Kim to deliver 'love letter to Korea'
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Olympic women's figure skating champion Kim Yu-na announced a new program for next season on Tuesday which her choreographer described as a "love letter" to her native Korea.
The program, to debut at the World Figure Championship in Tokyo in March, will feature a medley of Korean traditional music as well as an excerpt from the classical ballet Giselle, said Kim's agency AT Sports.
Among the music will be the popular Korean folk song Arirang.
"After the success of the Olympics, I thought now is the right time to give back to the people of Korea and to thank them for their enthusiastic support," Kim said.
Her choreographer, David Wilson, said the long program is "a homage to her home country, a love letter from Kim to Korea".
"It's Yu-na's gift and tribute to all of her fans and the country that showed her unwavering support throughout her career in competitive skating.
"I hope she can bring to attention to the world stage what is nearest and dearest to her heart ... and that is Korea."
On the choice of Giselle for the short program, Kim said "this is the first time that I chose ballet music for my program. I think it will be a great opportunity to show another side of me.
"I like the actual story of Giselle. I look forward to fully expressing the dramatic and lyrical interpretation of the music."
Kim, who won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, has not been skating competitively since the World Championship in March.
She has been training in California with Wilson and coach Peter Oppegard, with whom she teamed up in October after a split with her former coach, Canadian Brian Orser for reasons that have not been fully explained.
The figure skating champion dubbed "Queen Yu-na" in her home country was listed by Forbes magazine this year as one of the world's highest-paid female athletes with annual earnings of $9.7 million.
