[Exclusive] DBSK Yunho’s Skating Partner Claudia Muller Shares Her Experience from “Kiss and Cry”

(Claudia Muller, the skating partner of DBSK’s Yunho, from SBS skating audition show, “Kim Yuna’s Kiss and Cry” sent Soompi a special letter to share her expererience working with Yunho on the show! Enjoy the article!)

Hi, everyone, I am Claudia Muller from SBS Yuna Kim’s “Kiss and Cry.” I am on the Korean National Skating team and now being trained for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. These days our season has almost ended and the whole skating team is getting ready for the upcoming training camp in early May. I just wanted to make use of this short break to look back at my experiences on “Kiss and Cry” and share some experiences that changed my perspective on skating and life in general.

It’s already been almost half a year since the last filming of the program. Since then, all the cast members are back doing their own schedule – whether it is spending your whole day in your skates, or practicing for your next album in the recording studio. Everybody is back to their busy lives, and contact between our “Kiss and Cry” family has lessened. That is why I wanted to write this story as a way to remember the fun (yet tiring) times spent on ice with fellow skaters, entertainers, and the oh-so-caring staff members.

I remember when I was first cast to be part of a variety program that would be hosted by the legendary (and still legendary) Yuna Kim. Kim virtually is the Abraham Lincoln to young Korean skaters. As a past member of the Korean Junior Skating team and now a reserve for the senior team, I’ve always looked up to her, on and off the ice. Even though I was worried about the effect it would have on our busy training schedule, I was more than excited to join the reality show.

After my first filming, when I was picked by DBSK’s Yunho as his skating partner, I honestly did not know what I was doing. Yes, it’s true – I did not know much about DBSK and not even much about K-Pop before I met Yunho oppa. But from the looks of my skater friends, it seemed like a big deal (my close friends are DBSK maniacs). I wasn’t sure if this would be a good choice, as the Korean Skating Championships were coming up, and the Korean Sports Association was investing a lot into junior teams to train for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Before our first practice, I saw Yunho oppa’s 1^st skating performance (which still is a big BRAVA) and it gave me huge expectations. But as some of you know, our first few performances weren’t as great as people expected it to be. But through our relentless practice, and especially Yunho oppa’s superb work ethic even during his intense concert schedules, we were able to grow as a team. We pulled it through with some exciting performances, but as the show went on, it just became impossible to fit all the training and filming into Yunho’s busy schedule – eventually forcing us to “drop out” of the program. But at the end of the day, I still felt thankful for this amazing opportunity and it kept on hitting me how big an experience this was for me. After the program, I was even picked to be trained for ice dancing, partly because of my performances on “Kiss & Cry.”

During the program, I met a group of hard-working, caring staff members and celebrities. I even met some people who I really miss right now. Some of them are f(x)’s Krystal, Jihee, Kyou Hyouk Lee, and last but not least, Yunho oppa. Some might only see him as a charismatic star on stage, but he is also a very caring man with a warm heart. I said this in the German newspaper once too, but he is really one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He always tried to get closer, and even though it was his first time on the ice, he worked extremely hard, which led to tremendous improvement during such a short span of time. I could see why he became part of DBSK after practicing with him, and he gave me so many lessons as a person. As I saw him improve, I looked back at myself and tried to learn from him. In fact, his encouraging words after the program are still driving me to do my best at whatever I do. I normally am not the type of person to say this, but if you’re ever reading this, Yunho oppa, thank you.

Even now, when I see his name or SM Town on the news, I feel amazed. I truly admire their hard training, which is similar to my training. Both entertainment trainees and junior figure skaters sacrifice a normal life schedule since elementary school (and for most skaters, since they are 3 or 4 years old). It’s a rough path that you need to give literally everything into that specific moment. You don’t have the leisure or the time to think and look back at what you have done till now, because it’s just too late to give up.

I hope this message could perhaps help people who are unsure about their dreams, or have no idea what do with their life. The message I want to bring across is to give everything you have into the present—and that’s what I learned the most from the training experience with Yunho. Don’t worry about the uncertainties of tomorrow, or the mistakes of yesterday. I hope everyone reading this could take this message with them, to their normal everyday schedules, whether that is going back to finish your math homework, or going to your piano lesson to play Chopin. If you’re going to play it, why not give it your best?

Thank you everyone who read this, and especially to Soompi, for giving me this exciting opportunity to write here. And people from “Kiss & Cry,” thank you.

Questions and comments are always welcome, and my twitter is @claudiamules.

Thanks to everyone who supported “Kiss & Cry,” and I ask for your everlasting support for the Korean Skating Team and K-Pop.

A Korean-Swiss girl who likes ice-cream,

Claudia