Cha Jun Hwan
Cha Jun Hwan (차준환) is South Korea's most decorated male figure skater and one of the most compelling multi-hyphenates in Korean sports and entertainment. Born October 21, 2001 in Seoul, he became a child actor and model at age seven before the ice redirected his life, transforming him into a three-time Olympian, ten-time consecutive national champion, and the first Korean man to win a medal at the World Championships, Grand Prix Final, and Asian Winter Games.
His skating resume is historic. Cha took silver at the 2023 World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama and gold at the 2022 Four Continents Championships in Tallinn. At the 2025 Harbin Asian Winter Games, he won Korea's first-ever gold in men's figure skating. His fourth-place finish at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, posting a personal best 273.92 total points, marked the highest result ever for a Korean man at the Winter Games. Vogue Hong Kong named him the most handsome male athlete at the 2026 Games.
Before the ice, Cha was a working child performer. He appeared in commercials for Samsung Life Insurance and Orion Choco Pie and took roles in TV dramas including MBC's Best Theater and The Return of Iljimae. He originally picked up skating as one of several skills to improve his range as a young actor, alongside ballet, swimming, violin, and piano. The sport stuck. He later told Knowing Bros: "I was a child actor but transitioned into an athlete. After retiring, I want to try becoming an actor."
In April 2026, Fantagio confirmed an exclusive entertainment contract with Cha, placing him alongside Cha Eun-woo, Kim Seon-ho, and Lee Se-young at one of Korea's strongest acting agencies. His pivot from Olympic podiums to entertainment screens is not a left turn. It's a homecoming.
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