Viral South Korean Olympic shooter Kim Yeji lands first acting role – as a hitman | South Korean Olympic team

South Korean pistol shooter Kim Yeji, whose skills and nonchalance took the internet by storm at the Paris Olympics, has landed her first acting role: as a hitman.

The 32-year-old won silver in the women’s 10m air pistol event in July and her ultra-calm demeanour, combined with her wire-rimmed glasses and baseball cap, made her a global online sensation.

When videos of her shooting went viral, she received praise from celebrities including Elon Musk. “She should be cast in an action movie. No acting required!” Musk wrote on his social media platform X at the time.

Now she will play a hitman in “Crush”, a short-form spin-off series of the global film project “Asia”, a spokesperson for Seoul-based entertainment company Asia Lab told AFP on Friday.

Kim will star opposite Indian actress and influencer Anushka Sen, the company said in a separate statement. The company said it was excited to witness “the potential synergy that will emerge from Kim Yeji and Anushka Sen’s new transformation into a formidable duo.”

Since winning silver, a short clip of Kim at the World Championships in Baku in May went viral, spawning fan art, endless memes and multiple edits, catapulting the clip to K-pop status.

Kim signed a contract with a South Korean agency in August that helped her organize her extracurricular activities. She has since appeared in a photoshoot for a Louis Vuitton magazine.