Perhaps I missed the international blog wave by a few months, but this chronicle would be incomplete without an entry about Yuna Kim (henceforth to be referred to in the order I'm used to: Kim Yuna).
For the vast majority of Americans, Kim Yuna is a name we can't recognize, much less identify. She is the 19 year-old Korean girl who won gold in the Vancouver Winter Olympics, beating out her only slightly more well-known Japanese rival Mao Asada.
Kim is a national celebrity here like nothing I've ever seen. Seoul is an extremely wired city, and gadgets are the name of the game. More so than in the states, TV on the cell phone has really taken root here. I happened to be out and about on the day that Kim Yuna was skating for the gold. I saw cars pull over in the already unusually empty streets to watch the action on their cell phones. Coffee shop employees had laptop wires running across the espresso machines: coffee stopped for the viewing of this program. Bus drivers, while still keeping on their route, refused to be the only ones on the bus not watching a cell phone. People clustered around TVs in windows, and everyone stopped talking. The third largest city in the world literally stood still for 6 minutes of figure skating.
The popularity of Kim Yuna is twofold. First, there's the enormous weight of being a country's sole representative to the international world. Among Korean people, there are only maybe 4 who have achieved any measure of notoriety outside the peninsula. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-mun, Manchester United team member Park Ji-Sung, and Korean pop star Rain (who has been part of a mock rivalry with comedy talk show host Stephen Colbert as well as star of several bad Hollywood movies) are the only other South Koreans that any one in the West has any real chance of knowing. Aside from that, Korea is always burdened with its negative association to Kim Jung-Il as well as hidden in the cultural and economic shadow of its number one rival Japan. Kim Yuna not only beat Mao Asada but also brings international attention to Korea, and therefore is practically royalty.
The other side of Kim's appeal is her personality. In a country where some of the biggest stars have been cast aside because they became recognized for bragging, bad-mouthing, or womanizing, Kim Yuna has managed to charm the nation with her innocence and humility. She is very respectful to the people who have helped her get this far and seems to disbelieve the success she's gotten. She has tasteful and conservative outfits, and her "signature" 007 move has swept the nation. The cynical American in me is quick to jump to the conclusion that she's just another pretty face, but Koreans will readily tell you that they don't think Kim Yuna is pretty at all. "Her eyes are much smaller than Mao Asada's."
In her short lifespan, she's managed to not only win medals and set records, but also land some of the most sought after advertising spots. In Korea, there are not many people whose faces you'll see more often than Kim Yuna's. There's a permanent advertising slot left open for the hottest girl and boy groups of the moment, but nothing comes close to the mountain of sponsors heaped on this girl. She's the Korean face of Nike, top cell phone provider Anycall, Hyundai motors, Hausen air conditioners, Smoothie King, numerous makeup products, Samsung, school uniform company Ivy Club, those softening dryer sheet things, local bakery chain Tous Les Jours, a brand called Everyday Milk, Kookmin (citizens') Bank, and Whisper feminine products, to name what I can think of. You can basically see her everywhere you go, all of the time.
You can currently buy the Yuna "Be White" smoothie (not as racist as it sounds), the pink Yuna Haptic smart phone, or bite into the only bagel with a name branded on it. Can you think of another human in history who has been so idolized that their names were burnt into pastries? Interesting fact about Kim Yuna: she's officially a student at Korea National University, though I can't imagine it's anything more than another advertisement. How could she set foot on campus between the time constraints and the drooling fans?
For the vast majority of Americans, Kim Yuna is a name we can't recognize, much less identify. She is the 19 year-old Korean girl who won gold in the Vancouver Winter Olympics, beating out her only slightly more well-known Japanese rival Mao Asada.
Kim Yuna (center) with Asada Mao (right) and some white chick
Kim is a national celebrity here like nothing I've ever seen. Seoul is an extremely wired city, and gadgets are the name of the game. More so than in the states, TV on the cell phone has really taken root here. I happened to be out and about on the day that Kim Yuna was skating for the gold. I saw cars pull over in the already unusually empty streets to watch the action on their cell phones. Coffee shop employees had laptop wires running across the espresso machines: coffee stopped for the viewing of this program. Bus drivers, while still keeping on their route, refused to be the only ones on the bus not watching a cell phone. People clustered around TVs in windows, and everyone stopped talking. The third largest city in the world literally stood still for 6 minutes of figure skating.
Some of the commercials featuring Kim Yuna
The popularity of Kim Yuna is twofold. First, there's the enormous weight of being a country's sole representative to the international world. Among Korean people, there are only maybe 4 who have achieved any measure of notoriety outside the peninsula. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-mun, Manchester United team member Park Ji-Sung, and Korean pop star Rain (who has been part of a mock rivalry with comedy talk show host Stephen Colbert as well as star of several bad Hollywood movies) are the only other South Koreans that any one in the West has any real chance of knowing. Aside from that, Korea is always burdened with its negative association to Kim Jung-Il as well as hidden in the cultural and economic shadow of its number one rival Japan. Kim Yuna not only beat Mao Asada but also brings international attention to Korea, and therefore is practically royalty.
In her short lifespan, she's managed to not only win medals and set records, but also land some of the most sought after advertising spots. In Korea, there are not many people whose faces you'll see more often than Kim Yuna's. There's a permanent advertising slot left open for the hottest girl and boy groups of the moment, but nothing comes close to the mountain of sponsors heaped on this girl. She's the Korean face of Nike, top cell phone provider Anycall, Hyundai motors, Hausen air conditioners, Smoothie King, numerous makeup products, Samsung, school uniform company Ivy Club, those softening dryer sheet things, local bakery chain Tous Les Jours, a brand called Everyday Milk, Kookmin (citizens') Bank, and Whisper feminine products, to name what I can think of. You can basically see her everywhere you go, all of the time.
Interesting read...if Kim Yuna retires..do you think her popularity will go down?
ReplyDeleteI believe that even if she were to retire, she has a long career ahead of her on Korean reality TV shows like Family Outing, followed by coaching if that's what she wants to do. I think the only conceivable way for her to lose popularity is to intentionally fade and become legend, or to bomb out in a series of embarrassing failures.
ReplyDeleteI can resist anything except temptation.
ReplyDelete