Singer and actor Kim Jung-min opened up about his unexpected entry into the music industry during an appearance on MBC Standard FM's "Park Jun-hyung, Park Young-jin's 2 O'clock Cheers" on April 28.
Per DAUM, he explained that during the 1990s, "Street casting was common," adding, "I rarely auditioned, and I was essentially selected based on my looks."
At the time of the offer, Kim was serving in the military. He recalled receiving an unexpected opportunity while on leave, "Singer Kim Min-woo is a year my junior in college, so I went to get his autograph to give as a gift to my subordinates during my final year of service."
Kim continued, "Min-woo's manager asked what I did, and when I said I did music, he suggested we work together." Further recounting, "Even though I told him I was a soldier, he said we should meet again after I was discharged."
Despite this news report from Nate stating that Kim clarified his role, "I played bass even in the military, and I never thought of myself as a singer," he acknowledged, "But it seems they saw my potential."
He also shared a challenging moment from his past, "I was once fired from the Gangbyeon Song Festival for not being able to concentrate after taking on the chorus."
Kim made his official singing debut in 1992 with the soundtrack "Stay in Your Love." However, he noted that his early activities were unusual as he released only audio tracks without showing his face. Laughing about this irony, he said, "I was cast based on my face, but I actually debuted as a faceless singer," adding, "That is something I still don't understand."
He also revealed how this period pushed him to focus on singing, "It was from that time that I started practicing singing in earnest. I hardly sang before that," and added, "I practiced warming up my voice by singing military songs loudly in the army."
On his personal life, Kim Jung-min married Tani Rumiko, his Japanese wife who is 11 years younger than him, in 2006. The couple has three sons.
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