Upon graduation from Daegu Commerce High School, Kim joined the Hanyang University baseball team in 1977.

In 1977, as a freshman at Hanyang University, he was selected for the South Korea national baseball team to compete the 3rd Intercontinental Cup.

Kim appeared in the final game as a starting pitcher and hurled two shutout innings to lead his team to a 5–4 victory over United States.

Kim finished his rookie season with a 17–12 record and a 2.55 ERA, throwing 17 complete games (runner-up in the league).

He was the Most Valuable Player of the 1985 All-Star Game and along with fellow 25-game-winner Kim ll-young, led the Lions to the Korean Series championship.