EXO’s Main Dancer: Kai

Take some time to learn about one of K-pop’s best dancers. 

EXO

Kai, born Kim Jongin, began dancing when he was eight years old. He joined SM Entertainment in 2007 at the age of 13 after winning the SM Entertainment's Youth Best Contest. As a trainee he trained in hip-hop dancing, adding to his background in ballet and jazz. Shortly before his eighteenth birthday, Kai was announced as a first member of SM Entertainment’s new South Korean-Chinese boy group EXO. The group debuted on April 8, 2012 with Kai as their main dancer, sub vocalist, and sub rapper. The group's debut album MAMA peaked at No.1 on the Gaon Digital Chart and No.8 on the Billboard World Albums Chart. Their debut title track of the same name has over 100 million views, making it one of the groups most viewed music videos to this day.

Acting and Modeling

Kai made his television debut in 2016 in the business romcom Choco Bank as the main character. He then went on to star in the 2017 romcom Andante, again in a main role. In 2018, he received the StarHub Night of Stars “Favourite Korean Drama Character” award for his role in Andante. Kai became the first non-Japanese actor to take a lead role on a WOWOW production with the drama Spring Has Come (Haru ga Kita).

In 2017, Kai was chosen as the cover model of charity magazine The Big Issue Korea. The original 15,000 copies that were printed sold out in only two days, prompting the magazine to print more. A total of over 28,000 were sold just in the first two weeks, giving the issue the title of the most sold copies since the inception of the magazine in 2010.

In 2020, Kai became Gucci’s first ever Korean Global Ambassador, opening the door for many other Korean celebrities. 

SOLO

Kai released his first solo EP KAI on November 30, 2020 which went platinum with nearly 400,000 copies sold. The title track “음 (Mmmh)” has over 145 million views, making it the most viewed solo music video by any EXO member. He released his second EP Peaches the following year, which went platinum as well and reached No.2 on the Circle Album Chart. 

His most recent EP, Rover, was released March 13, 2023, and was nominated for ”Best Dance Performance – Male Solo” at the MAMA Awards.

Edited by Lacey Diluvio