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| “ | 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. |
Kim Sun-Yung, more commonly known as Master Kim, 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 sensei of John Kreese and Terry Silver, also the grandfather of Kim Da-Eun.
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.
Biography[]
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. 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.
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. 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.
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.
- He was the mastermind and inspiration of Cobra Kai the way of the fist. He is like the evil Mr. Miyagi.
External Link[]
- Kim Sun-Yung on the The Karate Kid Wiki
