Born into a family of mountaineers and climbers,[1] Kim started climbing at age 12. In July 2004, at age 15, she started competing in the Lead Climbing World Cup and since 2006, she has also participated in the Bouldering World Cup.[citation needed]
She won the Lead Climbing Asian Championship in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010. In 2008, she also won the Bouldering Asian Championship. In 2009, she ranked second in the Lead Climbing World Cup,[2] second in the Lead Climbing World Championship,[3] second in the World Games (Lead), and third in the Rock Master (Lead).[4]
In 2010, she won the lead climbing competitions both in the Rock Master[5] and the World Cup.[6] She obtained the World Cup overall title by ranking first in five of the six stages, namely those held in Xining, Chuncheon, Puurs, Huaiji, and Kranj. The only World Cup stage that Jain Kim did not win in 2010 was the first one, held in Chamonix. She won the Lead Climbing World Cup again in 2013 and 2014, each time winning four of the eight events.
In May and June 2014, she redpointed her first routes in rock climbing graded 8b+, namely Bibita Biologica (8c) and Reini's Vibes (8c/8c+), both in Arco, Italy.
On September 14, 2014, three days after she had turned 26, she achieved an extraordinary victory at the Lead Climbing World Championships, where she managed to ascend (on-sight) all of the routes attempted in the qualifications, the semifinals, and the finals.
On May 20, 2017, she climbed the 555-meter Lotte World Tower in Seoul.[7]
Upon winning the gold Lead World Cup in Chamonix on July 9, 2023, Kim became the oldest woman to win a Lead World Cup at 34 years old.[8]
Personal life
She is married to Oh Young-hwan, a member of the 21st National Assembly of Korea, who was a firefighter of Seoul Fire Services and writer.[9] On March 10, 2021, Kim gave birth to a daughter.[10]
