A member of the
yangban class, Kim passed the state civil service examination and rose through the official ranks to become an academic counselor and minister during the reign of
King Sukjong. He was exiled twice for involvement in the political factionalism of the time. As a man of letters, his most renowned works were the novels
''Record of Lady Sa's Trip to the South and
The Cloud Dream of the Nine. The former, a novel about family affairs set in China, is a satirical depiction of the political reality of his day and in particular a rebuke of King Sukjong. The latter is one of the most prominent novels of traditional Korea. It is said that Kim wrote The Cloud Dream of the Nine'' during his second exile. It is an ideal novel dealing with the affairs of life and is centered on the travails of the hero. It has a highly Buddhist overtone, with an emphasis on the transience of worldly glory and pleasure. == Family ==