Kim dropped out of school and worked as a DJ at cafes. In 1991, he released his debut album. Cho Dongik mainly wrote and arranged his music. That album included "On a sunny day", written by Yu Heeyul, "Always between you and I", written by Cho Dongik, "To the tomorrow", written by Cho Dongik. His second album, including "Now", was released in 1993. After releasing the third album I just sang my song, this was followed by the fourth album 1998 Ballads For Tears. Although Kim debuted in 1991, it was his 4th album, Fool that catapulted his popularity.
Career
On 27 September 2011, Kim released the single, "Breakups are So Like Me" which featured Heechul of boy bandSuper Junior, who also starred in the music video. Since Heechul enlisted for mandatory military service on 1 September, his parts during the performance on Music Bank and Show! Music Core, was filled in by bandmates, Yesung, Eunhyuk and Shindong, who performed with Kim. Also, Kim is on many popular T.V. variety programs as an entertainer. Kim is the #1 musician at University Campuses for 10 years and his popularity ranges from people in their teens to their 60s. Since his debut, Kim has twenty-two albums, including his best remix albums, digital singles, and Original Soundtrack albums. Moreover, throughout his career, Kim performed at over 1,000 different concerts and shows, including fifteen of his own exclusive concerts, in China and South Korea. In 2012, Kim released his 10th full-length album, the first in six years. He released a music video for the title track "Nothing" featuring Paris Hilton. In 2014, Kim released, along with the girl group Crayon Pop, a new single titled "HERO".
Charitable work
In South Korea, Kim is widely known as the "Donation Angel", donating over 10 billion South Korean won over the course of ten years to various causes. He is active in the Liancourt Rocks territorial dispute between Japan and South Korea. In July 2012, while during his concert at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in California, Kim received a letter signed by U.S. President Barack Obama, notifying him of his winning the President's Volunteer Service Award.
