South Korean Shooter Kim Ye-ji Wins the Internet With Her Cool Glasses & Daughter’s Soft Toy

South Koreans are no strangers to stylish glasses.

After all, popular luxury eyewear brand Gentle Monster hails from Seoul.

It should therefore come as no surprise when South Korean Kim Ye-Ji drew admirers for her “aura” as she shot her way to silver while sporting a stylish set of shooting glasses during the Paris Olympics.

South Korean Shooter Kim Ye-ji Wins the Internet With Her Cool Glasses & Daughter’s Soft Toy

Clad in an all-black tracksuit with a futuristic looking pair of shooting glasses, Kim Ye-Ji would have looked more at home in a Sci-Fi film than at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre, the venue for the women’s 10-metre air pistol final on July 28.

Even X CEO Elon Musk shared the same sentiment in his response to a post sharing her record-breaking performance for the 25-metre pistol event at the World Cup earlier in May: “She should be cast in an action movie. No acting required!”

 

Kim went viral when X account Women Posting W’s posted a picture of Kim lining up a shot, hailing it “the most aura I have ever seen in an image.”

Other X users have likened her to Japanese manga characters, like Satoru Gojo, and drawn comparisons to Hollywood assassins Jason Bourne, John Wick and Robert McCall. Now I know who to call if I had a hit to make.

Kim’s aura does not end with her glasses.

And unlike the average shooter who keeps their non-shooting hand in their pocket, Kim spotted a silver ring and an elephant plushie said to belong to her five-year-old daughter.

Known for her cool and unflappable demeanour, Kim will be riding a wave of confidence into her pet 25 metre pistol event come 2 August as she seeks to build on her record-setting performance earlier in May.

Shooting Glasses

So, what’s with the shooting glasses?

Kim’s glasses are not just a fashion-statement. This cyborgian accessory is intended to aid shooters with their aiming.

The circular piece over Kim’s right eye contains the lens and a mechanical iris.

The lens is tuned to be a touch more powerful than a personal set of prescription glasses, to help the eye focus on the firearm’s iron sights over the target.

The drawback is that it makes the target less clear, so the mechanical iris, located behind the lens allows the shooter to adjust the depth of field to his own vision. He or she can do so by dialing a knob, which controls the amount of light available.

Over Kim’s left eye is a blinder, which also serves a similar purpose in restricting the amount of light entering the eyes. More importantly, it obscures the vision of the non-shooting eye and keeps the shooter free from distractions.

This explains why Kim has to flip the blinder up in order to check her scores after every round of shooting.

Hopefully, our MMRC can issue a set of these to us soon.