Junhwan Cha: “I focused on improving the quality of jumps to earn more bonus points. Now I believe it’s also important to increase the number of quads to get closer to my goal.”
Translation of the article and interview with Junhwan Cha.
source: v.daum.net dd. 25th April 2023 by Mihee Joo
It’s an old interview, it was made back in April 2023 but you may still find it interesting.
‘Walking this far, I feel like I’ve improved and grown a lot. Going through two Olympics, Pyeongchang and Beijing, it feels like I’ve found opportunities to change and grow as an athlete.’
Debuting on the world junior stage in 2016 as a young middle school student, Cha Junhwan (22) now stands tall as the ‘captain’ of Korean figure skating team, seven years later. While the women’s single skating received significant attention due to global star Kim Yuna, the men’s single skating was virtually a barren land. Cha Junhwan, who is paving the way for Korean male figure skaters at the Olympics and World Championships, has reached the peak in the 2022-23 season. He says, ‘I’m more satisfied with maintaining my motto of ‘steadily growing in my own way.’
Cha Junhwan, a former child actor, started figure skating at the age of 8. In his junior debut season in 2016, he showed a quadruple jump, rising as a prominent figure in Korean men’s single skating. As the first Korean male to win the Junior Grand Prix and win a bronze at the Junior Grand Prix Final, he was on a winning streak. However, after making his senior debut, he faced a slump in the 2020-21 season due to injuries.
Overcoming this, Cha Junhwan made a remarkable comeback by becoming the first Korean male athlete to win the Four Continents Championships last year, following the Beijing Winter Olympics, where he achieved a historic 5th place finish. At the World Championships, he made history again by delivering a ‘clean skate’ and securing a silver medal.
In a recent interview with, Cha Junhwan attributed his impressive performance to ‘physical training.’ He mentioned, ‘After the Beijing Olympics, which was a major event, I needed time to refocus for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics cycle. During that time, I made up my mind to improve my physique and work hard on training. Thanks to thorough preparation, I achieved better results as the season progressed.’
He wasn’t satisfied with his performance at the Beijing Olympics and spent a lot of time contemplating his direction afterward. Even after regular on-ice training, he voluntarily engaged in additional training, including running and fundamental physical workouts for an hour or two every day. Building enduring physical stamina while enhancing technical and artistic performance allowed him to deliver top-notch performances.
Earlier this month, Cha Junhwan led his teammates as the team captain in the ISU World Team Trophy, an official figure skating team competition organized by the International Skating Union (ISU), achieving the first-ever combined silver medal. In the short program, he became the first Korean skater to surpass 100 points (101.33 points), and with a near-perfect free skate performance, he claimed the top spot. This dramatic achievement placed Korea just one point ahead of Japan, securing the second position.
Starting figure skating by chance, Cha Junhwan has discovered the charm of a new character in his life.
Cha Junhwan recalled that he stumbled upon figure skating at the age of 8 by mere chance. However, he quickly fell in love with the sport. As of today, 15 years later, he believes the reason he can’t let go of figure skating is because it allows him to live the life of a character through his competition programs.
He said, ‘The biggest allure of figure skating, despite being a sport, is music accompaniation. As someone who has always been passionate about music, I tend to come up with many ideas when creating programs. The Michael Jackson medley and the James Bond movie series theme that I presented this season were chosen by me, and they incorporate many of my ideas.’
Similar to the protagonist of a pure-hearted comic or someone with the looks of an idol, Cha Junhwan possesses a strong inner character that goes beyond appearances. In the season leading up to the Beijing Olympics in 2020-21, he experienced a slump. The change in training environment due to COVID-19, as he entered South Korea from Canada, posed difficulties. All rinks in the Seoul metropolitan area were closed, and he had to travel to Gangneung and Pohang to practice. Additionally, he had to deal with injuries like herniated discs and calf muscle tears. Cha Junhwan himself acknowledged that it was a trying time.
However, Cha Junhwan’s outstanding performance at the Beijing Winter Olympics, where he secured a spot despite the difficulties, made him known on the world stage. He said, “I tend to think simply, perhaps? I focus only on what I need to do, especially during competitions,” explaining the key to overcoming his slump. Cha Junhwan added, “I prepared meticulously enough to say to myself that I practiced everything well ahead of this World Championships. In figure skating, even with perfect preparation, mistakes can happen, so I approached it with a mindset of trusting what I’ve done so far without overthinking,” he explained.
When asked about being among the world’s top athletes after winning a silver medal, he responded, “If you think of me that way, I am honored,” but seemed somewhat unsure. He added, “Achieving a good result at the World Championships was also a goal, and I was genuinely happy to accomplish it.”
Cha Junhwan’s eyes are already set on the 2026 Olympics. However, he has no intention of rushing things. He said, “I think it would be excellent to further develop the technical aspects. If I can improve my skating skills and other components to the same extent, I can get closer to my goal of winning a medal.”
In recent years, men’s singles figure skating has been characterized by the “quad jump war,” with the basic score itself being high for quadruple jumps, allowing skaters to secure as many points as possible. Recently, American sensation Ilia Malinin made headlines by successfully landing the quadruple axel, a jump involving four and a half rotations, for the first time.
Cha Junhwan expressed admiration for the skill of performing the quadruple axel, saying, “Using the quadruple axel technique is truly remarkable.” However, he explained that his program direction is slightly different. While executing the quadruple salchow and toe loop jumps, he said, “I have focused on improving the quality of jumps to earn more bonus points rather than increasing the number of quadruple jumps,” adding, “Now, I believe it’s also important to increase the number of jumps to get closer to my goal, so I continue to practice the quadruple flip jump.” He emphasized the importance of gradual progress without risking injury.
Even in moments of joy and difficulty, he expressed gratitude to his fans who always support him and promised to continue working hard to deliver performances that heal those who watch his competitions.
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