54 Facts About Cha Jun-hwan

Cha Jun-hwan represented South Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Cha Jun-hwan attended Whimoon Middle and High School and enrolled at Korea University as a Global Sport student in 2020.

Cha Jun-hwan has a brother who is four years older than him, and he speaks English fluently.

Cha Jun-hwan worked as a child actor, model, and ballet dancer before becoming a skater.

Cha Jun-hwan has since participated in public campaigns and endorsed commercial products such as clothing, healthcare, and cosmetics.

Cha Jun-hwan appeared on several shows and programs, including the music variety television show King of Mask Singer in June 2020, and the music festival SBS Gayo Daejeon, where he performed a cover dance on the stage and made a special appearance as a guest MC in December 2022.

Additionally, Cha Jun-hwan attended the 135th IOC Session as a member of delegation to host the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in January 2020, as well as the 103rd anniversary March First Movement ceremony as a reciter in March 2022.

Cha Jun-hwan placed fifth at the senior level at the 2014 Korean Championships.

Cha Jun-hwan performed a clean short program except for his flying camel spin, which got a level 2.

Cha Jun-hwan received 79.34 points, which put him in second place.

Cha Jun-hwan was the last skater in the free skate, placing first by scoring another personal best of 160.13 points, and set a new world record of 239.47 points for junior men's combined total score.

Cha Jun-hwan finished fifth at the 2017 World Junior Championships.

Cha Jun-hwan made his senior debut at age 15 as he was invited to two Grand Prix events.

Cha Jun-hwan then suffered a series of ankle and wrist injuries and finished ninth at 2017 Skate Canada.

Cha Jun-hwan withdrew from 2017 Skate America to focus on the second-round Olympic qualifying and the 2017 Ranking Competition.

Cha Jun-hwan finished second at the aforementioned event, but was 27.54 points behind the leader after the combined scores from the first and second rounds.

Cha Jun-hwan was selected to represent South Korea at the Olympic after overtaking the leader by 2.13 points with the combined scores from first through third rounds.

Cha Jun-hwan competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics Games in Pyeongchang at the age of 16, the youngest competitor in the men's event and the youngest male athlete in any sport on the South Korea team.

Cha Jun-hwan arrived late to the athletes' village after being quarantined due to the flu, but competed in the team event, finishing sixth in person and ninth as a team.

Cha Jun-hwan scored 165.16 in the free program and 248.59 for a total score, all personal bests, and a 15th place finish, the best Olympic result for a South Korean male skater.

Cha Jun-hwan was scheduled to compete at the 2018 World Junior Championships, but withdrew to recover from an injury.

Cha Jun-hwan began his season by winning the silver medal at the 2018 Autumn Classic, after placing second in the short program with 90.56 points and first in the free skate with 169.22, ahead of training mate Yuzuru Hanyu.

Cha Jun-hwan won the silver medal at the 2018 Finlandia Trophy with a total score of 239.19 points, behind Mikhail Kolyada.

Cha Jun-hwan then won a second bronze medal at 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki with a total of 243.19 points, making him the first-ever South Korean man to win two medals on the Grand Prix series.

Cha Jun-hwan concluded the Grand Prix series at the final, placing fourth in the short program and third in the free skate, with a season's best of 174.42 in the free skate and 263.49 for his total score.

Cha Jun-hwan is the first South Korean man to win a Grand Prix Final medal and the second-ever South Korean skater to do so since Kim.

Cha Jun-hwan placed second in the short program, winning a small silver medal.

Cha Jun-hwan struggled in the free skate, where six of his jumps were called underrotated.

Cha Jun-hwan placed eighth in the free skate and dropped to sixth place overall.

Cha Jun-hwan concluded his season at the 2019 World Figure Skating Championships.

Cha Jun-hwan placed eighteenth in both the short program and free skate to finish nineteenth overall.

Cha Jun-hwan was fourth overall in the competition after several jumps were called underrotated.

At his first Grand Prix assignment, 2019 Skate America, Cha Jun-hwan doubled his planned quad in the short program placing seventh.

Cha Jun-hwan earned a season's best in the short program despite underrotating his triple Axel attempt.

Cha Jun-hwan was assigned to compete at the 2020 Skate Canada International, but the event was cancelled as a result of the pandemic.

Cha Jun-hwan was assigned to Korea's lone men's berth at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm.

Cha Jun-hwan placed seventeenth in the short program but subsequently withdrew before the free skate due to boot problems.

Cha Jun-hwan rallied in the free skate, finishing second in that segment and rising to third overall for his second bronze medal of the series.

Cha Jun-hwan expressed pleasure at the result after disappointment on the previous day.

Cha Jun-hwan noted that he had been struggling in recent seasons, but was "happy" that his recent training had paid dividends.

Cha Jun-hwan finished second in the free skate, rising to second overall and winning the silver medal.

Cha Jun-hwan set a new personal best in the short program, coming second in the segment, and then won the free skate, helping the Korean team win the silver medal.

Cha Jun-hwan came sixth at the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial in his first competitive appearance of the season, before winning the silver medal at the Shanghai Trophy.

Cha Jun-hwan began the Grand Prix at the 2023 Skate Canada International, placing second in the short program despite a fall on his quad toe loop.

Cha Jun-hwan subsequently revealed that he was dealing with a right ankle injury, and in consequence he withdrew from the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo.

Cha Jun-hwan resumed training a week before the ranking competition, and with the use of painkillers was able to compete at and win the event, saying afterward that he would focus on recuperating the nerve injury to his ankle.

Cha Jun-hwan said afterward that his health was "improving," but that he would continue to work to balance recovery and training.

Cha Jun-hwan went on to take gold at the 2024 Shanghai Trophy.

One week following that event, Cha Jun-hwan competed at the 2024 Korean Universiade and Asian Games Qualifiers, which he won.

At the 2024 Finlandia Trophy, Cha Jun-hwan placed seventh in the short program after falling on his opening quadruple Salchow.

Cha Jun-hwan withdrew from the competition before the free skate morning practice due to worsening ankle pain, as the injury he sustained during the previous season has not yet fully healed.

In mid-January, Cha Jun-hwan competed at the Figure skating at the 2025 Winter World University Games in Turin, Italy, where he won the bronze medal.

Cha Jun-hwan then went on to compete at the 2025 Asian Winter Games, where he won the gold medal ahead of three-time and reigning World silver medalist, Yuma Kagiyama.

Cha Jun-hwan placed fourth in the short program after popping a planned quad salchow into a double.