| “ | You are sensei here? No. You go back to America and be sensei. Here, you are student. Not very good student if you ask for mercy. | „ |
| ~ Master Kim after John Kreese criticized him. |
| “ | When I was just a boy, invaders try to conscript me into military, so I flee into forest and take shelter in cave. But invaders find me. So I fight them using my father's eunjangdo, ancient family knife. I kill a dozen men before I lose eunjangdo. | „ |
| ~ Master Kim telling John Kreese his story. |
Master Kim Sun-Yung is one of the two overarching antagonists (alongside Captain Turner) of The Karate Kid franchise.
He is Tang Soo Do's master who created the Way of The Fist, the fighting style that would later become Cobra Kai from Korea, where during the Korean War, taught many American servicemen unarmed combat techniques and is accredited with developing what is now known as "The Way of The Fist," a very aggressive form used in today's martial arts and the U.S. military in close-quarter hand-to-hand combat situations.
The extreme doctrines he preaches are what shape the violent and vengeful behavior that Kreese and Silver carry out, which they pass on to their students. He is the former sensei of John Kreese and Terry Silver and the grandfather of Kim Da-Eun.
After Kreese and Da-Eun reject his ruthless way after Kwon’s death, Da-Eun fights her grandfather to end his ruthless legacy once and for all and succeed in killing him with a forbidden technique.
In The Karate Kid, his likeness was provided by Jun Chong. In Cobra Kai, he was portrayed by Don Lee in Season 5 and later C. S. Lee in Season 6.
Personality[]
Master Kim Sun-Yung is a ruthless sensei. He shows the ruthless side of himself when he beats up a young John Kreese while he tried to stop him from abusing his granddaughter Kim Da-Eun. Although it was his perspective, Master Kim ultimately regarded his "abuse" as pain necessary for the betterment of his students and family, which is furthered by the fact that his students did, in fact, get stronger in body and mind, and also his granddaughter wasn't afraid of him after experiencing so many of his beatings.
Primarily Cobra Kai is taught by the fist, strike first, strike hard and show no mercy. Cobra Kai was taught by Master Kim Sun-Yung. Overall, Master Kim is the complete opposite to Mr. Miyagi in every aspect but particularly in their philosophies since Mr. Miyagi was a Pacifistic idealist while Master Kim was Darwinistic realist.
Despite his ruthlessness and the way he may appear vile, Master Kim seemed to be most wise in the case of darwinism, as it was his belief that guided many American military soldiers to victory in combat. His main philosophy is that one's main interest shall not be in the prize of the war but in the eradication of whoever and/or whatever is standing in one's way, which he had been forced to comprehend at a very tender age right after his first kill and is still abiding by up unto this very moment.
His Darwinism also applies to himself as well as he eggs his granddaughter to kill him when she rejects his ruthless way for the last time. After Da-Eun kills him, he praises her skill and accepts his death, naming her his successor.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
As a child, Kim Sun-Yung escaped from Japanese invaders during their occupation of Korea, hiding in a cave. When the soldiers found him, the young Kim Sun-Yung slaughtered them all with his ancient family knife, eunjangdo, before losing it inside said cave.
Kim Sun-Yung grew up to be a highly skilled South Korean Grandmaster of Tang Soo Do who became famous during the Korean War when he trained American soldiers to be more proficient in CQCs against North Korean troop's Kyeok Sul Do martial art. Among them was Captain George Turner. Kim's style was named the Way of the Fist and was based on brutality and showing no mercy which made it controversial. Kim-Sun Young had a rivalry with Japanese karate master Sato Toguchi, who barked at his fighting style due to its brutality and lack of honor.
During the Vietnam War, Captain Turner told his soldiers John Kreese and Terry Silver about Kim Sun-Yung and trained them both in the ways of the fist. After Turner died and the war ended, Kreese and Silver founded Cobra Kai and begun to teach his style. In 1980 upon Terry Silver's suggestion, both he and Kreese travelled to South Korea in order to be trained by the Grandmaster himself. There, they met his young granddaughter Kim Da-Eun, who continued his legacy when she grew up.
The Karate Kid Part III[]
Kim Sun-Yung was first mentioned when Terry Silver visited Miyagi's dojo in order to prevent to apologize to him and Daniel LaRusso for Kreese's previous dishonorable actions.
Cobra Kai[]
Season 5[]
Decades later, upon putting Kreese in jail, Silver called Kim Da-Eun to help him run his newly expanded dojos. Kim brought with her the best teachers of her school and begun training the Cobra Kai students using brutal methods. Meanwhile, Chozen Toguchi who heard stories from his uncle about Kim Sun-Yung warned Daniel about his dangerous style.
