Olympic shooter Kim Ye-ji does Louis Vuitton photo shoot with Magazine W Korea

When Kim first received the offer for a photo shoot from Magazine W, she said the first asked herself, “Why me?”

“There are other gold medalists, but why would they contact me?” she told the magazine. “Why did Elon Musk mention me? I’m still curious about that. I’ve been the same person since I started shooting in middle school.”

Kim went viral after her remarkable performance in taking silver in the women’s 10-meter air pistol at the Paris Olympics. She became an Olympic sensation, getting listed in U.S. broadcaster NBC’s “Top 10 Stars to Watch” for the global sporting event last month.

Musk touted Kim on his social media platform X, replying to a post which contained a clip of Kim performing at a different sporting event, the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup held in May in Baku, Azerbaijan.

“She should be cast in an action movie,” Musk wrote. “No acting required!”

When asked about her decision to ascede to the photo shoot, Kim said that she wanted to promote herself and her sport.

“Olympic stars are put in the limelight and remembered by the public for a shorter time than one would think,” she said. “I thought that people would recognize shooting more as I show myself more in the media.”

The Olympic star wants to be remembered one of the best shooters, and aspires to be an overachiever who “goes beyond the past record or the person Kim Ye-ji I was before.”

Kim is currently in negotiations to appear in multiple broadcast interviews and shows, as well as to model in 20 advertisements for food, games and startups.

The shooter recently signed with agency Plfil on Aug. 19 to support her promotional activities.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]