Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan, who appeared on ‘Radio Star’, shares his thoughts on starting a new challenge as the first male figure skater to sign a salary contract with a professional team.He mentions that he recently joined Seoul City Hall and says, “This is my first experience as an athlete.”

MBC ‘Radio Star’ (planned by Kang Young-sun / directed by Kim Myeong-yeop, Hwang Yoon-sang, Byun Da-hee)broadcast on the afternoon of the 26th will be decorated with a special feature titled ‘Doing Business is Easy, I’m Going to Die! ‘featuring Lee Bong-won, Hong Seok-cheon, Cha Jun-hwan, and Kang Ji-young.

Cha Jun-hwan is a star athlete who is writing a new history in Korean male figure skating.He won the gold medal in the men’s singles event at the 2025 Harbin Winter Asian Games, becoming the first Korean male figure skater to reach the top of the Asian Games.He also won a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships, recording his best performance ever on the world stage.He also won a gold medal at the 2022 Four Continents Championships, and has established himself as a world-class athlete by consistently winning medals at various international competitions.



Cha Jun-hwan reveals his relationship with Hong Seok-cheon, who calls him a “figure jewel” and shows his fandom.When Hong Seok-cheon says, “I appeared on ‘Las’ because I’m a fan of Cha Jun-hwan,” Cha Jun-hwan playfully expresses his disappointment by saying, “He follows his figure skating colleagues but not me,” causing an explosion of laughter.Hong Seok-cheon then explains why he couldn’t follow him, and the scene is filled with laughter at the two’s tiki-taka.

Next, Cha Jun-hwan reveals the biggest crisis of his career as an athlete.He says, “I couldn’t compete properly last year because of an ankle injury,” and surprises the studio by revealing his real wounded foot.He confesses, “There was a competition where I ended up withdrawing,” and also talks about his efforts for rehabilitation and return.

Cha Jun-hwan also mentions his height.”180cm is a disadvantage for a figure skater,” he says, explaining that he has difficulty with rotation and balance.However, he laughs and says that even this is okay for a special reason, surprising everyone.

He also explains why he is called the ‘expressionless gold medalist’.When asked about the reason why he was indifferent when the gold medal was confirmed, he said in a serious tone, “At that moment, I thought it was already out of my hands,” and the MCs were amazed, saying, “He really has a world class mentality.”

Meanwhile, Cha Jun-hwan also makes people laugh by revealing the behind-the-scenes story of his ‘flirting meme’, which became a hot topic due to his gaze and expression towards the judges during the match, as well as his ‘quadruple salchow’, a four-rotation technique known as his cheat key.

You can see the unexpected charm of Cha Jun-hwan, who is full of sincerity, seriousness, and love for figure skating, on ‘Radio Star’ that airs today(the 26th)at 10:30 PM on Wednesday.

Reporter Yoonna Choi com Donga.com yyynnn@donga

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.