Yuna Kim

After I watched her winning performance at the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010, I thought we would never be able to meet the better skating program than it for the rest of our remaining lives. Quite a few people all over the world didn't hesitate to declare her flawless free skating set to 'Gershwin Piano Concerto in F major' showed the ultimate level that the modern ladies figure skating can reach up to. Her skating was just perfect and precise in every detail throughout the program. Although the other ladies geared up to the gap going into the free skating, no one could not turn the tide all alone. After the free skating event, the gap between her and the others widened instead of being narrowed. Even the closest challenger's effort to catch her was appreciated but far from enough. Yes, there was no competition! It's not too much to say that she held a skating clinic for the ladies skaters in front of the global audience. You know who I am talking about. She is Yuna Kim dubbed as 'Queen Yuna' for her dominance and mastery in figure skating.

As the world watched her breathtaking free skate, Yuna set a new world record by a wide margin, which experts say will not be easily broken in the near future. As I wrote above, I thought it seemed unlikely we can see a skating program like this again. Even after I heard she announced her return to competitive skating, I didn't expect she could manage to reproduce such a level of perfection as she achieved three years ago. To my surprise, however, my pessimistic prediction was completely wrong, which I gladly accepted.

At the world figure skating championships in London, Ontario in last March, Yuna succeeded in deliver perfection once again. Her impressive performance to music from 'Les Miserables' at the Worlds enthralled its viewers. All the things about her skating remained the same: speed, jumps, intircate footwork, and effortlessness. What is more surprising, it was clearly evident that her artistry, charismatic presence on ice, and command of the skating vocabulary evolved with maturity over time. It has been said her only rival is herself, and this time she proved it single-handly once again. When I watched her 'Les Mis' at 2013 Worlds, I sat in complete, rapt silence, getting the goose bumps all over. I was like just "Wow!"

Pushing the limits is what Yuna Kim has been doing. Whenever people consider she's already reached a level with no room for further advancement, she demonstrates they are wrong: "For me, the best is yet to come." So I cannot imagine what she will bring to figure skating in the future, especially with less than one year ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi. It's not enough to say I am her fan. Yuna is my hero and great mentor in my life, for she inspires and motivates me to renew my resolve to keep on trying to improve each time I feel tempted to content with the status quo.

And I also love her face. But her beautiful face is a mystery to me because I think the two contrasting images coexist in her face. One is the innocence and purity of a frail girl who needs protection, and the other is the majesty and charisma as Ice Queen.