Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: A Kai Pimp Post (Part 1/3)
Everybody knows who Kai is, the first member of EXO to be introduced to the world. But do you know who Kim Jongin is? The sometimes playful, sometimes mature, very shy boy who inspires his fans to reach for the stars like he has? We’re here to show you that Kai is not just a dancing machine, he’s a person worth loving!
Name: Kim Jongin / 김종인 / 金钟仁 (jīn zhōng rén)
Stage name: Kai / 카이 / 开 (kāi)
Nicknames: dancing machine, teaser-rich, kkamjong ("kkam" (dark) + Jongin), 카므파탈 kamme fatale (Kai + homme fatale) 1, 카이스마 kaisma (Kai + charisma), 카우라 kaura (Kai + aura), Kim Kai, 종달새 jongdalsae (“skylark”) 2
Birthdate: January 14, 1994
Age: 19 years old (Korean age: 20 years old)
Birthplace: Seoul, South Korea
Height: 182 cm (5’11”)
Family: mother, father, two older sisters, two dogs (Monggu, a poodle; and Jjangu, a toy poodle)
Subunit: EXO-K
Position: main dancer, rapper, in charge of sexiness and charisma
EXO power: teleportation (symbol)
Kai welcomes you into his pimp post! :3
❝Everyone goes through hardships and there are so many difficulties in life. I know at such a young age that life isn't gonna be easy. I might be shaken, and I know that there will be times when I want to give up, but I'm not going to break apart. I'm not going to give up and I'm going to strive on even stronger.❞ 3
Jongin grew up a driven little boy who knew exactly where his passions lay. His parents put him in taekwondo class when he was young but he soon quit when it was clear that he was dragging his feet every time he went to taekwondo class. When he was in his second year of elementary school, his parents took him to a performance of The Nutcracker - and this was the moment that would determine the love of his life: dancing. Inspired by The Nutcracker, Jongin wanted to learn how to dance and so took up dance lessons in ballet and jazz. These were classes he loved taking, unlike the taekwondo ones. He says that “as a child, I always wanted to dance and sing, while everyone else wanted to play.” 4 His parents supported his dream and became (and still are) his biggest fans. Amazingly, he was only around seven or eight years old at this time but he was already on the path of life to making his dreams a reality.
Wasn't Kim Jongin an absolute cutie patootie when he was young? (He still is ;A;)
» Predebut Jongin photo collection «
The story goes that, although he loved dancing, Jongin only planned on majoring in ballet and didn’t have a particular wish to become a singer until he saw the legendary idols Shinhwa perform on TV when he was in the sixth grade. Quite taken by Shinhwa’s “performance dance,” so different from ballet and jazz, young and ambitious Jongin decided he’d learn that too. His dream no longer involved only dancing; he now also wanted to become a singer, an idol.
But Jongin wasn’t one to sit around and wait for life to hand him his dreams; he went out and made them happen. That same year he saw Shinhwa, Jongin auditioned at SM Entertainment; the judges were impressed with his talent but rejected him due to his young age. 5 They told him to come back in a couple of years if his dream still didn’t change - and of course it didn’t. After training in dance for another two years, with the sole goal of getting into SM Entertainment in mind, Jongin officially became a SM trainee in 2007 through the SM Youth Best competition. As he often likes to proudly mention in interviews, he is the only member in EXO-K who did not become a SM trainee by being casted on the streets by talent scouts.
While he was training under SM, Jongin initially attended Chungdam High School but then transferred to the School of Performing Arts (SOPA) in Seoul, the private high school famous for counting quite a few other k-pop idols among its alumni. 6 Even in high school, he was widely known as an excellent dancer. His SOPA teachers said that “even during his trainee days, his attendance was great. He’s kind, earnest, handsome, and dances really well.” 7 He was a pretty cute high school boy, which leaves us wondering why he reportedly didn’t have all his female classmates chasing after him! Maybe he scared them all away with his dorkiness. (But more on his personality later!)
Having gotten into SM didn’t mean the rest of the road to his dreams was easy, though. He didn’t take anything for granted and continued putting blood, sweat, and tears into his training. During his time as an SM trainee, he picked up hip-hop among other skills, in addition to ballet and jazz. He also had a brief cameo in the music video for TVXQ’s “HaHaHa Song” (he's the one in the red hoodie). After five long years of grueling training day and night, Jongin finally became a member of SM's newest idol group, EXO, making him the EXO member with the second longest trainee period.
SM gave him a spot in EXO and, with it, a new name: Kai.
