As an architectural major in Yonsei University, Kim Dong-ryul formed the duet Exhibition with his close friend, Seo Dong-wook.
[1] They emerged champion and won the special prize with the song "In Dreams" which Seo wrote and Kim composed.
Even though the duet were new figures in the world of popular music, they did the composing, piano, bass, and computer programming themselves.
The album was also produced by Shin Hae-cheol, and instrumentalists Yi, Byeong-Woo, Kim Se-hwang, and Jeong Won-young participated in it.
Experts decided that the main melody and ways of using instruments were similar, so "A Testament" became a dishonourable song for the duet.
[1] Especially, "First Love" which was composed by Kim Dong-ryul when he was 14 years old and "In Dreams" which was the song that made the duet very popular.
He created the project group Carnival with Lee Juck, with whom he became close with through the Jam concert of a popular radio program, At Starry Nights.
They worked with world-famous brass session team, Jerry Hey, and Korean singer and jazz pianist, Kim Gwang-min; subsequently they released the album Carnival in 1997.
In 1998, he released his first solo album The Shadow of Forgetfulness with a piano-based sound recalling early Elton John.
[7] After graduating top of his class, Kim returned to Korea and released his fourth solo album Exposing in 2004.
[9] Kim Dong-ryul held his second solo concert in Seoul and Busan in August 2004 and released the live recording album Invitation in 2005.
In January 2018, Kim released an EP, Reply,[12] after a three-year hiatus which sold 14,374 copies in the first month of sales.