Happy Birthday, Yuna

Photo from Newsen

Sending sincere birthday wishes to Yuna Kim, who really needs all the support she can get right now. For the past several weeks, Yuna has been the center of a controversy regarding her parting ways with coach Brian Orser, which hasn't been mentioned in the media in a positive light.
Athletes change coaches all the time, so what's the big deal, you might ask? In a country where the coach/teacher - pupil relationship is considered important and loyalty is revered, the fact that Korea's top sports star whom the nation adored and admired ended that relationship so tumultously is quite unsettling. It's like watching your favorite couple go through a messy divorce.
It was a split that was met with dismay by the fans. After all, Yuna & Orser were the "Fantastic Duo" that grabbed the Olympic Gold at the beginning of the year. Many were counting on a repeat or even a threepeat of this feat. Many feel that it was with Orser's vision and coaching that Yuna could reach the levels that she did. So what happened?
Nobody really knows, which is why the whole issue blew out of proportion. Press releases from both parties becomes a messy he said-she said situation, but then there are stories that you hear outside of the press and it gets even more confusing.
It's a closeknit industry. You know people who know people. People who know that there is more to the story than what is being said. Rumours fly. They're not easy to ignore, not easy to believe. The word through the grapevine is that the split wasn't totally Yuna's own personal decision but more her management's (i.e. her mother's), but this is just speculation. No one but the people directly involved know what's going on. All that outsiders can do is guess and speculate, and feel bad about the whole thing.

So it is with a aching heart that many fans send their birthday wishes to Yuna this year. All the more poignant because the DVD of Discovery channel's documentary on Yuna was released in time to celebrate.
I'm plugging this simply because I think Yuna needs a whole lot of love and support right now, and not only in the times of glory.

Hip Korea, Yu-Na Kim : Seoul Spirit

The DVD is available on Korean sites Interpark, Yes 24, Kyobo book, Aladin; Innolife (Japan), and Yes Asia (rest of world?).