Kim Kibum (born August 21, 1987), also credited as
Kibum, is a
Korean pop singer,
actor, and member of the large
boy band Super Junior. He made his debut in the
Korean television drama,
April Kiss in 2004. Although debuted as an actor, he achieved higher results as a singer after his music debut with Super Junior in 2005.
Early life
Kibum was born in Seoul, South Korea. He has a younger sister, Kim Seihee. He is also the cousin of famous actor and model, Shin Dongwook. At the age of ten, he moved to Los Angeles, California, United States where he attended his high school years at Santa Monica High School.
In 2002, he was discovered by a talent agent from South Korea and was recommended to audition for the Starlight Casting System, a casting system organized by South Korea's largest entertainment company and label SM Entertainment, and also the home of top Korean pop acts like BoA and TVXQ. Kibum soon signed a contract with SM Entertainment and became their official trainee, being trained in areas of singing, acting, dancing, and other performing talents such as hosting and modeling. He placed particularly strong efforts in acting, as he explained that he is most interested in that area. Although he resided in Seoul at the time, he constantly returned to Los Angeles to visit his family and to attend short school sessions.
Acting career
Television
Before debut, Kibum was often seen participating in runway modelling and appearing in advertisements for KTF, C&C phone, NF Sonata, OLIVE, My Chew, Ottogi Noddle and Elite Uniform with his SM senior BoA. He was also seen in many other ads with fellow future co-star, Ahyoomee, Go Ara, and future bandmate Kim Heechul.
Kibum debuted on April 21, 2004, the premiere date of the KBS drama, April Kiss. He plays the young role of Han Jungwoo. Kibum's largest role among Korean audiences was in the KBS drama, Sharp 2, starring alongside labelmates Go Ara and Kim Heechul. Soon after the premiere of Sharp 2 in early 2005, Kibum debuted as a member of Super Junior, which tightly interfered with his acting career. He was then given a small role in the MBC drama, Marrying a Millionaire, appearing in only one episode where he plays the young Kim Younghoon. However, he reprised as a lead actor in the MBC daily sitcom, Rainbow Romance, sharing the lead with Kim Heechul for 243 episodes a year later. In the fall of 2006, Kibum's second drama with Go, Snow Flower aired on SBS, attracting more audiences.
In April 2008, it was announced that Kibum would be starring in yet another daily MBC drama, Chunja's Happy Events alongside Wang Bitna after sixteen months of hiatus in the acting industry. The drama's premiere date was on May 19, 2008.[1]
Film
Kibum's first silver-screen appearance was in Attack on the Pin-Up Boys, a 2007 high school Korean film that starred all members of Super Junior except Kyuhyun. He plays the narrator of the story; a student who investigates the mysterious happenings at school. Despite positive critical ratings, the film did not do well in the box-office, but all four versions of the film's DVD were all sold out and broke chart records
Music career
2005–present: Super Junior
In early 2005, Kibum's talent agency released an official announcement that Kibum would make a second debut as a singer. Along with eleven other members, Kibum with Super Junior 05, Super Junior's first generation, debuted on November 6, 2005 on SBS's Popular Songs, performing the group's first single "TWINS (Knock Out)." The group released their full studio album a month later, and the album debuted as #3 on the monthly MIAK K-pop album charts.[3] As the group's second promotional single, "Miracle", came to an end, his talent agency was about to recruit new members for the next Super Junior generation, Super Junior 06, planning to replace Kibum with a new member. However, plans changed when the company added in a thirteenth member, Kyuhyun, and the company declared that future Super Junior generations were rumors. The group dropped the suffix "05" and became officially Super Junior. The new group hit big after they released their first CD single "U" the following summer in 2006, which became Super Junior's most successful single in the music charts, leading Super Junior to set #1 records in their music career since then.
Kibum placed aside his acting career and was active as a member of Super Junior, especially during promotions for the group's second album Don't Don in the fall of 2007 and Super Junior's first concert tour in early 2008. Don't Don became Super Junior's best-selling album and Korea's second best-selling album of the year,[4] while Super Show's live concert album became a record success in South Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan.
Kibum is known for his English rapping ability in the group and remains as one of the lead rappers of Super Junior. Kibum also actively appears on variety shows unlike some of the group's other members. Kibum makes frequent appearances on Love Letter and other popular South Korean variety programs, promoting the group's music and product. Even after both debuts Kibum continued to be a popular symbol for endorsements, being an endorser of many items in South Korea. Kibum was picked as the co-presenter of Thailand's 12 Plus Powder along with the primary presenter, bandmate Choi Siwon, in early 2008. However, the co-presenter was switched to bandmate Donghae for another product of 12 Plus - "roll-on".
