[1] Having received both Western and Eastern artistic training, he developed his own unique fusion of both traditions and continuously explored various styles throughout his career, from Abstract Expressionism in the 1950s, to realist still-life drawings in the 1970s and large-scale Neo-Expressionistic figurative and allegorical works from the 1980s onward.

[5] Late in life he said his early passion persisted as he grew up and resulted in a commitment to make art whether or not it received critical recognition or sales.

[7][note 3] In 1946 he returned to Korea and established the Department of Fine Arts at Chosun University, where he served as chairman and professor until 1955.

[6] During the political confrontations prior to the Korean War he was subjected to imprisonment and torture by both left-wing rebels and government forces.

In the 1970s he made realistic still life drawings that were said to be "remarkable for their technical proficiency, and the sense of Zen-like concentration that [he] brought to bear on their creation.

In 2013 a critic noted that Kim's "journey, in a sense, recapitulated all of the artist's experience with forms, images, techniques, and conceptual approaches.

[20] In 2000, Chosun University awarded Kim an honorary Doctor of Letters degree in honor of his life accomplishments and contributions to the artistic community.

In his work he was seen to have gradually come to terms with the tragedies of his life in Korea and, in the end, to have achieved a peaceful resolution of early traumas.