By Erin L. Cox
Last night in Vancouver, 19 year old Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na would skate a flawless program that would win her the gold medal. Voted Person of the Year in 2009 by The Korea Times, spokesperson for products from Nike to Hyundai, Yu-na is a star in Korea. Now, coming home with a gold medal in hand, Yu-na will now be elevated to an even larger international stage.
Last month, Yu-na published a collection of essays describing the intense pressure she feels as her country’s ambassador and the grueling training she undergoes to reach this level of skating . “Kim Yu-na’s 7 Minute Drama,” published by Joongang Media, is a look at the milestones in her life and gave Yu-na the chance to share her true feelings with her fans.
In the preface, Yu-na writes, “I wrote the book as if I was writing a journal. My thoughts became clearer and I started to believe in myself even more. I always thought I had so much to tell my fans and young skaters, and I’m happy that I finally got the chance.”
Now that she has won the gold medal and is the number one women’s figure skater in the world, will other countries vie for the rights to her memoir?