Known for her well-rounded skills, achievements, popularity, and impact on the sport, she is one of the most highly recognized athletes in South Korea and regarded as one of the greatest figure skaters in history, being commonly referred to as "Queen Yuna".

1 contributor to Kim's phenomenal success",[7] took an active role in her daughter's skating career from the beginning, driving her to the ice rink each day, attending all of her practices, and acting as her coach, manager, spokesperson, and mentor.

Kim's family often struggled to fund her skating expenses; when her father's business was not doing well enough to pay for her lessons, they put up their house as collateral for a bank loan.

She also named American figure skaters Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen as well as Brian Joubert, Stéphane Lambiel, and Tomáš Verner as her influences.

[12][13] Former ice dancer Ryu Jong-hyun coached Kim between the ages of seven and ten, and former single skater Shin Hea-sook, who competed for South Korea at the 1980 Winter Olympics, guided her between 10 and 12 years old.

Coming from behind after the short program, where she had finished in sixth place, she scored 110.26 points in her free skate, with her "secret weapon"[26] of a triple-triple jump combination.

[4] It was also the eighth consecutive competition where Kim had finished in either first or second place since 2004 and raised expectations for Korea's chances of winning a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

[28] To prepare for her senior debut in the 2006–07 season, Kim began training with Brian Orser at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club during the summer of 2006 after working there with choreographer David Wilson.

[4] According to International Figure Skating, she had lost her confidence and was ready to quit the sport due to her recurring knee injuries and boot problems, so her coach suggested that she train in Toronto.

She accomplished her triple flip-triple toe loop combination "with wonderful flow as well as with a big smile" and her straight line footwork sequence was "light and lyrical".

[54] Going into Skate America, she said that she felt healthy; according to figure skater reporter Lynn Rutherford, she showed no signs of the injuries that plagued her during the previous season.

[55] After the 2008 World Championships, Kim's coaching team decided it was time for her to have more input in her program music, crediting their rapport and good communication as helping with the process.

[63] Kang Seung-woo from The Korea Times stated that Kim's success "brightened prospects for a first figure skating medal for the Far East nation in the Winter Games".

[68] Kang Seung-woo of The Korea Times stated, "She performed a remarkably charismatic dance, demonstrating flexibility and powerful energy before an awestruck crowd".

After her short program, Kim told reporters that she was not sure about using music from the Bond films, but eventually came around to the idea because she liked the choreography created by Wilson and felt that it was a good choice for an Olympic year.

[85] She defeated silver medalist Mao Asada by 23.06 points, the greatest margin recorded in women's singles at the Olympics or World Championships since the introduction of the ISU Judging System.

[87][88] Dorothy Hamill, the 1976 Olympic champion, said that Kim had "jaw-dropping magnificence", adding "The height of her jumps, the power, and the fluid beauty of her skating are like magic".

[89] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who met with and congratulated South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan the following day, also praised Kim's performance, calling it "extraordinary".

[92] By the fall of 2010, she began training in Artesia, California, at the East West Ice Palace, a rink owned and operated by Michelle Kwan's family.

[81] She told reporters that she had no regrets for taking so much time off from competitive skating and although she recognized she had her work cut out for her, she considered Sochi an opportunity to start over.

[106] Despite her past successes, however, Kim was not invited to skate in the 2012–13 Grand Prix circuit, so she chose to compete in minor events to score enough technical points to qualify for the 2013 World Championships.

[109] Moon reported that Kim began her free skate "with indelible poise and sublime grace... launching herself fearlessly into jumps and landing with implausible softness".

However, on September 26, it was announced that Kim would not compete in the Grand Prix series due to a metatarsal injury to her right foot (bruised bones) from excessive training, with recovery expected to take up to six weeks.

[133][81] In October 2010, AT Sports debuted All That Skate LA, an American version of their Korean ice show brand, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

[143] She was known for her execution of her Ina Bauer,[115] her triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination jump, and her "signature" layover spin, also called the "Yuna Camel".

In 2020, Scott Hamilton stated that Kim was the best model of how to earn the most points under the IJS, especially her component scores and praised her speed, technique, and spiral sequences.

[12] In 2020, her coach, Brian Orser, said that Kim's performances at the 2010 Olympics were among the greatest ever and that she inspired thousands of South Korean girls to take up figure skating.

[146] In 2009, when Kim won the Worlds Championships and Asada came in second place, the Associated Press called their rivalry "the best thing going in skating these days" and stated that it was the reason for their fame in their respective countries.

[77][81] In early 2023, when she donated 127 million Korean won (US $100,000) to aid earthquake recovery efforts in Turkey and Syria, Kim's "history of philanthropy" was reported.

[166][167] In 2014, National Catholic Register called her "an example of how to live the faith publicly"[167] and reported that she would pray while on the ice during the Vancouver Olympics and other competitions, when she would make the sign of the cross and when she bowed her head before competing.