Ryom Tae-ok

In thisKorean name,the family name isRyom.

Ryom Tae-ok(born February 2, 1999) is a North Koreanpair skaterthat currently competes withHan Kum-chol.

Ryom Tae-ok
Ryom on the podium at the2018 Four Continents Championships.
Native name	렴대옥
Other names	Ryeom Dae-ok
Born	(1999-02-02)February 2, 1999 Pyongyang,North Korea
Hometown	Pyongyang,North Korea
Height	1.51 m (4 ft11+1⁄2in)
Figure skating career
Country	North Korea
Partner	Han Kum-chol(since 2024) Kim Ju-sik(2015–2021) Kim Mun-song (2014) O Chang-gon (2010–2013)
Coach	Kim Hyon-son
Skating club	Taesongsan SC
Began skating	2008
Medal record RepresentingNorth Korea Figure skating:Pairs Four Continents Championships 2018 Taipei Pairs Asian Winter Games 2017 Sapporo Pairs

Ryom Tae-ok
Hangul	렴대옥
Hanja	LiêmQuáNgọc
Revised Romanization	Ryeom Daeok
McCune–Reischauer	Ryŏm Taeok

With her former partner,Kim Ju-sik,she is the2018 Four Continentsbronze medalist, the2017 Asian Winter Gamesbronze medalist,2016Cup of Tyrolbronze medalist, and 2016Asian Open Trophychampion. They were the first North Korean figure skaters to win a medal at anISUevent.

Personal life

Ryom was born on February 2, 1999 inPyongyang,North Korea.As hobbies, she enjoys listening to music, dancing, and reading.

She looks up to pair teams,Meagan Duhamel/Eric RadfordandEvgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov.

Career

Early career

Ryom began figure skating in 2008 after watching the sport on TV and wanting to try it herself.Her first pair partner was O Chang-gon, with whom she skated with from 2010 to 2013. Together, they won the2013 North Korean Championships.She subsequently skated with Kim Mun-song for the duration of the2013–14 figure skating season.

Ryom would ultimately team up withKim Ju-sikin 2015. The team trained inPyongyangat the Taesongsan Skating Club and were coached by Kim Hyon-son.

Partnership with Kim

2015–2016 season: Debut of Ryom/Kim

Ryom/Kim made their international debut in October 2015 at the2015 CS Ice Challenge,where they placed fifth. The pair would later go on to place seventh at the2016 Four ContinentsinTaipei, Taiwan,before ending the season with the bronze medal at the2016 Cup of Tyrol.

Following the season, the pair established a working relationship with Canadian figure skating choreographer, Julie Marcotte.

2016–2017 season

Ryom andKimat the2017 World Championships.

The pair started the season by taking gold at the2016 Asian Open Trophyand at the2016 Merano Cup.Additionally, they won their first national title at the2017 North Korean Championships.

In February, the pair would take the bronze medal at the2017 Asian Winter Games.One month later, they made their World Championship debut at the2017 World ChampionshipsinHelsinki, Finland,where they would finish fifteenth.

2017–2018 season: Four Continents bronze medal and 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics

Ryom andKimduring their short program at the2018 Winter Olympics.

During the off-season and in anticipation for the upcoming2018 Winter Olympics,Ryom/Kim, their coach, and a member of the North Korean Figure Skating Federation traveled toMontreal, Quebec,Canada from June to August to work with Canadian pair skating coach,Bruno Marcotte.Looking back on his time training them, Marcotte remarked, “I had to make all the arrangements for them, because I mean, they don’t have a credit card. So they cannot just book a hotel. They do not have [a] driver’s licence, so I could not just find a place anywhere in Montreal... They were often all of them together, but they were not constantly watched or surveyed, no. They spoke to everybody. I mean, they got really integrated, they integrated themselves really well with all the other kids... Every time I spoke to them, they always made sure that they never wanted me to feel and confuse politics with sport. And they always wanted to make sure that I saw them as sportsmen and not as political representatives. I think they want to be pioneers."

Ryom/Kim started their season by competing at the2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy,which served as the final qualification event for the 2018 Winter Olympics. The top five pair skating teams that had not already qualified berths for the Winter Olympics at the2017 World Championshipswould have a chance to earn a spot for their country. At the event, Ryom/Kim would place sixth out of the sixteen pair teams that competed and third out of the five pair teams that had yet to earn a berth for the Winter Olympics. Thus their result qualified North Korea to send a pair team to the Winter Olympics.