❝About five seconds before we were to begin our stage, I felt as if my heart would explode. I felt nervous, but listening to the screams of our fans was electrifying. It’s a feeling that can’t be put into words. Once we began our choreography with the music, I thought to myself, ‘So this is why I became a singer. I’d have no regrets dying on stage.'❞ 8
» The teaser era
Click to view
Amid great hype, Kai, lead dancer of EXO-K, was introduced to the world through EXO’s first debut teaser on December 21st, 2011. His smooth, mesmerizing dancing to “My Lady” would be the first of twelve teasers in which he featured, either alone or with other EXO members. He appeared in teasers #1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14, 18, 21, and 23, in addition to many photo teasers (in which he looked absolutely delicious~), earning him the nickname of “teaser-rich” from the fans. When his high school classmates remarked on his debut (he was still in high school while the teasers were being released, not graduating until February of 2012), Jongin would tell them that he was so happy that he could die (awww sweetie ;~;). 9
Jongin’s first appearance on stage as EXO’s Kai took place at the 2011 SBS Gayo Daejun, before EXO’s official debut. He was one of the few EXO members who participated in the “SMTOWN Orchestra: the Sound of Hallyu” collab stage. Even though he danced alongside SHINee’s Taemin and Super Junior’s Eunhyuk, both of whom were more experienced dancers than he was, Kai showed everybody that SM didn't call him a talented dancer for nothing by impressively keeping up with and matching his two sunbaes step for step.
On March 31st, 2012, after training for five years and chasing after his dreams for many more, Kai made his debut at EXO’s Seoul showcase. Kai wowed the audience by performing almost all of the dances shown in his teasers, including “My Lady,” “Run and Gun,” “Time Control,” and “Two Moons.” But it was also the first time hints of who Jongin really was peeked out in front of fans. Suddenly the fierce, sexy dancing machine turned into an awkward teen; he showed just how reluctant he was at performing aegyo and he flashed that signature embarrassed smile that we would all come to know extremely well, winning over the hearts of many fans.
Go ahead, click play and let Kai's dancing mesmerize you!
» The MAMA era
The MAMA era began with the release of EXO's debut mini album and the music video for EXO’s debut title song, “MAMA,” featuring Kai front and center in a special dance break wearing (slightly terrifying??) face paint. As the MAMA era extended far longer than anybody’s expectations (OTL), the dance break in “MAMA” would get remixed and changed up several times, all of which Kai executed on point. The MAMA era is also when Kai perfected his “expose-the-bare-shoulder-without-even-trying” move down to an art. (In one performance, his jacket fell off his shoulders at least seven times in the span of four minutes, oh dear. As he explains, the key point is to make it look like a mistake. Yeah, Kai, you’re not fooling anybody, sorry :c) Every “MAMA” performance is chock full of soul-piercing stares and dramatic emotions, so intense that sometimes Kai looks like he’s about to eat you up.
120701 KBS1TV Open Concert performance of "MAMA" (Kai focus fancam)
Traveling all around the world (and with the same sparkly jacket in every single color of the rainbow), Kai would introduce himself with “Hello everybody, I am EXO-K’s dancing machine, Kai!” in perhaps more languages he could have ever imagined when he would speak when he was just a SM trainee in high school. He wowed each audience with his talent in dancing no matter where he went, living up to his dancing machine title. And this was just the beginning of his career.
» The XOXO era
After thirteen months (!!!), EXO is finally staging a comeback with their first full length album, XOXO. In the teasers released so far, Kai transforms from prim and proper schoolboy to the bad boy swaggering down the high school hallways with a mean smirk to an American football player, sporting (unfortunately - or maybe fortunately? At least you can see just how gorgeous is face is) cornrows. Whether this album will feature more of Kai’s dancing (a special dance break, maybe!) or rapping or even perhaps singing (“365,” anyone? He's getting more singing lines! /excited), we will soon find out! After all, even though Kai has come so far since his first ballet lesson, his dreams are still a work in progress ♥
» The Dancer
❝Perfection. That’s all I can say. Having a varied dance background is really an advantage for him. Smart and creative, he also created the dance steps in his own teasers. Full of improvisation, power, and expression. He once said that he didn’t want to sing, only dance instead. He has desire to learn break dance, hip-hop, and many western dances as well in the future.❞ - Shim Jaewon, EXO’s choreographer 10
If you've heard anything about Kai, it's likely that you've heard that Kai is a pretty good dancer.
There’s a reason why Kai has the position of main dancer in EXO-K; without a doubt, he is one of the best dancers out of the twelve members. Having danced since he was in second grade, his repertoire of dance styles include ballet, jazz, classical, hip-hop, and popping and locking. 11 It’s not only his proficiency but flexibility in each of these styles of dance that is one of the things that sets Kai’s dancing apart from the rest; Kai can go beyond expectations in each style of dance without letting the other styles of dance that he’s well versed in hinder him, which is not an easy skill to develop. 12 His moves are precise, yet not rigid like a robot's; rather, they're fluid and powerful (and then some).
