It’s been 30 days since the end of the 2024 Paris Olympics, but the afterglow still lingers. One athlete who has been busy conducting interviews with various media outlets is pistol shooter Kim Ye-ji, who won a silver medal at the Games. Below is an interview with her.

Kim Ye-ji, an athlete who gained worldwide attention for her outstanding skills and cool demeanor. (Photo courtesy of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee)

Q1. How did you start shooting in Korea, where it’s difficult to obtain guns?

Although Korea generally doesn’t allow gun ownership, there’s a well-established national system for fostering athletes in sports shooting in middle and high schools. My school also had a shooting club. When I was 14 years old, I accidentally came across the shooting club there. I thought the older students looked cool as they concentrated and shot together, so I started shooting from then on.

Kim in her trademark special glasses that block vision in one eye to help her take aim more accurately (Photo courtesy of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee)

Q2. The special glasses you wore during the competition attracted lots of attention. Could you talk about those glasses and the other equipment?

The left and right sides of the shooting glasses have different functions. The left side is a cover – it blocks one side of your vision when you shoot. The right side is an aperture that helps you focus more on the target. You can adjust the size of the aperture to focus. Besides the special glasses, we wear shooting boots for pistol shooting. For rifle shooting, we wear shooting jackets.

Q3. You’re known to train longer than other athletes. How do you usually manage your physical fitness?

When I was on the national team, I did physical training at set times. When I wasn’t on the national team, I did Pilates or yoga all the time. And I cycled to work every day. It takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes to 3 hours each way from the city of Jeonju to Imsil-gun County, where the shooting range is located. It wasn’t a short distance, but I think my physical fitness improved a lot thanks to cycling.

Q4. During the 25m event at the Paris Olympics, you gave your best even though a time disqualification left you with a score of zero. A lot of people were inspired by that. Could you say a few words to those who need encouragement?

If you’ve had a tough day and feel like giving up, I hope you can remember at least one happy moment from the day, like the little joys of seeing a beautiful sky while walking, eating a really good lunch or getting a nice phone call from your parents. I’d recommend that you prepare for tomorrow without giving up, while thinking about those little moments of happiness. That way, I’m sure you’ll find the strength to get through tomorrow.

Kim speaks at a press conference during the Paris Olympics. (Photo courtesy of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee)

Q5. In contrast to your appearance during competitions, your cheerful personality in everyday life is striking. It seems that it takes effort to maintain a positive attitude.

I wasn’t always this positive. In fact, I used to be very negative. But one day, before I went to bed, I had this thought. I realized that if I only think negatively, I end up speaking negatively, and as a result, the whole day becomes gloomy. So from that day on, I consciously tried to only think and speak about positive things. Then I found that even if something difficult or annoying happened, I could brush them off and the day would end on a good note. So from that day on, I’ve tried to approach everything with a positive attitude.

Q6. You looked like you were doing a scene in a movie when competing at the Olympics, and images of you went viral. If you get a movie offer, which of these two roles would you like to play?

A. A sniper who quietly takes out targets from rooftops or buildings.

B. A Special Forces agent who goes into the field and performs hand-to-hand combat missions.

Both the sniper and Special Forces agent roles sound fun. After all, they both involve shooting. If I were to in a movie, I’d just want a lot of people to enjoy watching it. I think it would be great if it could bring sport shooting to a wider audience.

Kim during training (Photo courtesy of Kim Ye-ji)

Q7. What’s the biggest attraction of shooting?

The main attraction of shooting is that you can be completely absorbed in it. Also, when you shoot, there’s a recoil when the bullet leaves the muzzle, and the thrill of that recoil is something special. I have complete control over it as well. Shooting really has a lot of appeal. I hope this opportunity will make shooting a popular national sport and give people more chances to experience it.

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Kim Ye-ji is loved for her surprisingly candid, friendly and offbeat personality as much as her exceptional skills and cold, calculating stare while competing. What made her who she is today were the unseen hours of training and her positive outlook. She remained sincere and friendly throughout the interview, bringing up a memorable trip she took to Viet Nam with her daughter and the kindness of the Vietnamese people. May Kim Ye-ji’s search for the good things in life serve her well at next year’s World Championships, the 2026 Asian Games and the LA 2028 Summer Olympics.