Kim was born in Auckland in 1954, and grew up in Kohimarama.

After a period as a builder, he began working as a set designer in 1982. Since then he has art directed movies for the directors Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Bob Zemeckis, James Cameron, Zack Snyder and Peter Jackson - amongst others.

He has production designed the New Zealand feature films: The Dark Horse, and the western Slow West, and M3GAN. As well as The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (directed by Steven Spielberg)

Kim has also art directed many large feature films, shot on location in New Zealand, the around the world. Films he has art directed have grossed over 7 billion dollars .

These include: The Meg, Pete’s Dragon, Man of Steel, The Legend of Zorro, The Last Samurai, Beyond Borders, Castaway, Vertical Limit and Willow.

In 2006 Kim started work on the first Avatar movie, receiving a BAFTA, and an Academy Award for art direction in 2010. He started work on the sequels in 2017 - and this work remains ongoing.