30, 2024
But who is this mysterious, action-movie-like character the internet is falling head over heels for?
Here's everything you need to know.
First-time Olympian
Above Meet Kim Ye-ji, the South Korean shooter who’s making waves at Paris 2024 and winning hearts all over the world (Photo: Instagram/@ k_yeji92)
Meet Kim Ye-ji, the South Korean shooter who’s making waves at Paris 2024 and winning hearts all over the world (Photo: Instagram/@ k_yeji92)
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Born in Danyang in North Chungcheong Province of South Korea, the savage-looking shooter is 31 years old. While she has appeared in other shooting competitions such as the ISFF World Cup and the 2024 Asian Shooting Championships in Jakarta, this is her first appearance at the Olympics, making her a first-time Olympian.
As confident as she looks
Above The Olympics’ breakout star and internet darling Kim Ye-ji (Photo: Instagram/@ k_yeji92)
The Olympics’ breakout star and internet darling Kim Ye-ji (Photo: Instagram/@ k_yeji92)
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Her sharp skills, impassive demeanour, and street-style-inspired runway look oozes confidence but it doesn’t stop there. Kim is as confident as she looks. After setting the world record in the women’s 25m air pistol event and bagging gold at the 2024 ISSF World Cup, she told Yonhap News reporters that there was “nothing to improve” before Paris 2024.
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“I don’t feel any pressure at all,” she told reporters. “My confidence comes from a reason. It’s confidence based on a foundation.”
A softie underneath that swag
Above Kim Ye-ji and her lucky charm, a stuffed toy elephant from her daughter (Photo: Instagram/@ k_yeji92)
Kim Ye-ji and her lucky charm, a stuffed toy elephant from her daughter (Photo: Instagram/@ k_yeji92)
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Hundreds of posts from her Sunday performance continue circulating online, with people complimenting her outfit and ‘aura’, but underneath that swag and behind her stone-cold glare, Kim is a softie. At the Paris 2024 event, fans noticed a grey-trunked, pink-eared stuffed toy elephant that hung from her pocket like a lucky charm. It was later revealed that the plush toy was a gift from her five-year-old daughter.
No competition, just teamwork
Above Kim Ye-ji and Oh Ye-jin at the Paris 2024 women's 10m air pistol event (Photo: Instagram/@ k_yeji92)
Kim Ye-ji and Oh Ye-jin at the Paris 2024 women's 10m air pistol event (Photo: Instagram/@ k_yeji92)
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At Paris 2024, Kim finished with silver in the women's 10m air pistol event, behind her 19-year-old Korean compatriot and teammate Oh Ye-jin, who took the gold. After their podium finish, Kim told the Associated Press, “She is like my youngest sibling, and I always want to care for her and always be there for her. So, when she won the gold medal, I was extra happy,” she said, adding that she didn’t view Oh, who’s her roommate in the Olympic Village, as her rival.
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“This is a big stage, the Olympics, and we won the gold and silver,” Kim said. “When we won these medals, we were so proud we are Koreans. I thought it did not matter who won the gold.”
Kim will next compete in the qualifying round of the 25m pistol event on Friday, August 5, 2024.
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Lainey was the Digital Director of Tatler Malaysia. When not whiling away the hours watching documentaries, the latest K-drama, or reruns of Friends, she can be found indulging her wanderlust by stalking travel platforms or feeding her obsession with music. She loves animals, running, all things social media, a good conversation over coffee or soju or wine (often rambling on if nobody pulls the brakes on her), and is an avid fan of bursting-at-the-seams laughter.
