Cha Jun-hwan's Confession After Three Olympics: "For the First Time, I Started Asking Myself, 'Who Am I?'"

Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan, who has completed three Olympic Games, opened up about a change of heart.

Lifestyle magazine Singles released a photoshoot and interview featuring Cha, who starred as the cover model for its July issue.

In the newly released pictorial, Cha shed his signature boyish charm, showcasing a deeper maturity and a new appeal. In particular, after successfully completing the grand stage of three Olympic Games, his excitement and solid inner strength as he stands before a new chapter in life were fully evident.

The boy who spent 10 hours a day fiercely on the ice from opening to closing has now, after going through PyeongChang, Beijing, and Milano, finally begun to look back on himself. In the interview conducted alongside the photoshoot, Cha revealed his candid side as someone opening a new chapter.

Through this interview, Cha calmly looked back on his time on the national team, which he carried for 11 long years across three Olympics: PyeongChang, Beijing, and Milano. "After crossing the great mountain that was Milano, I think I've become able to take care of myself and found some peace of mind," he shared, opening up about his change of heart.

He confessed that lately, for the first time, he has begun asking himself questions, having previously only thought about training and results on the ice. The confession of "human Cha Jun-hwan"—who has finally become curious about what his hobbies are, what makes his heart flutter, and what kind of person he wants to be in 10 years—evokes a touching feeling.

In fact, his beginning was not on the ice, but in front of the camera. He started skating with a light heart during his days as a child actor, thinking it might help with his roles. However, he fell in love with the freedom of the footprints carved on the ice, and after spending 10 hours a day falling and staying on the ice, he suddenly found himself as a national athlete representing South Korea.

Cha picked three moments as turning points that changed his figure skating life. The first was the moment he boldly gave up his child acting career to choose the path of an athlete, and the second and third were the PyeongChang Olympics and the Milano Olympics, respectively. "After experiencing PyeongChang, I felt the desire to do well for the first time. I worked hard before, but wanting to do well is different," he said, pointing out the catalyst for his growth. From that point on, Cha began constantly asking himself what he truly wanted and reflecting it in everything from the music selection to the detailed direction of his choreography.

It was not a smooth journey. Just one or two months before the recent Milano Olympics, an unexpected injury struck and troubled him. Honestly, it was hard to expect him to regain perfect form in just a single month, but Cha silently endured that painful time and finally poured everything he had onto the ice. At the subsequent Harbin Winter Asian Games, instead of the pressure of scores or results, he set his top priority as the mindset of "focusing only on myself." "Harbin was the first moment where that felt possible, and that's why it was good," Cha said, conveying his much calmer state of mind.

Never stopping new challenges, Cha is currently preparing for a new transformation on the ice, playing the lead role of Sung Jin-woo in the musical ice show "Solo Leveling on Ice."

[Photo: Singles]

Reporter Kang Seon-ae

(SBS Star Reporter Kang Seon-ae)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.