Kim Yu-Na - Public Life and Endorsements

Public Life and Endorsements

Among Kim's official sponsors are Kookmin Bank, Nike, Korean Air and Hyundai Motor Company. Her other endorsements include Anycall (mobile phone), Hauzen (air conditioner), Lac Vert (cosmetics), Maeil Dairies Co. Ltd (dairy products), Saffron (fabric softener), Tous Les Jours (bakery), J. Estina (jewelry) and Qua (apparel). Her skating music and other favorites were compiled in the album Yuna Kim ~ Fairy On ICE ~ Skating Music (Universal Music Korea, 2008).

Kim was the headliner of the ice show 2008, 2009 and 2010 Festa on Ice produced by her former agency, IB Sports. IB Sports produced another ice show, Ice All Stars 2009, which took place in Seoul on August 14–16, 2009. Michelle Kwan, who is Kim's idol and one of the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history, joined the ice show.

In April 2010, Kim left IB Sports and set up her own agency called All That Sports Corp. (AT Sports) with the support of her mother. They organized an ice show, All That Skate.

Kim has appeared in many commercials in South Korea. Her commercial for a new touchscreen haptic phone from Samsung Electronics, dubbed as Yuna's Haptic (SPH-W7700), sold over one million devices in a record seven months. The "Yuna's Haptic" cell phone, released in May 2009 sold over 550 thousand devices in the first 80 days of sales. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Forbes magazine named Kim, along with American snowboarder Shaun White, as the top-earning athletes participating in the Olympics with $7.5 million each to their name. In August 2010, Forbes magazine listed her as one of the highest-paid female athletes in the world, with annual earnings of $9.7 million.

Kim has worked in several projects as a singer. She recorded a duet with K-pop singer Lee Seung-gi to collaborate on "Smile Boy", the 2010 Football World Cup commercial song. She also sang with Korean band Big Bang on the single "Shouts of Reds" created for the Korean World Cup soccer team. Kim has also performed songs by Korean pop singers Taeyeon from Girls' Generation, IU, Narsha and BoA on the television show Kim Jung Eun's Chocolate.

Kim was named as an ambassador for the 2010–2012 Visit Korea Year. Kim has been rated as one of the world's most influential people in 2010 by TIME. In July 2010, Kim was named international UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She was also named an ambassador for the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit alongside actress Han Hyo Joo and soccer player representative Park Ji-Sung.

In August 2010, in honor of Kim's visit, the city of Los Angeles designated August 7 as "Yu-Na Kim Day" and granted her honorary citizenship. She also received the "Proud Korean Award" from the Korean American Leadership Foundation in the city on the same day as Sammy Lee, the two-time Olympic gold medalist in men's diving in 1948 and 1952.

In September 2010, Kim was invited to the United Nation's New York headquarters to mark the annual International Day of Peace celebration in capacity of UNICEF International Goodwill Ambassador. She joined the ceremony alongside high level UN officials including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Goodwill Ambassadors representing other branches of the United Nations. There, she advocated peace messages from UNICEF.

In October 2010, Kim and her management All That Sports debuted 2010 All That Skate LA, a US version of their highly successful Korean ice show brand, All That Skate, at Staples Center, Los Angeles. The show, which was directed by renowned Canadian choreographer David Wilson and boasted an impressive all-star cast, including the five-time world champion Michelle Kwan, the reigning Olympic champions from three skating disciplines including Kim, and many world champions, received rave reviews from both figure skating fans and critics for bringing a new style of skating show to the US and also for its overall high quality production.

Kim won the Sportswoman of the Year Award from Women's Sports Foundation on October 12, 2010.

On January 28, 2010, Kim published her book, Kim Yu-na's Seven-Minute Drama, about her experience with figure skating since the age of seven to the preparation of 2010 Winter Olympic in Vancouver. The Chosun Ilbo stated that the book "deals with her attempts to overcome her obstacles and to become the world's top figure skater." In addition to this book, she also wrote a book called Like Kim Yuna, published on March 30, 2010. This book targets younger readers.

Kim played a key role in South Korea's effort to win the rights to host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Kim was part of the Olympic Bidding Committee for PyeongChang, the Korean hosting city. The Korean committee members including Kim traveled to Durban, South Africa, where International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s decision for the hosting city was finalized on July 6, 2011. There, she fulfilled her role as Korean delegation by promoting PyeongChang as an athlete ambassador and an Olympic champion. Kim was one of the eight Korean delegates who appeared before the July 6th IOC conference and delivered a presentation for Pyeongchang, which won the hosting rights over other rival cities, Munich of Germany and Annecy of France. In October 2011, Kim was appointed a member of the Executive Committee of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games Organising Committee.

In January 2012, IB Sports agreed to pay her 800 million won ($698,000) in arrears.

In early 2012, Kim began appearing in a series of commercials for Hite Beer, one of the most popular beers in Korea. Her appearances were criticized by the Korean Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (KAAP) and Oh Young-jin the Managing Editor of The Korea Times due to the fact that she is considered to be an important role model for young people and should not be promoting the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

In June 2012, Kim filed a libel suit against a professor who described her practice teaching assignments as performances.

In June 17, 2012, Kim took part in Artistry On Ice in China and Li Sheng, president of SECA, the host of Sunday's show, said it took two years to lure Kim. And added "It's a breakthrough in Artistry on Ice, and even in China's figure skating history, although she only took part in the Shanghai stop."

Kim has stated that she hopes to become a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after the 2014 Sochi Games.

Read more about this topic:  Kim Yu-Na

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