Kibum was born in Seoul South Korea. He has a younger sister, Kim Saehee, who lives with their mother. One of his cousin is an actor and model, Shin Dong Wook. At the age of ten, he moved to Los Angeles, California, United States where he attended Santa Monica High School. In 2002, he was discovered by a talent agent from South Korea and was recommended to audition for theStarlight Casting System by SM Entertainment. Kibum signed a contract with SM Entertainment and became an official trainee, being trained in areas of singing, acting, dancing, and other performing talents such as hosting and modeling. Although he resided in Seoul at the time, he constantly returned to Los Angeles to visit his family and to attend short school sessions.
[edit]2004: Acting debut
Kibum participated in runway modelling and appeared 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 other advertisements with Ahyoomee, Go Ara, and future Super Junior bandmate Heechul.
Kibum debuted as an actor on 21 April 2004 in Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) drama, April Kiss as young Han Jung Woo. This was followed in March 2005, with Joo Yeo Myeong in another KBS drama, Sharp 2, co-starring labelmates Go Ara and Heechul. In November 2005 he played a small role in the MBC drama, Marrying a Millionaire, appearing in one episode where he plays the young Kim Younghoon.
[edit]2005-2007: Debut with Super Junior
See also: Super Junior
Kibum debut as part of 12-member rotational project group Super Junior 05 on 6 November 2005 on SBS's music programme Popular Songs, performing their first single, "TWINS (Knock Out)".[1][2] Their debut album SuperJunior05 (Twins) was released a month later on 5 December 2005 and debuted at #3 on the monthly MIAK K-pop album charts.[3]
In March 2006, SM Entertainment began to recruit new members for the next Super Junior generation. However, plans changed and the company declared a halt in forming future Super Junior generations. Following the addition of thirteenth member Kyuhyun, the group dropped the suffix "05" and became officially credited as Super Junior.[4] The re-polished group's first CD single "U" was released on 7 June 2006, which was their most successful single until the release of "Sorry, Sorry" in March 2009.[5]
In 2006, he took on the lead role in the MBC daily sitcom, Rainbow Romance, sharing the lead with Kim Heechul for 243 episodes. This was followed by Kibum's second drama with Go Ara, Snow Flower in November on SBS. He appeared 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.[6]
[edit]2008-2009: Acting and hiatus from Super Junior
In April 2008, Kibum returned to acting after 16 months, starring in another daily MBC drama, Chunja's Happy Events alongside Wang Bitna.[7] He 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".
In 2009 when Super Junior released their third album, Sorry, Sorry, Kibum was absent during promotions for the first single, "Sorry, Sorry", which led to speculations that he left Super Junior. Which was denied by both SM Entertainment and band members. When Super Junior released their second single, "It's You", Kibum who had no singing solo and was again absent from all promotions. SM finally issued a statement stating that Kibum was busy with solo projects, and re-confirmed he would be absent from promotional activities, but that he had not left Super Junior. Even though he is featured in promotional material for their concert tour Super Show 2 Tour, Kibum did not take part due to an injury to his foot requiring six weeks of rest. After the release of "Sorry, Sorry - Answer", Kibum who was absent from the music video, stated "Firstly, I am in the process of preparing for the play and releasing the drama. Whether I will participate in the fourth album, resume solo activities, or continue acting, need to be further discussed with my company".
[edit]2010-present
In May 2010 it was confirmed that Kibum would not participate in the fourth album, Bonamana. Nor any further Super Junior activities until further notice, as he would be focusing on his acting career.[8]
In 2010, Kibum starred in his second film Jumunjin, released on the 21 January. It is a love story of a ghost man (Kibum) and a girl that lives in the country side. From 26 January to 28 March Kibum starred in theatrical play A Nap, at Baekam Art Hall in Samseong-dong, Seoul. He played a young version of male lead Young-jin with Lee Joo-seung. The play is based on a short story of the same name by Park Min-gyu and directed by filmmaker Hur Jin-ho.[9]
In October 2011 Kibum played Joseon scholar-official Pak Paengnyeon in historical drama Deep Rooted Tree.
In May 2012, Kibum will star as the male lead Geum Eun Dong in I Love Lee Tae Ri, where he plays a 14-year-old middle school student who goes to a performance of his favorite singer and becomes a man in his 20’s, who is the secretary of a haughty heiress, Lee Tae-Ri, played by Park Ye Jin.
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