South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na is being praised from major media outlets following her record-breaking performance during the short program at the Vancouver Winter Olympics on Wednesday (KST).

CNN said Kim, who arrived in Vancouver with bigger expectations than any single athlete, delighted fans and judges alike with a playfully sexy and sophisticated James Bond medley while setting a new world record with a score of 78.50.

The Washington Post called Kim’s performance “brilliant.”

Foreign Policy magazine said, prior to the start of the short program, that Kim’s dominance signals nothing less than Korea's arrival onto the world stage as a cultural and economic power, after years of chasing its powerhouse Asian neighbors and the West.