Kim Yeji of Team Republic of Korea (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

 

Even as big tech works to limit the reach of competitive shooters and shooting enthusiasts on most platforms (i.e. Facebook, Instagram and YouTube), CNN, a typically anti-gun news outlet, surprisingly gushed in a recent article over the meteoric rise of South Korean Olympic shooter Kim Yeji, who has captured the hearts of social media users worldwide. Yeji, a 31-year-old sharpshooter, has become a sensation following her impressive performance at the Paris Olympics thus far and an earlier viral video from a competition in Azerbaijan.

“She’s impossibly cool, casually breaks world records and is the internet’s latest darling. And while her cap and futuristic glasses are merely functional accoutrements in the world of competitive shooting, they wouldn’t look out of place on a street style-inspired runway,” CNN reported, capturing the essence of Yeji’s unique appeal.

Yeji won silver in the 10-meter air pistol event on Sunday, trailing just behind her 19-year-old teammate Oh Ye Jin, who took home the gold. However, it was a video from May, showing Yeji in action in Azerbaijan, that catapulted her to internet stardom. The clip, which has amassed more than 7 million views on X, showcases her “steely determination and distinctive style.”

In the video, Yeji sports a backwards cap and shooting glasses, a combination that looks straight out of a sci-fi movie according to CNN. Her focused demeanor and precision were highlighted as she set a new world record, barely reacting to her achievement. The clip ends with her flipping up her glasses’ lens, staring directly into the camera and then glancing at a nearby screen with an impassive look.

Yeji’s recent performance in Paris also generated significant online buzz. Images of her competing in a black Fila jacket, Sauer shooting shoes and with a stuffed toy elephant hanging from her pocket were widely shared. One particularly popular photo shows Yeji leaning back with one hand on her hip and the other holding a pistol, her ponytail flicking out from her cap. This image, shared by the X account Women Posting W’s, was captioned, “the most aura I have ever seen in an image,” and has since garnered over 368,000 likes.

Even Elon Musk, the owner of X, chimed in, suggesting that Yeji “should be cast in an action movie.” Other posts celebrated her “main character energy” and affectionately referred to her as “mother,” a high compliment in internet culture.

Kim, a first-time Olympian, is set to compete in the qualifying round of the 25-meter pistol event on Friday. Her and Jin’s successes highlight South Korea’s perpetual strength in shooting, with the nation consistently winning medals in the sport at every Summer Olympic Games since 2000.

With seven of 15 competitive events in shooting completed thus far, the U.S. has yet to medal. Vincent Hancock, who is looking to win a fourth gold medal will get his chance Saturday should he qualify and compete in the Men’s skeet finals and possibly on Monday, should he make the mixed team skeet finals. Monday, Aug. 5 is the final day of shooting competition in the Olympics.

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31 COMMENTS

  1. Awesome. Let’s get her on a Wheaties box before some dude in a dress takes the spot.

    Has that orcish mentally ill man pounding the female Italian boxer into oblivion been posted on “Women Posting W’s” yet? Girlboss power queeeeeeeen 😍

    • The progressive left, supposedly champions of women’s rights, are destroying women’s sports. Take a 10th rate male and have himself declare he’s a female and he sets records in the women’s events.

      Still sporting male junk and he’s competing against women.

      • Democrats: putting women back in the kitchen one punch to the face at a time.

        They’ll trot out support for abortion as proof of supporting women but the reality of that is it just makes women into unproductive pleasure holes. The epitome of objectification. They also say to girls porn is empowering. The more dicks in your ass the more power you have queen.

        • All of the above, including aborting their children, will make them into broken people, if they aren’t already. More broken people will end up empowering Democrats. Why is secksually* grooming children so important to Democrats? It isn’t necessarily for pedo gratification. It’s part of a strategy for more power.

          *avoiding moderation

  2. The Turkish army dude who rolled up in a tshirt with no gear but his pistol is my new hero. I used to hate all the nonsense gear you had to sport in air rifle comps.

    • The 10m air rifle competitors almost need to be wheeled in on a trolley.

      I used to compete in the lower grades and it was a tough discipline.

      • competitive target shooting is demanding…not at all like the casual plinking we’re all used to…while I was decent at it..I didn’t find it all the pleasurable…you’re left arm virtually numb…the eyestrain from the glare..trying to put a .22 caliber bullet through a .22 sized hole…and the intense focus and concentration required…

  3. Eh, she’s cool but the 51 year old dude from Turkey in the T-shirt and hand in his pocket while shooting, with no special anything that got the silver was the most fun to watch. I get the feeling he has shot “Professionally” before.

  5. On a more serious note, legacy media and social media platforms getting their panties tied up in knots over air pellet shooting would be laughable if it wasn’t so sad. (Nothing could be more dangerous or frightening–and worthy of censoring–than a demure woman with a small stuffed elephant toy on her belt.

    • Well, the film A Christmas Story ought to have alerted us all to the dangers of air guns.

  6. “Yeji sports a backwards cap and shooting glasses, a combination that looks straight out of a sci-fi movie according to CNN.”

    how odd…some American gun owners do the same and CNN has called them “right wing extreamist” just for the same look.

    • Yes, you’ll never find me on the street with a backwards ball cap. For one thing I think it’s a stupid look. The bill is in front for a reason.

      On the other hand, when shooting I often reverse my cap. Because style is fine, but practicality and function is more important.

    • 1. Ball cap is about the most worthless “hat” ever produced. Only transitioned from the children’s game into widespread use when the US Army adopted it as Class B/fatigue cover (as is cheap to make).
      2. The silly french hat (the shinseki) which the Army has been wearing since 2001, is the index of totally worthless headgear.
      3. To stupid to know how to wear a ballcap are you?

  8. The airgun I plan on purchasing in the near future is a PCP in .457 bore. Over 600 ft lbs of muzzle energy, and is legal to hunt deer with in quite a few states.

    No powder, primer or brass needed. (Ya, I vill loook like Ahhnold after a few weeks with the 4500 psi hand pump, though… Yes, I know, buy a compressor..)

    Take that, you ammo seizing bastards…

      • Commercial bullets are available, but I have no problem firing up the lead pot and rolling my own, including passing them through a lube – sizer.

    • I have a number of air guns, both pistols and rifles. I got them just so I could plink at targets off my deck without disturbing others up where I live. It’s a rural area and my nearest neighbors are over a hundred yards away, but I just think it’s rude to discharge firearms near an inhabited area.

      • Very nice I just never saw that particular size for air rifle or anything firearm before. Assuming the weight is something akin to typical light 45-70 options that could see all kinds of fun depending on velocity.

  16. How about the divorced 51 year old Turkish cat fancier who took silver just rawdogging the event in a t-shirt and normal glasses?

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