Sports athlete to a torchbearer representing K-pop: ENHYPEN's Sunghoon's dramatic narrative has drawn attention from foreign media.
Sunghoon served as a torchbearer for the 2026 Milan–Cortina Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on the 5th (local time). His immense influence, which gathered countless fans, was covered by major overseas outlets, including the official Olympic news service Olympic.com. In particular, it is rare for Olympic.com to interview a torchbearer rather than an athlete, which suggests how intense the foreign media spotlight on him was.
Olympic.com, in an interview with Sunghoon, wrote, "The boy who fell in love with figure skating and a fateful passion while watching the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics became, 10 years later, someone who made the world his stage beyond the ice," adding, "He successfully carried the Olympic flame and brought heat to the streets of Milan, opening the curtain on the biggest winter sports festival."
In an interview with Olympic.com, Sunghoon said, "I trained for the Olympics for half my life, so I came to Milan with high expectations. It is a great honor to be here as a K-pop artist." He also recommended ENHYPEN's "Chaconne" (included on mini album 4 DARK BLOOD) as background music for a figure program, describing it as "a song that evokes the black swan with a dark atmosphere while featuring a beautiful melody."
Sunghoon said his goals for this year included, "Since we achieved the grand prize everyone had hoped for during our fifth year since debut, we are all considering new goals (with the members)," adding, "Personally, successfully completing the torch relay was a major task, so I feel I have already achieved about half of my annual goals."
The New York Times also highlighted Sunghoon's every move in Milan. The outlet described the scene vividly, saying, "He drew massive crowds wherever he went," and "At the Olympic main press center, young volunteers watched his interview with their mouths agape."
Italian leading daily La Repubblica captured and reported Sunghoon's torch relay moment surrounded by global fans, and U.S. ELLE praised his torch relay fashion, makeup, and hairstyle as a perfect look for the Winter Olympics.
Meanwhile, ENHYPEN, to which Sunghoon belongs, is active across K-pop and sports at the 2026 Milan–Cortina Winter Olympics. Their mini album 3 track "SHOUT OUT," from MANIFESTO : DAY 1, was selected as Team Korea's official cheer song, energizing the national team.
[Photo] Belift Lab Inc.
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