Ryom began figure skating in 2008 after watching the sport on TV and wanting to try it herself.[4][6] Her first pair partner was O Chang-gon,with whom she skated with from 2010 to 2013. Together,they won the 2013 North Korean Championships.[7] She subsequently skated with Kim Mun-song for the duration of the 2013–14 figure skating season.[8]
Ryom would ultimately team up with Kim Ju-sik in 2015. The team trained in Pyongyang at the Taesongsan Skating Club and were coached by Kim Hyon-son.[9][3]
During the off-season and in anticipation for the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics,Ryom/Kim,their coach,and a member of the North Korean Figure Skating Federation traveled to Montreal,Quebec,Canada from June to August to work with Canadian pair skating coach,Bruno Marcotte.[12][13] Looking back on his time training them,Marcotte remarked,“I had to make all the arrangements for them,because I mean,they don’t have a credit card. So they cannot just book a hotel. They do not have [a] driver’s licence,so I could not just find a place anywhere in Montreal... They were often all of them together,but they were not constantly watched or surveyed,no. They spoke to everybody. I mean,they got really integrated,they integrated themselves really well with all the other kids... Every time I spoke to them,they always made sure that they never wanted me to feel and confuse politics with sport. And they always wanted to make sure that I saw them as sportsmen and not as political representatives. I think they want to be pioneers."[13]
Ryom/Kim started their season by competing at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy,which served as the final qualification event for the 2018 Winter Olympics. The top five pair skating teams that had not already qualified berths for the Winter Olympics at the 2017 World Championships would have a chance to earn a spot for their country. At the event,Ryom/Kim would place sixth out of the sixteen pair teams that competed and third out of the five pair teams that had yet to earn a berth for the Winter Olympics. Thus their result qualified North Korea to send a pair team to the Winter Olympics.[14]
The possibility of the team's participation at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang,South Korea,garnered widespread attention from media outlets due to the historical tensions between the two countries and North Korea having previously boycotted 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul,South Korea. The country also hadn't sent any athletes to compete at the Winter Olympics in Sochi,Russia.[15] Despite this,South Korean officials stated that they were organizing the event with the belief that North Korea would participate. In addition,Anita DeFrantz,a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated,“We hope [North Korea competes]. I hope there’s no reason for them not to. I know we’re doing everything we can to insure that there is no barrier.”[14]
During the pairs event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in mid-February,a North Korean cheerleading squad attended the event to cheer for Ryom/Kim,chanting their names and waving North Korean flags.[13] Ryom/Kim managed to skate a clean short program to A Day in the Life by The Beatles and immediately became crowd favorites of the South Korean audience. They would place eleventh in that segment of the competition,thus qualifying for the free skate segment. Their short program song selection also attracted international attention due to North Korea's history of music censorship.[17] During the free skate segment,the pair once again delivered a clean program,to the crowd's delight,and Ryom shed tears of joy following the skate.[18] The pair would place twelfth in the free skate and finish the competition in thirteenth place overall. Moved by the team's performances,South Korean spectator,Lee Sae-rom said,"This may be the last time I see North Koreans compete at an Olympics in South Korea. My daughter is so young that she does not even know that the two Koreas are divided,but I hope she feels that they should be reunited through sport."[18] The team were later invited to skate in the gala exhibition.[19]
Due to Kim getting plagued with injuries,Ryom/Kim only competed at two international events,2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and the 2019 Cup of China,where they finished third and fourth,respectively. The pair would also go on to win their fourth consecutive national title at the 2020 North Korean Championships.[3][5]
Their partnership would later dissolve due to Kim choosing to retire from competitive figure skating.[5]
Partnership with Han
2024–2025 season:Debut of Ryom/Han
In early 2024,Ryom teamed up with fellow North Korean pair skater,Han Kum-chol,with the goal of competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics. It was also announced that they would train in Pyongyang at the Taesongsan Skating Club under Ryom's longtime coach,Kim Hyon-son. Before the start of the season,the pair team briefly trained in Novogorsk,Russia,to receive training from pair skating coach,Valeriy Artyukhov.[4][5] Describing the season's programs,Han explained,"The free program is set to music from our native cinema. It is a movie about the destiny of the North Korean people,our country,and people. And the short program —to a composition about the fathers and mothers of our nation."[5]
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North Korea 
