|
| “ | Evil is unforgivable! | „ |
| ~ Kim Kaphwan's most famous quote. |
| “ | I can't let this end here, not if I'm to show others a true warrior's path. | „ |
| ~ Kim's win quote. |
| “ | So, with this result you must understand the greatness of Tae Kwon Do! | „ |
| ~ Kim in The King of Fighters XIV. |
| “ | I'll show you the fruits of my labor. | „ |
| ~ Kim in The King of Fighters XV. |
Kim Kaphwan (Korean/Hangul:김갑환, Gim Gab-hwan/Japanese: キム・カッファン, Kimu Kaffan) is one of the major characters from Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters franchise. He is a master of Taekwondo and considers himself a fighter of justice. Kim's original teammates, Chang Koehan and Choi Bounge, were to be teamed up with another dangerous criminal character to form the "Fugitive Team", but Kim was added to the team instead. His official nickname is The Crown Jewel of Taekwondo.
He was voiced by Satoshi Hashimoto, Kazuhiko Nagata, Hiroshi Isobe (who also voiced Magoichi Saika and Liu Kang), and Kunihiro Kawamoto.
Biography[]
Fatal Fury[]
Fatal Fury 2[]
Kim Kaphwan is the reigning world champion of Tae Kwon Do. Kim is invited by Wolfgang Krauser to compete in his King of Fighters tournament as he was hoping to face superb challengers. During the tournament Kim encounters the "Lone Wolf", Terry Bogard. Kim acknowledges Terry as the superior fighter and the duo become good friends. From that moment on Kim helps Terry in all that he can, though a definite (but friendly) rivalry is maintained.
Real Bout Fatal Fury[]
Kim is one of the many fighters invited to the 3rd edition of KOF.
Garou: Mark of the Wolves[]
Sometime after Real Bout Fatal Fury, Kim had retired from fighting, but continued to train others. Two of his pupils which would be his own kids, Kim Jae Hoon and Kim Dong Hwan, who would go and participate in the Maximum Mayhem tournament.
The King of Fighters[]
Orochi Saga[]
The King of Fighters '94[]
Kim is watching TV with his two sons when a news alert pops up about a breakout caused by Chang Koehan. Frustrated at these events, Kim goes out to beat some sense into him. While fighting Chang, he is tag-teamed by Choi Bounge although they both lose with little success. Realizing the potential of rehabilitating criminals into people of justice, he beings his Rehabilitation Project and forces Chang and Choi to enter KOF as the Korea Justice Team, representing Korea.
The King of Fighters '95[]
Chang and Choi receives the KOF invitation and discover that Rugal is alive. The two devises a plan to switch sides when they meet Rugal Bernstein. Unfortunately for them, Kim sees the invite and forces them to train twice as hard to prepare for KOF, as the Korea Justice Team.
The King of Fighters '96[]
Chang and Choi are once again tagged along with Kim to form the Korea Justice Team. This time, if they win, Kim will see them as rehabilitated, and will let them go. Unfortunately for them, during their Team ending, Chang and Choi made the mistake of saying out loud about how much they hated training with Kim on their plane ride back to Korea, which causes Kim to force them to train even harder than before.
The King of Fighters '97[]
Kim's "Rehabilitation Project" has become well-known within the general public, and many news publications have been relentlessly interviewing them. To take a break from this, Kim, Chang and Choi form the Korea Justice Team once more.
NESTS Chronicles[]
The King of Fighters '99[]
Prior to the 1999 tournament, Kim's long time friend and rival, Jhun Hoon appeared to assist him with his program. After seeing Kim's ethics and methods of training, Jhun decided that he would show him a more efficient way of management; Jhun Hoon's methods are much more new-age and strange than Kim's simple harsh exercises, including lots of special equipment and activities, such as attending pop concerts. He continues to challenge Kim on his methods of enforcement and his skills as a fighter, to which they agree to work together during this time. During the Team Korea Justice ending, Chang and Choi kills both Kim and Jhun, although it was quickly revealed that it was a daydream and that the two couldn't go through with it.
The King of Fighters 2001[]
Before the the 2001 tournament, Jhun got into an accident that injures his neck and back in a street accident (in reality, he was distracted by Athena Asamiya's beauty, and was hit by a car while crossing the street). With Jhun out of commission, Kim brings one of his pupils, May Lee Jinju, as an advisor. While it is her job to keep an eye on Chang and Choi, she, unlike Kim, doesn't feel the need to physically punish them on a regular basis, which suited Chang and Choi. During the team's ending, they are praised as heroes for stopping NESTS.
Tales of Ash[]
The King of Fighters XI[]
Kim appeared as a member of Team Fatal Fury in place of Tizoc from the previous tournament. Wanting to see Kim enjoy himself for once, Chang and Choi convince him to join Terry Bogard and Duck King. Although he's happy that his disciples have matured, he is forced to play the middleman between Terry and Duck King, with the two of them ragging on each other over trivial grievances. In the team's ending, the team celebrates at Pao Pao Cafe and Kim becomes humorously drunk, advising Terry to find a wife and get married.
The King of Fighters XIII[]
Realizing that his first "rehabilitation subjects" have mended their ways, Kim remembers two other villains that have disturbed him in the past, Hwa Jai and Raiden, and summons them to South Town. Kim believes they are still working for Geese Howard and is intent on changing their "criminal ways", stubbornly remaining oblivious to their actual reform. The new team shocks the media, and it becomes a popular subject of gossip with those who hear it.
