Jin Soo Kim (JSKM) is a jazz guitarist, composer, and educator based in Seoul, South Korea. Born on February 20, 1984, he began playing guitar at the age of twelve and was introduced to jazz in 1999 through Seoul Jazz Academy. From his teenage years he performed regularly in local clubs, developing his musical voice primarily through live performance rather than through predefined stylistic systems.
In 2002, Kim entered Chugye University for the Arts as a creative writing major, studying modern poetry. His engagement with language, structure, and narrative has continued to influence his musical thinking, particularly his sensitivity to form, timing, and flow in improvisation.
At the end of 2003, he moved to the United States to study at Berklee College of Music, where he worked with Mick Goodrick, Hal Crook, George Garzone, Tim Miller, and Bruce Saunders. During a period in Korea for military service, he recorded and released his first album Awareness (2008) with percussionist Baek Sun-yeol. The album, a composition-based duo project for guitar and percussion, explores texture, space, and musical restraint.
He later returned to the United States and graduated from Berklee before continuing his studies at the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Jerry Bergonzi, John McNeil, Frank Carlberg, Ran Blake, and Ted Reichman. During this period his artistic focus gradually shifted from stylistic mastery toward interaction, embodiment, and the physical experience of sound.
In 2011, he recorded the album Road to Home (2012) with the band Three Quartet. After returning to Korea he suffered a hand injury, which ultimately led him to remain based in Korea.
In 2013 he transferred to Dongguk University to study Arts Management, and in 2019 he received a Ph.D. from Korea University’s Interdisciplinary Program in Applied Language and Culture. His doctoral research examined musical gesture in free jazz, focusing on expressive intention and interaction as interpreted between performers and listeners. This research continues to inform his work across performance, education, and theoretical inquiry.
In 2014 Kim founded the independent record label Koni Music, which later evolved into OLF, a platform dedicated to artist-driven production and long-term documentation. As a bandleader or co-leader he has released more than ten recordings, including full-length albums, EPs, and singles.
His discography spans a wide range of musical formats and approaches. Parangyebo (2014) is a songwriting project centered on the expressive possibilities of the acoustic guitar. Flow Flow Flow (2017) combines acoustic instrumentation with electronic elements, with improvisation playing a significant role throughout the album. Cosmic Butterfly (2020) explores musical spatiality through a sound world influenced in part by post-rock.
Subsequent projects continue this exploration. Trio (2021) documents live performances built around minimal motifs within a trio setting, while Well (2022) presents a live quintet recording based on a melody written to Yun Dong-ju’s poem “Self-Portrait,” expanding into collective improvisation. Changing, Unchanging (2025) features trio performances that combine selected jazz standards with lyrical original compositions.
His 2026 album Aspiration brings together live performances from various periods alongside newly recorded studio tracks, offering a portrait of his evolving musical language over the past decade.
As a performer, Kim received the Best Creativity Award at the 7th Jarasum International Jazz Concours and was named Guitarist of the Year in the 2015 Leaders Poll organized by LIG Cultural Foundation and Naver Music. He has appeared at major festivals including the Jarasum International Jazz Festival, Seoul Jazz Festival, Seoul Forest Jazz Festival, and the Gwacheon Performing Arts Festival, and has performed widely in concert halls, jazz clubs, and broadcast programs. In addition to his own projects, he has worked extensively as a session musician and collaborator across jazz, popular music, and improvised music.
Alongside his performance career, Kim has been active as an educator, teaching improvisation, ensemble performance, and various theoretical subjects at institutions including Hanyang University, Howon University, and Dongduk Women’s University.