Kangnam briefly attended Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he majored in communications, but left the school to pursue music instead.

[4] In South Korea, Kangnam first performed as a member of M.I.B under the Jungle Entertainment label on 25 October 2011, with the title track "G.D.M", which stands for "Girls, Dreams, Money".

On the 26 December episode of MBC's I Live Alone, Kangnam spoke about attending year-end festivals for the first time since in his career: "Singers usually appear on TV to sing at the end of each year.

[11] In February 2015, he was appointed the honorary ambassador for the fourth KCON music festival and convention for its first time in Japan and performed at the concert on 22 April.

His performance led to his inclusion as a permanent member of the show, and he continued to participate in various "Law of the Jungle" series in locations such as Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Mexico, States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, Cook Island, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Korea.

[14] On 11 August 2019, Kangnam announced his decision to forfeit his Japanese citizenship and began the process of becoming a naturalized Korean citizen.

On January 2, 2023, Kangnam donated 10 million won to a stray dog shelter, Korea Animal Rights Advocates (K.A.R.A).