Kim has remarked that in her zeal to become Americanized quickly, she studied acting, academics and pronunciation with equal intensity.

She garnered several minor parts on MTV, in soap opera-style dramas on ABC, and on the off-Broadway stage.

She was cast in the TV drama Wedding Dress and was also invited to act in Lee Kwangmo's feature Spring in My Hometown, although she ended up not taking this role.

Then in 2002, Kim took the lead role in Ardor, the feature film debut of documentarist Byun Young-ju.

In 2023, she acted as Principal Jina Lim in revolutionary English-Korean Netflix TV Series, XO, Kitty.

Kim married her former manager Park Jeong-hyeok in March 2010 on the island of Oahu, after shooting her final scenes for Lost.