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Figure skater-turned-idol Sunghoon reflects on his past after attending event

Published: 09 Feb. 2026, 10:56 Updated: 09 Feb. 2026, 18:56

Sunghoon, a member of the K-pop boy band Enhypen and a former figure skater, listens to a question during a media availability at the Main Press Centre for the Winter Olympics in Milan on Feb. 8. [YONHAP]

Former figure skater and current K-pop star Sunghoon was transported back to his athletic past Saturday night here in northern Italy, where he attended an Olympic figure skating event for the first time.

Sunghoon, a member of the boy group Enhypen, watched the men's short program in the team event at Milano Ice Skating Arena, where Korean Cha Jun-hwan took the ice.

Sunghoon, 23, grew up training with the 24-year-old Cha, and seeing him compete in the Olympics made Sunghoon nervous as if he himself were skating.

"I don't even know why I got nervous, but I did," Sunghoon said Sunday in a media availability at the Main Press Centre in Milan. "There was also a part of me that missed figure skating. Feeling the vibes inside the arena took me back in time. It was great to see Jun-hwan skate, and I was really impressed."

Sunghoon enjoyed a solid figure skating career, taking his talent to music. He won consecutive silver medals in the junior men's singles at the Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy in 2016 and 2017, and also competed at two International Skating Union Junior Figure Skating Grand Prix events.

Although Cha botched his double axel jump and settled for only 83.53 points to rank eighth among 10 athletes, Sunghoon said he still liked what he saw.

"I am a dancer myself now, and I think he created such beautiful harmony with his skating and his choreography," Sunghoon said. "I think I learned so much from his performance."

Sunghoon said he snuck out for some skating sessions at a local rink back home in his early days as a K-pop idol, and he had a lot of fun every time on the ice.

"Last night, I was down on the ice level for the countdown, and once I got a closer look at the ice, I felt like I wanted to be out there skating too," he said. "I pictured myself on the ice and tried to imagine what it'd be like to be there."

Yonhap