Cerezo Osaka In 2010, Kim dropped out of
Hongik University and signed a three-year contract for
J1 League side
Cerezo Osaka. After he was loaned out to
J2 League side
Oita Trinita for the 2010 season, he returned to Cerezo Osaka. During the
2011 season, Kim had 8 goals and 7 assists in 26 J1 League matches. Cerezo manager
Levir Culpi was replaced by
Sérgio Soares in 2012, but he remained as a key player of the team. Before participating at the
2012 Summer Olympics, he was the fourth-leading goalscorer at the
2012 J1 League with 7 goals in 15 matches.
Cardiff City On 10 July 2012, his agents confirmed that his club
Cerezo Osaka, had entered talks with
Cardiff City, a Welsh club of the
EFL Championship, over his transfer. On 12 July, Cardiff City and Cerezo Osaka agreed a fee believed to be around
£2.5 million. On 27 July, Kim signed a three-year deal with Cardiff City. On 18 September, he made his Cardiff debut in a 2–0 win over
Millwall coming on for
Craig Noone. On 27 October, his first start for Cardiff came in a 4–0 win over
Burnley at
Cardiff City Stadium. On 7 December, he scored his first goal for Cardiff in a 4–1 win over
Blackburn Rovers. On 19 January 2013, he scored his second goal in a 2–1 win over
Blackpool. On 17 April 2013, Cardiff City were promoted to the
Premier League by winning a
Championship title, and so Kim became South Korea's 12th
Premier League player. On August 26, he showed impressive dribble and cross which were followed by Cardiff's first goal in a 3–2 win over
Manchester City. On 24 November, he scored his first Premier League goal against
Manchester United with an injury-time header, bringing a 2–2 home draw. However, Kim failed to prevent Cardiff's relegation. In the first half of the 2014–15 season, he remained at the club, but lost his place. On 24 January 2015, Cardiff City announced Kim's contract had been terminated by mutual consent.
Wigan Athletic On 6 February 2015, another Championship club
Wigan Athletic announced that Kim agreed a contract until the end of 2014–15 season. Manager
Malky Mackay, who used Kim as a main player at Cardiff, once again recruited Kim after moving to Wigan. He secured a position at Wigan, but experienced relegation for the second year in a row. After his contract expired, local rivals
Blackburn Rovers tried to sign him, but Kim failed to get a work permit.
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Kim played for J1 League club
Matsumoto Yamaga for three months after failing a tryout for
Eredivisie club
PSV Eindhoven. On 3 January 2016, he joined
K League 1 club
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, starting to play in his country for the first time. He helped Jeonbuk win the
2016 AFC Champions League, qualifying for the
2016 FIFA Club World Cup. During the Club World Cup, he scored once in a 2–1 defeat to
América and once in a 4–1 win over
Mamelodi Sundowns.
Kashiwa Reysol On 22 June 2017, Kim moved to J1 League club
Kashiwa Reysol, meeting his national teammate
Yun Suk-young. He once again suffered relegation while playing for Kashiwa for one and a half years. He experienced relegation at four foreign clubs Cardiff, Wigan, Yamaga and Kashiwa, being nicknamed the "Missionary of relegation" by Korean fans.
Loan to Ulsan Hyundai During the
2019 season, Kim was loaned to K League 1 club
Ulsan Hyundai, returning to South Korea. Kim showed great influence at Ulsan, leading them to the first place in the league standings ahead of the last match. Afterwards, he received the
K League Most Valuable Player Award, and came back to champions Jeonbuk.
Return to Jeonbuk On 5 January 2020, Kim rejoined Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors after being promised the highest salary among native Korean players at the K League 1. He won two league titles and one
Korean FA Cup title for three years. Especially in the
2021 season, he won the
K League Top Assist Provider Award after providing 10 assists during 32 league appearances. ==International career==