The possibility of the team's participation at the2018 Winter OlympicsinPyeongchang,South Korea, garnered widespread attention from media outlets due to the historical tensions between the twocountriesand North Korea having previously boycotted1988 Summer OlympicsinSeoul, South Korea.The country also hadn't sent any athletes to compete at theWinter OlympicsinSochi, Russia.Despite this, South Korean officials stated that they were organizing the event with the belief that North Korea would participate. In addition,Anita DeFrantz,a member of theInternational Olympic Committee(IOC) stated, “We hope [North Korea competes]. I hope there’s no reason for them not to. I know we’re doing everything we can to insure that there is no barrier.”

Although theOlympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Koreawould miss the deadline to register the team to compete at the Olympic games, it was announced in early January 2018, that the IOC extended an invitation to Ryom/Kim to compete in the Olympic pairs event aswild cards.

Ryom/Kim went on to compete at theNorth Korean Championships,which they won for a second time. At the2018 Four Continents Championshipsat the end of January, Ryom/Kim took the bronze medal.

During the pairs event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in mid-February, a North Korean cheerleading squad attended the event to cheer for Ryom/Kim, chanting their names and waving North Korean flags.Ryom/Kim managed to skate a clean short program toA Day in the LifebyThe Beatlesand immediately became crowd favorites of the South Korean audience. They would place eleventh in that segment of the competition, thus qualifying for the free skate segment. Their short program song selection also attracted international attention due to North Korea's history ofmusic censorship.During the free skate segment, the pair once again delivered a clean program, to the crowd's delight, and Ryom shed tears of joy following the skate.The pair would place twelfth in the free skate and finish the competition in thirteenth place overall. Moved by the team's performances, South Korean spectator, Lee Sae-rom said, "This may be the last time I see North Koreans compete at an Olympics in South Korea. My daughter is so young that she does not even know that the two Koreas are divided, but I hope she feels that they should be reunited through sport."The team were later invited to skate in the gala exhibition.

One month later, at the2018 World ChampionshipsinMilan, Italy,the pair came in twelfth place.

2018–2019 season

Ryom andKimat the2019 Cup of China.

Ryom/Kim began the season by winning silver at the2018 CS Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy.They went on to debut on theGrand Prixcircuit, placing fifth at the2018 Grand Prix of Helsinkiand fourth at the2018 Internationaux de France.They also won the third national title at the2019 North Korean Championships.

At the2019 World ChampionshipsinSaitama, Japan,Ryom/Kim finished eleventh.

2019–2020 season

Due to Kim getting plagued with injuries, Ryom/Kim only competed at two international events,2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophyand the2019 Cup of China,where they finished third and fourth, respectively. The pair would also go on to win their fourth consecutive national title at the2020 North Korean Championships.

2020–2021 seasons: End of Ryom/Kim

Ryom/Kim only competed at the2021 North Korean Championshipswhere they won their fifth national title.

Their partnership would later dissolve due to Kim choosing to retire from competitive figure skating.

Partnership with Han

2024–2025 season: Debut of Ryom/Han

In early 2024, Ryom teamed up with fellow North Korean pair skater,Han Kum-chol,with the goal of competing at the2026 Winter Olympics.It was also announced that they would train in Pyongyang at the Taesongsan Skating Club under Ryom's longtime coach, Kim Hyon-son. Before the start of the season, the pair team briefly trained inNovogorsk,Russia, to receive training from pair skating coach, Valeriy Artyukhov.Describing the season's programs, Han explained, "The free program is set to music from our native cinema. It is a movie about the destiny of the North Korean people, our country, and people. And the short program — to a composition about the fathers and mothers of our nation."

Ryom/Han started the season by competing on the2024–25 ISU Challenger Series,finishing sixth at the2024 CS Lombardia Trophyand tenth at the2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy.

