CHICAGO (STMW) — Before last week, Tae Ki Choi never paid much attention to figure skating.
But on Thursday night, the 29-year-old Skokie man took in every spin, triple lutz and double axel executed flawlessly by fellow South Korean Kim Yu-Na to bring home the Asian nation’s first figure-skating gold medal in Olympic history.
“Most Americans don’t know about Korea. They know about brands like Samsung, but then they’re not sure if it’s Korean,” Choi said. “But they know she is from Korea. She is a trademark for Korea.”
The honor has united Koreans across the globe, he said.
When Kim accepted her medal for her record-breaking performance, Choi, a student at Illinois Institute of Technology, got a call from his parents in Korea in celebration.
“It’s awesome,” said Choi, who works at Nak Won Korean Bakery, 3746 W. Lawrence.
North Park University student Soojin Lee, 22, who immigrated to Chicago only a few months ago, called Kim Yu-Na’s historic triumph “amazing.”
“She was under a lot of pressure. It was so emotional,” said the intern at the Chicago Korean American Chamber of Commerce.
“I was so moved. I was so proud of her. She’s my hero. I love her, ” said Lee.
Suok Kim, 52, who works with Choi, said Kim Yu-Na exceeded expectations.
“They expected her to do well, but when she ended up doing really well, it felt really great,” he said.
Others Korean Americans said they were nearly moved to tears watching “Queen” Yu-Na — a 19-year-old phenom who enjoys a frenzied rock-star status in her country. Some, pleasantly shocked with the victory, immediately jumped on the Internet to verify Kim’s high score and glimpse the wild elation that pulsated thousands of miles away.
“I knew she was going to win the gold,” Kathy Kim, 42, of Hanover Park, said Friday as she served customers at the Big Pho restaurant, 3737 W. Lawrence.
“I’m really proud of her and really proud . . . because I’m Korean,” she said.
Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services