A decade after leaving Korea as rising young dancer, Yun returns as a soloistEvery summer, South Korea's ballet calendar turns into something of a homecoming. As ballet companies pause for their summer breaks, Korean dancers working overseas return home for gala performances, giving audiences a chance to see artists whose careers have taken them abroad.This year, one long-awaited return stands out: Yun Seo-hoo. Nearly a decade after Korean audiences last saw her as a promising young dancer, the 27-year-old returns home as a sujet of the Paris Opera Ballet, a soloist rank she earned last November at one of the world's oldest and most prestigious ballet companies."I received several invitations (from Korea) before, but I kept turning them down. I felt I still had more to learn," Yun said during an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on July 24."It's been a long time since I last performed in Korea, so I do feel some pressure. But I hope audiences can see the elegance that defines the Paris Opera Ballet — the style I've spent all these years refining."Yun performed Wednesday at the Eumseong Culture & Arts Center in North Chungcheong Province and will appear this weekend at the 23rd Korea World Dance Stars Festival at Naru Arts Center in Seoul. Partnering with fellow Paris Opera Ballet dancer Max Darlington, a Coryphee, she will perform Rudolf Nureyev's "Raymonda" and the pas de deux from "Swan Lake.""We perform Nureyev's works constantly, and to me they embody the French style," she said. "French ballet is restrained, minimal and very sophisticated. Even standing still, there's a certain elegance."Birthday auditions that changed everythingYun first drew attention in 2011, when she won the junior women's category at the Youth America Grand Prix. At 14, she became the youngest Korean dancer to take on a leading role in a full-length professional ballet, performing "The Nutcracker" with the Lee Wonkook Ballet Company.Eager to begin her professional career early, she left school and switched to homeschooling. After winning the junior division at the Varna International Ballet Competition in 2014, she auditioned for the Paris Opera Ballet the following year.The timing could hardly have been more perfect. At the time, the company did not have a junior company, so 16-year-old Yun went straight to auditions for the main company."The audition was open to dancers between 16 and 26, and it happened to be on my 16th birthday. I was just old enough to qualify," she said. "I honestly didn't expect to get in. I just thought being able to visit the Paris Opera Ballet studios would already be an incredible experience."Two years later, another birthday brought a turning point. After two seasons as an extra, Yun joined the Paris Opera Ballet's corps de ballet at 18, becoming the youngest dancer ever to do so.The acceptance came after two years of learning to navigate a new life on her own in Paris. She arrived as a teenager, learned French and adapted to a new culture. During the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, while other dancers returned home with their families, Yun spent the night alone in the company's dressing room.The memory of that night remains vivid. Yun turned off her phone and went for a walk near her apartment. When she finally turned it back on, she found a message from Park Se-eun, the Korean etoile, or star dancer, of the Paris Opera Ballet."She said, 'Seo-hoo, you got first place. I collapsed on the street and cried for an hour," Yun recalled.Finding color in dance and lifeJoining her dream company did not bring the fulfillment she had expected. Instead, Yun found herself learning an entirely new ballet language. The French ballet's emphasis on delicate footwork and the line from the knees down was very different from the Vaganova technique she had trained in Korea."It was a matter of style. The two approaches were very different," she said. "Over and over, I was told that my dancing didn't feel 'French' enough."As she struggled to advance to the coryphee, the next rank in the company between the corps and the soloists, an unexpected slump took hold. By 2019, her mind began to give way before her body did, as depression and burnout quietly set in."I didn't even realize I was struggling, let alone why," she said. "No matter how sunny it was outside, everything looked gray. At first, I thought there wasn't a reason. Looking back, maybe everything was the reason."She recalled those gray days, when she withdrew from friends, colleagues and her family, isolating herself in a small apartment. Eventually, she took a nine-month leave."I was crying all the time and felt like my life was over. I had always believed that if I set my mind to something, I could achieve it, so I never imagined burnout could happen to me," she said. "Looking back, I wish I had acknowledged what I was going through sooner and allowed myself to rest."Ironically, the pandemic became part of her recovery. With theaters shut down, she felt less guilty about stepping away from the stage. When performances resumed, she returned with a simple promise to herself."I thought, 'I'll try just one more time. If it still doesn't work, I'll resign,'" she said.Gradually, her perspective began to change."It didn't happen overnight. Once I let go of my obsession, I started seeing things differently. My mindset changed, and so did my dancing," she said. "At some point, I could feel that a sunny day could lift my mood again."The promotions followed too: first to the coryphee in 2023, then to sujet last year."I used to chase technical perfection. Even the smallest mistake felt unacceptable. But now I see things differently," she said. "Sometimes even the best dancers make mistakes. They're human, and they simply smile and keep dancing. I realized that can be beautiful, too."Becoming an etoile, once her ultimate goal, no longer defines her ambitions. She is now more focused on the roles she wants to dance and the kind of artist she hopes to become — one who can reach audiences' hearts."I still feel like I'm at the beginning. I think everyone experiences a slump at some point. Looking back, I see those days as a necessary part of becoming the artist I am today," Yun said."Finding my way back to ballet has made me grateful just to be able to dance every day." Yun Seo-hoo performs in "Raymonda" (Paris Opera Ballet) Yun Seo-hoo (Paris Opera Ballet) Paris Opera Ballet dancer Yun Seo-hoo (Hwang Dong-hee/The Korea Herald) Paris Opera Ballet dancer Yun Seo-hoo (Hwang Dong-hee/The Korea Herald)