Season 6[]
Part I[]
When the plot to expand Cobra Kai failed, Kim Da-Eun went back to Korea to teach her students. It was eventually revealed he was still alive. Kreese and Kim Da-Eun convince him to let his dojang enter the Sekai Taikai as Cobra Kai, but he refuses and reminds him that his own granddaughter failed to expand Cobra Kai worldwide in America, whilst pointing out to John Kreese for not being a good student and Sensei, let alone Silver dishonoring his legacy by paying off a referee. After Kreese reminds him of Johnny Lawrence disposing five of Silver’s sensei’s during the break in at his mansion, Kim decided to give him a chance to prove himself. Master Kim then reminded Kreese about when Korea was under Japanese rule, invaders would try and search for Master Kim and conscript him to the military, and would hide in a cave to avoid him and would fight them using his father's own eujangdo once he was found and killed a dozen soldiers before eventually losing it. Kim then instructs Kreese to return the eujangdo to him to prove himself but warned that there were more consequences than the knife. After proving himself, Kreese returned to Kim and was successful in retrieving the knife, showing the cobra's decapitated head that attacked him, proving himself as he finally understood its not about the prize but eliminating anyone standing in their way. Kim then understood and was ready, assuring nothing will stand in their way again.
Part III[]
When Kwon Jae-Sung accidentally kills himself during an all out dojo brawl in the Sekai Taikai, a funeral is held for him which he oversaw. Master Kim then declared they will re-enter the tournament and seek revenge and forces Kim Da-Eun to learn a brutal technique which forces Yoon Do-Jin to perform on their fellow students as punishment for Kwon's death. Horrified, Kreese decided to withdraw Cobra Kai from participating in the Sekai Taikai tournament and decided to send Yoon away. Kim Sun-Yung then instructed Kim to kill Kreese if she wants to take over his dojang at his passing. However, Kreese instructs Kim to not be like her grandfather, so she decides to kill him. Kim-Sun anticipates this when she tries to kill him, forcing them to fight. Despite the old master gaining the upper hand at first, Kim Da-Eun eventually turns the tables on him and kills him by striking his own heart using the forbidden technique she learned earlier. Master Kim then praises his granddaughter before passing away.
Legacy[]
Following his death, Kreese and Kim Da-Eun decide to part ways. Kreese then returned to the United States to make up for his past actions with Tory Nichols and Johnny Lawrence. Despite Cobra Kai withdrawing, Tory Nichols become the only remaining Cobra to fight since the dojo didn't appoint a male captain to replace Kwon. However, when Johnny and Kreese reconcile, the latter begins handing over the dojo back to Johnny, to the point he decides to appoint Miguel Diaz to replace Kwon so they can defeat Terry Silver and the Iron Dragons once and for all. Tory Nichols and Miguel Diaz would defeat both Zara Malik and Axel Kovačević respectively, giving Cobra Kai the points needed to tie with the Iron Dragons and resulting a sensei showdown between Johnny Lawrence and Sensei Wolf. Kreese would then sacrifice himself by going into Terry Silver's yacht and killing him by blowing up his private yacht to ensure the safety of Johnny Lawrence and his new family.
Johnny would eventually defeat Sensei Wolf in a final showdown, bringing Cobra Kai back to stardom and becoming the number one dojo in the valley. With most of their fighters having gone to college or have started their new lives, Cobra Kai and Miyagi Do, now led by both Johnny and Daniel, have begun starting to work together to train a new generation of students to learn both the offensive and defensive styles of karate and not showing "No Mercy" towards other students, while Kim Da-Eun would similarly reform her dojang with less ruthless tactics going down the similar route to Johnny, and would start a relationship with Chozen Toguchi. Thus, leaving Kim Sun-Yung's plans for conquest in vain, though he posthumously succeeded in making Cobra Kai the number one dojo in the valley, albeit not in the way he hoped for now that Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai have decided to put their differences aside and have worked together to train students both offensive and defensive styles to ensure nothing goes wrong between them.
Quotes[]
| “ | John Kreese: I know the lesson. And when the circumstances called for it, I didn't show mercy. Kim Sun-Yung: Circumstance? Lesson for whole life. I will teach you again. And this time, you will never forget. |
„ |
| ~ Master Kim to John Kreese before attacking him. |
| “ | You attack your own grandfather? Are you afraid? Oh yeah? Then you're finally ready. You will stop hiding and begin training tomorrow. | „ |
| ~ Kim Sun-Yung while strangling his granddaughter. |
| “ | Fools always focus on prize. Never see enemies standing in way. | „ |
| ~ Master Kim berating Kreese's ideas. |
| “ | Excuses! This is why you will never be master. Your incompetence is why I must stay alive. | „ |
| ~ Master Kim berating his granddaughter for her previous failures. |
| “ | Perfect. | „ |
| ~ Kim’s last word before dying by his granddaughter’s hand. |
Trivia[]
- It was originally unclear whether Kim Sun-Yung was actually evil or designed his craft to be used during wartime as a necessity, but his appearance in Season 6 confirmed his evil nature.
- Although Don Lee played Kim Sun-Yung in a flashback in Season 5 of Cobra Kai, where his face was covered, C. S. Lee played the role in Season 6, where we actually get a clear look at his face for the first time in the whole franchise.
- It is unknown how old he is, he would probably be in his 90’s or 100’s in longevity as he already looked pretty old in the flashbacks and said he was a kid during the Japanese occupation of Korea.
- He seems to be portrayed as a dark version of Mr. Miyagi, with some of his lessons and dialogue resembling those of Miyagi but with a twist.
External Link[]
- Kim Sun-Yung on the The Karate Kid Wiki
