Biography & History

Kibum was born in Seoul, South Korea. He has a younger sister, Kim Saehee, who lives with their mother. He also has cousins in Florida, California, Atlanta and New Jersey. One of his cousin is a famous actor and model, Shin Dong Wook. 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 SM Entertainment, and also the home of top Korean pop acts like BoA , Shinhwa 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.

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. 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 and the company declared a halt in forming future Super Junior generations. The group dropped the suffix "05" and became officially credited as 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, 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 . 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".

In 2009 Super Junior released their third LP, "Sorry, Sorry". During promotions for the first single, "Sorry, Sorry", Kibum was absent which led to speculations that he left Super Junior. SM Entertainment, as well as all the band members denied this. When Super Junior released their second single, "It's You", Kibum was noticeably absent again 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 due to prior engagements, and that he hadn't left Super Junior. It was later confirmed that Kibum would not appear on the Super Junior tour (July 2009), "The Super Show II" due to an injury to his foot, which lead to six weeks of rest from physically straining activities. After the release of "Sorry, Sorry - Answer", Kibum was completely absent from the video and the song. In the group's latest release, "It's You", Kibum had no singing solo. Kibum revealed his upcoming plans in the near future, although they still remain tentative as of now. He 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."

It is also confirmed that Kibum will not be participating in the 4th album, as he will be focusing on his acting career.[citation needed] As of October 13, 2010 Kibum was spotted going back to the Super Junior dormitory. Fans stopped him and asked if he was returning to Super Junior. He responded "Hopefully, yes. I wish to return to my activities as part of Super Junior. I will most likely be participating in the making of the 5th album." It is said that the 5th album will be released in the summer of 2011.