Kim Kaphwan

Story

Fatal Fury

Kim is a Taekwondo World Champion hailing from South Korea. He uses this in his favor and fights the best fighters in the world. He competed in a tournament that was hosted by Wolfgang Krauser. While on his way, he encountered The Hungry Wolf, Terry Bogard. Since then, They became good friends and from then on, Kim agrees to help the lone wolf in any way that he can, although they’re still rivals. Kim has two sons (Dong Hwan and Jae Hoon) and a wife named Myeng Swuk (as shown in Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture) and owns a dojang with students.

The King of Fighters

Because of his status as a national hero in Korea, he was able to convince the authorities to release Chang Koehan and Choi Bounge and hand them over to Kim to reform them out of their criminal ways. Despite bearing an ill-will towards Kim for his actions, They grew to grudgingly respect him. Kim has been in every King of Fighters tournaments and has been the leader of Team Korea in all, except XI, XII and XIII.

In the King of Fighters XI, he joined the Fatal Fury team as Chang and Choi convinced him to do so in order to see Kim enjoy himself for once. despite being happy about the fact that his disciples have grown up. he reluctantly plays the middle man of his teammates. In the team’s ending, the team celebrates at the Pao Pao Cafe where Kim gets humourously drunk and advises Terry to find a girlfriend and get married.

Upon realizing that his first “rehabilitation subjects” have amended their ways, Kim remembers two other villains that have disturbed him in the past, Hwa Jai and Raiden, and calls them out to Southtown. He thinks that the two are still working for Geese and asks them to repent. Kim states that they’re wasting their their talents on Geese and wants to change their criminal ways, even though they replied that they already repented. His new team shocked the media and it became a popular subject of gossip among those who hear it. In his team’s ending, Hwa Jai and Raiden tricked Kim into believing that they have “reformed”. Parting ways with the duo, Kim starts to realize that he may have been “too soft” on Chang and Choi. To honor the words of his former teammates and the struggles they went through, he decides to intensify the two criminals’ already strict training.

Personality

Whatever Kim does, he strives for excellence and righteousness, whether it’d be fighting or his personal life. He is a loving husband and father, and a very strict disciplinarian. He is highly respected and admired by other people for his honesty and bravery, and has many friends amongst the characters in both King of Fighters and Fatal Fury. Unfortunately, he can’t really handle his liquor very well, as shown in his team’s ending for The King of Fighters XI.

Above all of Kim’s defining characteristics is his strong, inherent sense of justice. He can always tell if someone is evil or not at a glance. As such, Kim has a special opening pose whenever he fights against an evil character, someone influenced by Orochi or any other sinister power. In this pose, he glares menacingly at the evil opponent, slowly raises his hand and points at the opponent, saying “Aku wa yurusan…” (“Evil is unforgivable…”) “Hah!” before jumping into his fighting stance. Watching Kim’s intro against a character is a good way to tell if the character is considered evil in the canon of the story.

Profile

Full name: Kim Kaphwan

Date of Birth: December 21st

Birthplace: South Korea

Height: 176 cm (5’9″)

Weight: 78 kg (172 lbs)

Blood Type: A

Family/Relatives:

  • Kim Hye-Ryen (possible ancestor)
  • Myeng Swuk (wife)
  • Kim Dong Hwan (son)
  • Kim Jae Hoon (son)
  • Kim Sue II (possible descendant)

Job/Occupation: Dojang owner and master of Taekwondo

Likes: His family

Dislikes: Evil

Hobbies: Karaoke

Favorite food: Korean squid sashimi (Fatal Fury 2), Korean Barbecue (Fatal Fury Special), Kimchi (King of Fighters 2003)

Forte in sports: Gymnastics

Special skill: Rehabilitating evil people

Favorite music: Popular mood music

Powers

  • Sense Evil – He can sense evil energy or intent inside other people
  • Phoenix Attack – Kim is able to summon a phoenix while using his Ho’Oh Kyaku as shown in the Real Bout series.

Skills

Kim is very proficient in using acrobatics along with his Taekwondo skills and using Taekwondo as his style, he is able to perform very fast multiple chain kicks.

Fighting Style

Taekwondo

Trivia

In the fan Q&A for Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, a fan asked Kim about his thoughts regarding hypocrites. In an “interview”, Kim answers that any sort of lie is evil and unforgivable. He then naively asks why he received this question.

Other Media

Anime/Animated:

Video game appearances

  • Fatal Fury 2
  • Fatal Fury Special
  • Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition
  • Fatal Fury: First Contact
  • The King of Fighters R-1
  • The King of Fighters R-2