Who Is Kahyun Kim? Everything to Know about the St. Denis Medical Star
Versatile actress Kahyun Kim has gone from dominating the horror genre to stepping right into the comedy world with St. Denis Medical.
Actress Kahyun Kim has been working in the entertainment industry for more than a decade. She’s about to continue her streak in the highly anticipated NBC series St. Denis Medical.
She will be portraying Serena, a registered nurse at the hospital who's trying to balance helping patients with the ever-changing work dynamics she has with the rest of the eclectic staff.
RELATED: Everything to Know About St. Denis Medical on NBC
Ahead of the comedy series’ premiere on November 12, here is a look into Kim and how her career got to this point.
Where is Kahyun Kim from?
Originally from South Korea, Kim had a love for the arts at a young age. She relocated to America at 16 years old and got accepted into the prestigious arts college, Julliard.
After graduating and moving to Los Angeles, she began pursuing theatre professionally and soon landed the lead role of Kim in Hit, a project from award-winning playwright Alice Tuan.
Months later Kim played the role of Kris in Bekah Brunstetter’s hey, brother, which was one of the last plays Brunstetter created before being hired as a writer for This Is Us.
Kahyun Kim got her big break on Disney channel
Kim began parting from theatre and started appearing in short films instead, slowly making her name known through several projects, including the James Franco-led short, Obituaries.
Her first prominent role though, was on the Disney Channel series Austin and Ally. She portrayed Sun Hee, a socially awkward student who was a part of the glee club. Kim appeared in three episodes of the series.
The role further propelled her career with Disney, leading to a minor role in the 2018 adaptation of Freaky Friday. Kim also dabbled in voice acting, lending her voice to the role of of Dae in the animated show Zombies: The Re-Animated Series.
Kahyun Kim’s unexpected TV role on American Gods
One Starz series that still gets online buzz to this day is American Gods. The three-season imaginative series was well received, earning multiple Emmy nominations during its run. There were some cast mishaps, though, along the way.
Notably, actress Gillian Anderson announced after Season 1 premiered that she was stepping down from her role as Media on the series. An essential character of the show, the mission for another female actress to join the cast began. Thats where Kim came into play.
“When it was explained to me, especially after I got the part, they were like, “It’s not like you’re gonna recreate what Gillian did,” which is good because she’s a goddess of her own, so I wouldn’t even attempt to,” she shared with Collider.
Taking on the role of New Media, Kim’s character embodied social media, the use of emojis, and internet culture as a whole. The reoccurring role became Kim’s longest run on a TV series so far, appearing in a total of five episodes in the second season.
Kahyun Kim gets a fright in Cocaine Bear
Kim further expanded her resume in 2023 when she starred in the Universal Pictures horror film Cocaine Bear.
Set in rural Georgia, the R-rated film takes viewers inside the chaos of when residents come face to face with a deadly wild bear who ingested cocaine.
Kim portrayed the role of Beth, a paramedic who frantically tries to escape the wrath of the monster in question.
The film, which is loosely based on a true story, became one of the biggest movies of 2023, establishing Kim’s presence in the horror genre. She subsequently took on role in several other films in the genre including Fire Island and The K-Town Killer.
Watch Kahyun in St.Denis Medical, premiering on November 12 on NBC. Watch episodes next-day on Peacock.