In his team's ending, Hwa Jai and Raiden pretend to be "reformed" by Kim, and the gullible Kim falls for it. After they part ways, Kim thinks he might have been "too soft" on Chang and Choi. To honor his former teammates and the struggles they went through, he intensifies Chang and Choi's strict training.
Shun'ei Saga[]
The King of Fighters XIV[]
Kim rewarded Chang and Choi with a week break, but they did not return. Instead, he received a visit from his master Gang-il and the latter's newest lover Luong, the two brought news that both Chang and Choi are seen hanging around with the legendary criminal Xanadu. Kim resolved to enter the tournament with Gang-Il and Luong in order to find out what happened to Chang and Choi. During the team's ending, Gang-il and Luong decide to stay with Kim, much to the latter's dismay.
SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy[]
Sometime after the fourteenth tournament, Kim was seen drinking with Gang-il in a bar while Luong woke up from a not so pleasant dream.
The King of Fighters XV[]
Due to Kim and Gang-il being too busy with training, Luong went to join the Secret Agents Team with the freelancer agents Vanessa and Blue Mary. However, he soon catches up and joins the tournament. After his failure to rehabilitate Chang and Choi, his master Gang-il believes that Kim had started to slack off on what his master had taught him, and decides that it's time for Kim to take the next step towards Taekwondo mastery - a new, significantly more intense training regimen of Gang-il's own design. Kim enters the tournament as a solo entry bearing the results of his master's new teachings, though he isn't too happy about it.
Physical Appearance[]
Kim Kaphwan is depicted as a fit and athletic individual, reflecting his expertise in Taekwondo. He typically wears a traditional white dobok (Taekwondo uniform) with a black belt, signifying his mastery of the martial art. His design often includes details that pay homage to his Korean heritage, such as using Korean characters on his outfit. Kim's appearance is complemented by his iconic stance and confident body language, embodying the spirit of a disciplined martial artist.
In KOF XV, Kim's appearance changes dramatically. He now dons a black dobok with a blue belt. He also has his hands and feet wrapped in bandages due to harsh training by his master Gang-il.
Personality[]
Kim strives for excellence and righteousness in everything he does, be it his fighting or personal life. He is a loving husband and father, and a strict disciplinarian. He is deeply respected and admired by his acquaintances for his honesty and bravery, and has many friends amongst the characters in both The King of Fighters and Fatal Fury. However, he apparently can't handle his liquor very well, as seen in his team's ending for The King of Fighters XI.
One of Kim's defining characteristics is his strong, inherent sense of justice. He has the ability to tell whether or not someone is evil 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.
Kim also feels joy in training as many people as he can. He feels that training his pupils in Tae Kwon Do is an obligation to the world, as his training program not only teaches the martial art itself, but also teaches the concepts of justice and honesty. Kim's devotion to justice can be overzealous and even fanatic, always trying to recruit and reform evil people into the Tae Kwon Do ways.
Kim has trained many students over the years (voluntarily and forcibly), and will always try and "recruit" as many fighters as he can into his training regime.
Powers and Abilities[]
Kim demonstrates his signature move on Billy in King of Fighters XV.
Kim is a famous Taekwondo champion, said to having been undefeated for 10 years. He upholds the legacy of his whole country in martial arts competition, most notably the "The King of Fighters" tournaments in which he emerged as one of the most prominent participants. He is also known for being an excellent instructor, having tutored the Jin brothers after their change of heart, and his two sons, who ended up making a name for themselves by the time of Garou: Mark of the Wolves.
Other skills[]
- Sense Evil - Kim can sense evil energy or intent in others.
- Phoenix Attack - In the Real Bout series and in other few titles, Kim is able to summon a phoenix while using his Hou'ou Kyaku.
- Acrobatics - Kim is very proficient in acrobatics, using it with his Tae Kwon Do skills.
- Advanced Kicking - Thanks to his Tae Kwon Do training, Kim is able to do very fast multiple chain kicks.
- Rehabilitation - Kim is proficient (though Chang and Choi beg to differ) in correcting otherwise destructive habits, though he can be extremely overzealous in his methods.
- Singing - Through his hobby, Kim has some talent in belting out tunes.
Fighting style[]
Kim uses a very traditional taekwondo style with heavy acrobatics and occasional alternate stances (depending on the game), which also packs much of a motif for phoenixes, or more accurately, the Fenghuang (Romanized via on 'Yomi in Japanese as the "hou'ou"), a Chinese firebird that is a combination of a male and female phoenix.
Other Media[]
Super Smash Bros.[]
Kim Kaphwan appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate both as a cameo on the King of Fighters Stadium stage and one of Terry's DLC spirits, he is a novice support spirit that increases the user's power on foot attacks. His spirit battle is on the King of Fighters Stadium against giant King Dedede and tiny Ridley (representing Chang and Choi), after defeating the two fighters, Ken Masters appears (representing Kim himself), during the battle, the enemies have increased powers on kicks and knees strikes with all fighters reduced jumps.
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.
- After Kim bests Clark Steel during a match in KOF2013 Kim's winning quote towards Clark indicates that Kim too had served in the military (in Korea).
- Korea, Kim's home nation, has conscripted military system; meaning in Korea all able-bodied male citizens of the country must serve for set number of time when they reach certain age.
External links[]
- Kim Kaphwan on the SNK Wiki
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