This South Korean sharpshooter won a silver medal. Then Elon Musk helped her go viral

A day after Kim Ye-ji won a silver medal in the 10-meter air pistol event at the Paris Olympics, she learned that the internet had decided she was the coolest shooter on the planet.

Driving the sensation was a video of the 31-year-old South Korean casually setting a world record in May while wearing a black cap turned backward, sci-fi-esque shooting glasses and a pink elephant doll tied at her hip. The clip inspired fan art, video montages and a suggestion from Elon Musk on X that she should star in an action movie.

She was a heavy favorite for gold in the 25-meter event, but an error in the qualifying round — she failed to get her shot off in the required three-second window — cost her a trip to the finals.

The Times spoke with Kim over Zoom from Paris about her sudden viral fame and the joys and frustrations of her Olympic debut. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did you first find out you had become famous online?

I’m not very active on social media. I only have six or so posts on Instagram and I didn’t have a Twitter account, so I didn’t find out until much later.

We were having a team dinner the day after my 10-meter final and my 25-meter pistol coach said, “Ye-ji, I saw you became a world star.” Then someone said Elon Musk had given me a shout-out.

After that, I started to make my way through all the posts and Instagram DMs. I have so many backed up right now because I’m a very slow typer.

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What were some of your favorite reactions?

There were a lot of messages saying that they learned a lot from me, that my mind-set gave them hope. And then others saying that they were inspired to try shooting because of me.

I was really touched because I was actually very anxious. So I was really encouraged by how many people messaged me to tell me that my interview gave them courage.

You mean the interview where you laughed off your loss in the 25-meter qualifiers? 

Yes. I said that just because I shot a zero doesn’t mean the world will end.

I really do believe that. I wanted to tell people that, whatever sad or demoralizing thing happens today, the sun will rise again tomorrow and all of that other stuff can go into the history books. I truly believe words have power, so I always try to tell myself positive things. It’s like brainwashing or hypnotizing myself.

But some people got upset by my reaction because they saw it as a sign that I wasn’t taking the Olympics seriously.

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Can you walk us through that moment where you failed to fire within the three-second window? Is that a common occurrence in the sport? What happened there?

I’ve made bigger mistakes earlier in my career. You’re supposed to check to make sure your pistol has discharged the empty cartridge after each shot, but I failed to do this correctly a few times back when I was still learning the 25-meter event. I once missed three out of five shots because of it.

But this was the biggest mistake I made since joining the national team. I got greedy because I wanted to get the shot off just right. It turned out I’d missed my shot by exactly 0.01 seconds.

After it happened, I was furious with myself.

The internet has been going crazy over that video of you setting the world record, especially your outfit and “killer aura” at the time. Can you tell us a little bit about your getup?

The eyepiece is common. Most shooters compete with a blinder on one eye to keep the muscles relaxed.

I’m not sure where the media heard that the elephant doll was a gift from my daughter, but that part isn’t true. It was actually a hand towel my coach gave me because our hands get greasy from loading cartridges into our pistols. It’s a very practical piece of equipment.

Same with the hat. I wear it to keep my hair out of my face. I wear it forward when the lights are too bright but otherwise backward because it helps keep my eyepiece in place.

One of the most striking things about the video was how impassive you looked after breaking a world record.

I checked the score and I knew I’d broken the world record. But my reaction at the time was more like, “Good. That’s done. Now let’s get ready for the next one.”

Shooting is a very niche sport, especially in South Korea. How did you get into it?

I started when I was in sixth grade. Our gym teacher at the time was also the shooting team coach, which I didn’t know at first. Then one day he told the class, “Who wants to shoot a gun? Raise your hand.” I was curious, so I raised my hand.

Later, at the range, I watched some of the older students practicing. They looked cool, so I told him I’d join the team.

He told me to get permission from my parents, but when I asked them, they were very much against it. But because I’m a very stubborn person, I refused to eat and cried for three days until they agreed.

From day one, I told myself I had to be the very best.

How were you so sure, especially at that age?

I was captivated by the pose and image of firing a pistol. I just really wanted to shoot one because it seemed fun. But it wasn’t just shooting itself that looked cool. I was drawn to the idea of a team working together toward a common goal.

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Was your aptitude for shooting immediately apparent? 

Yes, I was always told that I had a natural gift for it.

I’ve always been a very sleepy person, so I’d often take naps between sessions. And then when my coach would wake me up and say, “Go and break that record,” I’d wake up and shoot a ridiculously high score.

What is the most essential quality that makes a good shooter?

It would be composure and concentration. You have to be able to completely immerse yourself.

I saw in an interview with one of your coaches that you fired around 300 practice shots each day, compared with the average of 150. I think a lot of people might not be able to grasp what that’s like.

Shooting is a sport where you are focusing on one thing and performing the same action over and over again. Doing that 300 or 400 times a day has an interesting effect on you.

The biggest physical symptom is inflammation in your shoulder from lifting it up so much. But the more significant thing is the mental exhaustion. It’s enough to immediately pass out in bed at the end of the day.

I think anyone who’s done unskilled labor would be able to relate. It’s incredibly taxing mentally, but once you get into a flow and lose yourself, time flies. The fun and beauty of it lies in poring over the tiny details, and the feeling of the pistol recoiling into your hand.

Elon Musk floated the possibility of you starring in a movie. If a studio or producer were to offer you a cameo as a sharpshooter, maybe in a John Wick-style action flick, would you consider it? 

I haven’t given it much serious thought. I’ve gotten requests to appear on television already, but I don’t know. For the most part, I think I need to focus on my primary commitment, which is shooting. And I also feel that people want to see Kim Ye-ji the shooter, not another version of me.

But I’m still thankful to Elon Musk for helping bring shooting into the spotlight.

You’ve already said you’ve got your sights set on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. 

This Olympics feels like a turning point in my life. I realized that I still have so much I can improve. That is the single most meaningful takeaway for me this time.

Until now, I thought that I was a perfect shooter with absolutely no weaknesses to work on. And I think that’s part of the reason why I slipped up in the way that I did.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.