When he was in middle school and high school, he was already well known by his teachers and peers as the kid who loved to dance. He often danced in school shows to songs like Travis Garland’s “Let Me Know” (below), Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back,” and Super Junior’s “Sorry, Sorry” (try to pick out which of the four boys is Kai; it’s pretty obvious from his style of dancing!).
Predebut Kai dancing to “Let Me Know” by Travis Garland
Kai’s dancing also possesses the elusive missing ingredient that so many otherwise great dancers lack: artistry. While his fellow EXO members attribute that “extra something” as charisma (they once unanimously voted him as the member with the most charisma 13), Kai himself simply attributes it to passion. It’s the immense amount of love he pours into every dance step that makes his dancing special. He says, “Dancing was of course what I was the best at. However instead of working diligently, I was enjoying myself. After having danced ballet only, I had fun learning other dances and mastering them. I think being able to enjoy what I was doing instead of just working hard is the reason I managed to debut with EXO-K.” 14 It’s because he loves dancing so much that he was able to debut in EXO, in his view. Kai was not a multi-talented trainee; he didn’t know how to play the piano like Lay or croon to the audience like Chen or even rap like Chanyeol or be an all-around entertainer like Baekhyun. Kai only had dancing. He only had that much to offer, but it was more than enough because his passion for dancing showed. All trainees work hard. But to Kai, it was not only a matter of working hard; it was and is also a matter of whether he loved dancing enough to devote his life to it.
If there is one choreography that illustrates this, it’s EXO's “Angel.” Out of all the teasers, “Angel” is Kai’s favorite choreography, and it definitely shows whenever he performs it. 15 EXO-K’s version of the “Angel” choreography is practically built around Kai, and the style of the choreography suits him best. There's always a huge grin on his face when the song finishes; that's how much he loves to perform this song. Rather than attempt to describe to you how beautifully he turns his pirouette, glides across the stage, and fold in on himself, you should watch it instead. This “Angel” performance (below) in particular is one of his best performances of this song yet. (And this was the very next day after he suffered a leg injury from being tripped and pushed by fans at the airport! His professionalism as a dancer is beyond belief... but that discussion is for the next section!)
Kai's performance of “Angel” at Dream K-Pop Fantasy Concert in Manila on January 14th, 2013.
If you don't understand why Kai's dancing is simply beautiful, maybe this fancam will help.
THIS IS SERIOUSLY A MUST-WATCH!!!
He is always happiest and smiles the hardest when he's dancing, that's how much he loves to dance. You can tell that dancing is one of the most important things in his life by the way he can never stop moving; even when he’s just standing in line at the airport or waiting for EXO’s turn on stage or killing free time in the middle of a photoshoot, you can always see Kai (usually with headphones in) lost in his own world, practicing some choreo. The moment the music comes on, he automatically starts doing what he loves and does best: dance.
"Sorry, Sorry" at Dream Concert on May 12th, 2012. UNF.
Notable performances:
+ “Sorry, Sorry” - 120512 Dream Concert (different fancam from above)
+ “Two Moons” - 120703 Happy Camp
+ Dance Battle - 120818 SMTOWN Seoul
+ “Warrior’s Descent/Mirotic/Lucifer” - 121130 Mnet Asian Music Awards
+ “Spectrum” as part of SM the Seven - 121229 SBS Gayo Daejun (Kai focus fancam)
+ “We Are the Future” - 130115 Golden Disk Awards
+ “Angel” - 130119 DKFC (different fancam from above)
» The Professional
❝I’d rather bend than break.❞ 16
Kai’s determination knows no bounds; it’s one of his qualities that make his stans both proud and worried sick. Being the main dancer, pressured by SM and by himself, has its inevitable downfalls: constant injury. Kai has been injured since at least debut (as this fancam of Kai being assisted out by D.O and a manager after the Beijing debut showcase shows), and EXO’s punishing schedule of performing at music shows multiple times per week and of flying around the world for various concerts has not helped Kai’s injuries in the slightest. But Kai has an extremely high sense of professionalism and willpower made of steel, especially remarkable for a boy so young. He has never, ever once used his injuries as an excuse to sit out on a performance, and he finishes every single performance no matter what.
