If you’ve been keeping up with the Beijing Olympics , you might’ve heard about 20-year-old Korean figure skater, Cha Jun-hwan. Following his appearance in the men’s singles, where he achieved fourth place and a personal best in the short programme to finish fifth overall, he’s seen a rapid increase in fans – and not just because of his skating. So much so that when he returned to Korea, he was met by a crowd of fans at the airport. So what is there to know about Korea’s “figure prince”, and why do so many love him? He’s multitalented Though he’s a skater now, the young athlete has built up quite the repertoire since childhood. He started out as a child actor, starring in K-dramas from as young as six, including The Return of Iljimae (2009). But after learning to skate, the sport quickly became his passion, which led to his professional career. How Eileen Gu made over US$30 million in luxury endorsements He’s a singer, too, appearing on the King of Mask Singer in 2020, and has even showed off his dancing skills. His all-round abilities and versatility certainly gained him many fans. He’s often mistaken for a K-pop idol Not only does he draw attention with his talent, but Cha is also popular for his youthful looks, and he’s constantly mistaken for a K-pop star. After his appearance on MBC’s Video Star , one of the hosts mistook him for an idol. The same thing happened again during his appearance on JTBC’s Cool Kids , when one of the MC’s exclaimed, “I thought he was an idol!” Fans have even called him the “K-pop star stolen by figure skating”. 220213💐 #차준환 #junhwancha pic.twitter.com/BxDZCiE8MO — ᴍᴇʟᴏᴅʏ (@MELODY_1021) February 15, 2022 Now he’s even being treated like a K-pop idol. When he came back to Korea, he was met by a crowd, including “fansites” – fans who take high-quality images of K-pop idols and upload them to social media, according to Koreaboo. 17 exciting new K-dramas to watch on Netflix in 2022 He trained with Enhypen’s Sunghoon Fans of boy group Enhyphen will know that member Sunghoon is a retired figure skater. In fact, it turns out that he trained with Cha as a child. During a Weverse broadcast, Sunghoon had nothing but praise for the professional skater, saying he is “the very best out of all the top Korean male figure skaters, as far as I know”, according to Koreaboo. imagine seeing sunghoon in the olympics and being reunited with cha jun hwan again, i’d probably cry. pic.twitter.com/ALIFCebOFP — achi kae (@sitepsh) February 11, 2022 Though the two are on different paths today, the support is heartwarming, and fans unsurprisingly want to see them interact more. His signature hairstyle has an unexpected origin Cha’s hairstyle has always been long, which is also one of the reasons he’s called the “figure prince”. Though it’s his signature look, it was initially unintentional. According to Global Economic, he said that when he first moved to Canada, there were no hair salons that could handle his hair properly, so he had no choice but to keep it long, and now he’s simply become used to it. the hair swoosh 🌊 #JunHwanCha #차준환 #ACI19 https://t.co/i7c7tI6Gju pic.twitter.com/PMrt4X11PB — gabb 💐 (@tegomass) February 2, 2021 He has mentioned that now he likes how his hair flows when he moves, and fans have even said it seems like his hair is part of the choreography when he skates. Hyuna and Dawn are engaged! Inside the idols’ rule-breaking relationship He has a strong appreciation for music There’s no doubt that music is important for every figure skater, but Cha goes above and beyond with his appreciation of music. In an interview with Vogue Korea , he revealed that he loves feeling the music and expressing it through his skating. He used to primarily listen to classical music, but after the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, he makes an effort to listen to pop, too. Praised for his skills at interpreting music, the skater continuously works to explore new music and choreography, even learning hip-hop dances. Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .