2005–2008: Career beginnings Kim made his debut as a member of
SS501 on June 23, 2005, with the group's first EP,
Warning, released by
DSP Media. Their second EP,
Snow Prince was released in late 2005, five months after their debut. The group quickly gained popularity, winning multiple new artist awards in 2005 and 2006. The following year, in 2007, SS501 debuted in Japan with the single "
Kokoro," which reached number five on the
Oricon charts. In January 2008, the group received a Newcomer Award at the
Japan Gold Disc Award ceremony, making them one of only a few South Korean artists to win this award. In 2008, Kim joined the cast of the reality variety show
We Got Married, where he was paired with singer
Hwangbo. Dubbed the "Lettuce Couple," the pair was popular among viewers and won the Best Couple Award at the 2008
MBC Entertainment Awards. They left the show at the end of 2008 to focus on other projects.
2008–2010: Career breakthrough and success in 2009|leftIn 2008, Kim was cast in his first lead-acting role in the
Korean drama Boys Over Flowers. The show was extremely popular in South Korea and other Asian countries, and Kim won the Most Popular Actor Award at the 2009
Seoul International Drama Awards and the Most Popular Actor for Television Award at the 2009
Baeksang Arts Awards. Kim and his
Boys Over Flowers costars also sparked a trend among South Korean men who copied their "flower boy" style.
Tony Moly, a cosmetics brand for which Kim had been a
spokesmodel since 2006, saw a 30 percent sales increase in 2009, which the company attributed to the popularity of the show. Kim's contract with Tony Moly ended in 2010, and he became the spokesmodel for another cosmetics brand,
The Face Shop, later that year. Following the success of
Boys Over Flowers, Kim played his second lead role in a drama, in 2010's
Playful Kiss, a Korean adaptation of the Japanese
shōjo manga,
Itazura na Kiss. The show flopped on South Korean television, but was an international hit on foreign television and on online streaming platforms, helping solidify Kim's popularity as a
Hallyu star. At the end of 2010, Kim was chosen to represent South Korea at the opening of the
2010 Asian Games in
Guangzhou, where he performed the anthem "Sunshine Again" with singers from Chinese-speaking countries.
2011: Solo debut, chart success and first Japanese tour in 2011 Kim released his solo debut, the EP
Break Down, on June 7, 2011. More than 70,000 pre-ordered copies of the album were sold in just 10 days. The EP was the ninth best-selling album of 2011 on South Korea's
Gaon Album Chart, and was certified platinum in
Taiwan. Later that year, Kim released his second album
Lucky. The EP debuted at number five on ''
Billboard's'' World Chart, and was the 10th best-selling album of the year in South Korea with over 100,000 copies sold. Following up on the success of a concert he performed in Japan in June, Kim signed a deal with
Universal Music Japan in November. Shortly after that, he went on a tour of Japan, performing in seven cities. At the end of the year, Kim won the award for
Best Male Artist at the
2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards held in Singapore. On December 15, Kim released a digital single titled "Marry Me".
2012: Japanese debut and overseas promotions On January 25, 2012, Kim released his first Japanese single album, "
Kiss Kiss / Lucky Guy," which was certified gold in Japan. In May, his
First Impact concert DVD sold 16,000 copies in its first week of release, taking the number one spot on the Oricon DVD Chart. This was the first time a South Korean artist had taken the number one spot, and a second time a foreign artist had taken the number one spot on the chart. In March 2012, Kim was appointed the honorary ambassador for United Nation's Korean Campaign on Contributions to Social Welfare. Kim released his second Japanese single album "
Heat" on July 4. The album was Japan's third best-selling album in July, selling 196,850 copies, which earned Kim his second consecutive gold certification. The following month, in August, Kim won Best Asian Artist at the 2012
Asia Song Festival. On December 12, Kim released
Unlimited, his first full-length Japanese album, which included Japanese versions of "
Break Down" and "
Lucky Guy". It topped the Oricon Daily Chart and reached number 3 on the Weekly Chart.
Madame Tussauds unveiled a wax figure of Kim in December 2018.
2013–2014: Barefooted Friends, Japanese concerts and Inspiring Generation On January 6, 2013, Kim kicked off a Japanese tour called
Unlimited at the
World Memorial Hall in
Kobe, where he performed with a live band. Later that month, he performed alongside other K-pop artists in Brazil for the
2013 FEEL KOREA event, marking his first performance in South America. On March 2, Kim performed at the
U-Express Live 2013 at the
Makuhari Messe in Japan with artists including
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band,
Far East Movement,
Naoto Inti Raymi and
Kara. That same month, Kim received the Creator's Factory Best Actor Award for the music video, "
Lucky Guy," at the 5th Okinawa Music Festival. On April 21, he began appearing on the South Korean variety show
Barefooted Friends. Despite the show, Kim released his third Japanese single "
Tonight" on June 5. Once again, his single topped the Oricon Daily Chart, and took the number two spot by the end of the week. The album received gold certification for selling more than one million copies. He released his third Korean EP,
Round 3, on July 22. At the end of the month, Kim left
Barefooted Friends to film a new drama. After playing pretty boys in his first two dramas, Kim played a tougher role in the drama
Inspiring Generation, which began airing in January 2014
. That July, he released his fourth Japanese single, "
Hot Sun", which topped the Oricon weekly charts, making him the first foreign male solo artist to top the chart twice. At the end of June, he began a world tour that included stops in Taiwan, China, Japan, Thailand, Mexico, and Peru. The following month, in July, Kim released his fourth Korean EP,
Timing.
2015–2016: Japanese activities and military enlistment Kim released his second Japanese studio album,
Imademo, on February 11, 2015. The album entered the Oricon daily charts at number two and remained at that spot for 10 days. Kim enlisted in the army for
South Korea's mandatory military service in May 2015. After completing five weeks of basic training at Gyeonggi-do 30th Recruit Training Squadron he was stationed as a border patrol in the
Korean Demilitarized Zone. While he was in the military,
The Best of Kim Hyun Joong, a Japanese
greatest hits album celebrating his 10 years in music industry, was released. It entered the Oricon daily charts at number one. Kim was discharged from military service in February 2017 after serving for 21 months.
2017–present: Tours and Korean-Japanese album In July 2017, Kim released his first album since leaving the military, the Japanese single album,
re:wind. The album reached the number one spot on the
Oricon album chart. Following its release, Kim went on Innercore 16-city Japanese tour. In November, he released the EP
Haze, his first Korean album in three years. Kim Hyun Joong's 2018 World Tour 'HAZE' commenced on December 2, 2017. He performed in
Bolivia,
Chile,
Mexico,
South America,
Japan,
Thailand and
Macau and the tour concluded in 2018. On June 6, he released
Take My Hand, the first Album released from his own record Label
Henecia Music. On September 26, he then released an album entitled Wait For Me. From September 27 to November 5, Kim held his Take My Hand Japan Tour. Later in the year, it was confirmed he would be making his small-screen comeback in the fantasy drama
When Time Stopped. The drama ran from October 24 to November 29, 2018. He released a single, "Just for My Love", as the sixth part of the original Soundtrack for the drama. On February 4, 2019, he released a new album entitled
New Way with the lead single "Why". On August 21, he released a Korean EP entitled SALT and on September 11, he released a Japanese EP entitled "THIS IS LOVE" which debuted at number one on the
Oricon Weekly Rock Singles Chart and number two on
Oricon year-end
Indie Chart. On August 21, he embarked on a World Tour titled BIO-RHYTHM which ended on January 25, 2020. The tour took place in
Japan,
South Korea,
Macau,
Mexico,
Bolivia,
Peru and the
Philippines. On February 5, 2020, he released a full-length Japanese album titled The Moon, The Sun and Your Song which debuted at number three on the
Oricon Daily Albums Chart and Number 4 on the
Oricon Weekly Albums Chart. He also embarked on a two-month (February and March) Japan tour of the same name. On February 21, he appeared in the cover of the Korean Wave Japanese Magazine Hanryu Pia for the fourth time. On April 14, 2020, it was announced that Kim has decided not to renew his contract with
KeyEast. A representative from
KeyEast Stated "Recently, Kim Hyun-joong's exclusive contract expired. Rather than renew, we mutually decided to support each other's futures." They continued, "Kim Hyun-joong's album activities will continue through his personal label, which he established last year." On October 17, 2020, Kim held his first online concert, "A Bell of Blessing" and on October 19, 2020, he released his second full Korean album, a limited edition album titled "A Bell Of Blessing" which debuted at 14 on the
Gaon Weekly Albums Chart. The title track of the album and its music video features vocals and appearances from Kim's fans all over the world. On August 12, 2022, Kim returned with the first set of songs from his 3rd full Korean album, 'MY SUN' which he said would be released in 3 sets of 4 songs each.. On August 18, 2022, he released the Japanese single album Song for a Dreamer/Super fire as insert songs for the Japanese movie
Violence Action. The single debuted at number one on the Oricon weekly rock singles and Oricon weekly indie singles rankings, and number 18 on Billboard Japan singles chart. ==Personal life==