You can’t even catch any evidence of him in pain because of his back injury unless you look closely at his veiled grimaces or unless he accidentally flashes the bandages on his back. He dances at 110% for every performance, and it’s only after the performance 17 is over that you would see him bend over because of the pain in his back, if at all. He hides his pain at all costs, usually behind his usual bright smiles; when Suho once tried to help Kai by telling him to lean on him, he brushed him off because the fans were watching. 18 This happened more than once. At another interview, when he was asked about his injury since the debut showcase, he answered, “I’m really good. I am really thankful and happy to see the fans care and ask if I’m hurt.” 19 Jongin, it’s not good to lie. 20
You broke your promise, Jonginnie :(
His determination, professionalism, and work ethic is an inherent part of his personality, and some of the many things that makes Jongin so admirable. He can face any adversity and work through it, rather than let an obstacle completely stop him; and that’s why his motto, “I’d rather bend than break,” has such special meaning.
» The Greek God Model
❝Even I think I am sexy when: I see myself in the mirror when I go to change clothes after they got drenched in sweat while practicing in the practice room. 훗.❞ 21
Besides being a dancer and an idol, Kai even has potential as a model~ Right before EXO’s debut, Kai landed a couple of modeling jobs for Calvin Klein for various magazines (Vogue Girl, High Cut, Arena Homme), and the end results were amazing and worthy of exploding fangirls’ ovaries. It’s safe to say that Calvin Klein and Kai are an extremely good match for each other!
» Kai's photoshoots and magazine scans photo collection «
Besides Calvin Klein, Kai also joined fellow EXO members Sehun and Luhan and other SM artists in another magazine photoshoot, W Live SM Fashionistas 2012.
Kai has also walked the runway before at the Jeju Island Fashion Show, with Chanyeol, looking extremely sexy as he did so. Be careful that he doesn't kill you with his smirk!
Obligatory warning for ovary explosion
Proper and full discussion of how Kai has a body that even Adonis would be jealous of will, of course, wait until a later section in this pimp post to fully justify Kai’s heavenly physical attributes ;)
» The Complete Artist
❝Just with his hand movements or gazes, Michael Jackson managed to make a crowd go wild and move the audience. I want to be like this too.❞ 22
There’s no doubt that dancing is a huge part of Kai’s life, and at one point, dancing probably made up all of it. But nowadays, it’s a slightly different story. Kai does not only dance; he has expressed interest in becoming a better singer (“I would love to learn how to sing melodically as well, so I’m studying a lot” 23) - a big change since his predebut days, as Shim Jaewon’s quote earlier shows). You can listen to audio cuts of his singing in EXO’s songs so far here and in EXO’s cover of “Mirotic” here. He’s no natural like Chen, that’s for sure, but if Jongin puts his mind to something, you can bet that he will put hard work into it. He’s already braved his shyness for a bit to sing a line in “Hawak Kamay” at DKFC! And if his normal talking voice is any indication, his singing voice should be just as mesmerizing and wonderful to listen to. (Deep, though not as deep as Chanyeol's or Kris', and with a slightly weird timbre (??), but still extremely pleasant to listen to.) Like his idol Michael Jackson, he wants “to become a complete artist, one who can dance, sing, and rap.” 23 It’ll definitely be a joy for fans to watch him grow as an artist, becoming the world’s best singer he wants to be!
But enough about Kai's career. How about his personality?
1. thekaisoo ↩
2. Ceci Korea magazine (June 2013 issue) ↩
3. 120504 Arirang Radio Kpoppin’ ↩
4. 121218 Swide interview ↩
5. High Cut magazine interview (Volume 73, March 15 2012 issue) ↩
6. thekaisoo ↩
7. thekaisoo ↩
8. 120502 MyDaily interview ↩
9. thekaisoo ↩
10. Shim Jaewon on EXO-K members' style of dancing ↩
11. 121218 Swide interview ↩
12. This observation is taken from redcandyfirst’s analysis on Kai’s dancing. Read her entire comment; it’s illuminating and does his dancing more justice than I ever could! ↩
13. 120605 JoyNews24 interview ↩
14. 120503 Star Today interview ↩
15. Fansigning ↩
16. 120508 The Star profile ↩
17. Notice how Kai doesn’t bend over to brace himself on his knees until the lights go off. I don’t think this is merely fatigue because you can also see a couple of seconds later that Tao seems to ask him if he’s okay out of concern, but Kai waves him off. ↩
18. thekaisoo ↩
19. 120511 Newsen interview ↩
20. This is the 120420 performance of MAMA, a mere half a month after EXO’s debut. Fast forward to 4:26 to see how Kai needs to brace himself on his knees (again) because of his back injury, but he only does so when the song has completely finished. His moves are as sharp as ever; you couldn’t even tell that he was in pain until the ending when Chanyeol checks up on him. ↩
21. Ceci Korea magazine (June 2013 issue) ↩
22. 120511 Newsen interview ↩
23. 121218 Swide interview ↩
part 2 »