Programs

With Han Kum-chol

Season	Short program	Free skating
2024–2025	My Father and Mother's Youthful Days by Kim Hyok-chol choreo. by Kim Hyon-son	Flocks of Wild Geese Fly by Kim Hyok-chol choreo. by Kim Hyon-son

With Kim Ju-sik

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2019–2020	We Will Never Forget by Om Ha-jin performed by the National Symphonic Orchestra choreo. by Julie Marcotte Malagueña byErnesto Lecuona choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Fly High, Doves by Choe Hong Nam choreo. by Julie Marcotte
2018–2019	A Day in the Life byThe Beatles performed byJeff Beck choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Je suis qu'une chanson by Diane Justler, performed byGinette Reno choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Gobaek by Hwang Jun Yong
2017–2018			Bangabsumnida (Nice to Meet You) by Hwang Jun Yong
2016–2017		The Prince and the Sugarplum Fairy (fromThe Nutcracker) byPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky choreo. by Kim Hyon-son
2015–2016	Salute to Love byPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky choreo. by Kim Hyon-son

Competitive highlights

GP:Grand Prix;CS:Challenger Series

With Han Kum-chol

International
Event	2024–25
CSLombardia Trophy	6th
CSNebelhorn Trophy	10th
TBD = Assigned

With Kim Ju-sik

International
Event	15–16	16–17	17–18	18–19	19–20	20–21
Olympics			13th
Worlds		15th	12th	11th
Four Continents	7th		3rd
GPCup of China					5th
GPFinland				5th
GPFrance				4th	WD
CSIce Challenge	5th
CSNebelhorn			6th		3rd
Asian Games		3rd
Asian Open		1st		2nd
Cup of Tyrol	3rd
National
North Korean Champ.		1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew

With Kim Mun-song

National
Event	13–14
North Korean Champ.	3rd

With O Chang-gon

National
Event	09–10	11–12	12–13
North Korean Champ.	5th	3rd	1st

Detailed results

With Han Kum-chol

ISU Personal best highlighted inbold.

2024–25 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
September 19–21, 2024	2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	11 45.74	9 94.90	10 140.64
September 12–15, 2024	2024 CS Lombardia Trophy	8 49.37	6 94.26	6 143.63

With Kim Ju-sik

Ryom andKimat the exhibition gala at the2018 Winter Olympics.

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only atISU Championships.ISU Personal best highlighted inbold.

2019–20 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
November 8–10, 2019	2019 Cup of China	8 60.50	4 119.05	5 179.55
November 25–28, 2019	2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	4 66.91	5 116.61	3 183.02
2018–19 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 18–24, 2019	2019 World Championships	13 58.77	10 116.54	11 175.31
November 23–25, 2018	2018 Internationaux de France	2 67.18	4 120.77	4 187.95
November 2–4, 2018	2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki	5 56.87	4 117.37	5 174.24
August 1–5, 2018	2018 CS Asian Open Trophy	2 60.40	2 112.80	2 173.20
2017–18 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 19–25, 2018	2018 World Championships	12 66.32	12 122.45	12 188.77
February 14–23, 2018	2018 Winter Olympics	11 69.40	12 124.23	13 193.63
January 22–28, 2018	2018 Four Continents Championships	4 65.25	3 119.73	3 184.98
September 28–30, 2017	2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	5 60.09	6 119.90	6 180.09
August 10–13, 2017	Championnats québécois d'été 2017	2 67.38	2 113.62	2 181.00
2016–2017 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 27–April 2, 2017	2017 World Championships	14 64.52	15 105.13	15 169.65
February 19–26, 2017	2017 Asian Winter Games	3 65.22	3 112.18	3 177.40
August 4–7, 2016	2016 Asian Open Trophy	2 51.16	1 92.99	1 144.15
2015–16 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 9–13, 2016	2016 Cup of Tyrol	3 53.64	3 106.39	3 160.03
February 16–21, 2016	2016 Four Continents Championships	8 53.83	7 103.41	7 157.24
October 27–31, 2015	2015 CS Ice Challenge	5 44.16	5 88.02	5 132.18

External links

• Tae Ok RYOM / Kum Chol HANat theInternational Skating Union
• RYOM / HANat SkatingScores
• Tae Ok RYOM / Ju Sik KIMat theInternational Skating Union
• RYOM / KIMat SkatingScores
• Confession of Gold MedallistsatThe Pyongyang Times