He studied at Dongguk University in Seoul, beginning his career as a voice actor for Tongyang Broadcasting Company (now KBS) in 1963.

Kim made his on-screen acting debut in 1969, and went on to make over 100 appearances in film and television, his final role being in the television drama series Save the Last Dance for Me, which ended on 2 January 2005.

[1] In July 2004, Kim travelled to a Mount Kumgang resort in North Korea for the tenth round of inter-Korean family reunions, where he met his maternal uncle Jang Gyeong-su.

[2] Kim died at the Samsung Medical Center in Irwon-dong from pneumonia on 16 April 2005, having suffered from a lung disease for the previous two years and spending a month in a coma.

He is survived by his wife and his eldest son; the younger[1] died in a traffic accident in October 2017.