He began his career in the late 1970s as a rock singer and musician, later releasing "modernized" traditional Korean music, and composing numerous film scores.
In 1977, he was accepted to Kwangwoon University, where he formed the quartet "Little Big Man", with fellow students Kim Jang Won-mo (bass), Choir Soo-ill (drums), and Keung-Sung (keyboards).
In 1978, as "Little Big Man", he attended a national college campus festival contest conference and received the grand prize with the song, "Seven Colored Rainbow."
Kim Soo-chul and his group members played a high-energy fusion of rock, jazz, folk, and soul music.
Even though he received many hardships, he continued to work for his goal which was "to introduce the sound of traditional Korean music to a global audience."