The internet is in love with South Korea’s record-breaking Olympic shooter

CNN —

She’s impossibly cool, casually breaks world records and is the internet’s latest darling. And while her cap and futuristic glasses are merely functional accoutrements in the world of competitive shooting, they wouldn’t look out of place on a street style-inspired runway.

She’s Kim Yeji, the 31-year-old South Korean sharpshooter who has taken social media by storm following her appearance at the Paris Olympics.

Kim won silver at the 10-meter air pistol event on Sunday, with her 19-year-old teammate Oh Ye Jin taking the gold.

One social media account said this photo of Kim contained “the most aura I have ever seen in an image.”

But it was an older video of Kim competing in Azerbaijan in May that went viral on X, formerly Twitter, gaining more than 7 million views and a horde of new fans in just a few days.

In the video, Kim wears a backwards cap over her blunt bob, her steely gaze fixed on the target through a pair of shooting glasses — a piece of specialist eyewear that helps athletes focus on the target but also looks like something out of a science-fiction movie.

Her arm extended and head tilted down, she fires and barely reacts as it emerges she has set a new world record. She flips up her glasses’ lens to stare directly at the camera before glancing impassively at the nearby screen.

Images from her Sunday performance also circulated widely online, with people complimenting not only her unflinching expression but also her black Fila jacket, Sauer shooting shoes and the stuffed toy elephant that hung from her pocket as she competed.

Kim's towel seen affixed to a toy elephant during Sunday's competition.

A photo showing Kim leaning back with one hand resting nonchalantly on her hip and the other holding a