The year she turned 16, she competed in her first World Cup and finished 41st, and that October she won the lead event at the Asian Championships. In 2005, she climbed a 40 m building wall in Myeongnyun-dong, Seoul, with a single safety rope, and in November won gold in lead at the 1st Asian Indoor Games.
In 2007, she finished third in World Cup lead. Yonhap News Agency reported it as the first World Cup podium for a Korean in the event. In 2009, she won at the Rock Master invitational in Italy, and in November recorded her first World Cup win in Brno, Czech Republic.
In 2010, her fifth straight World Cup win took her to No. 1 in the world rankings. In 2011, she won World Cup lead in Kranj, Slovenia.
The breakthrough yearThe year she turned 24, she won the overall title at the world championships in Paris. Xportsnews wrote that it was a first in Korean climbing, and on her return home she said she had never seen so many reporters.
In 2013, she took No. 1 in the World Cup and world rankings together and received the excellence award at the MBN Women’s Sports Awards. In 2014, she won lead at the world championships in Gijón. In 2015, she won at the Briançon World Cup after knee surgery, and married in December.
In 2016, third place at the Villars World Cup brought back the No. 1 world ranking. In 2017, she climbed the 555 m Lotte World Tower bare-handed, and in August her 26th World Cup win broke the record for the most wins at that time. In 2018, she won bronze in combined at the Asian Games and bronze in lead at the world championships, then won a World Cup in October. In 2019, she won at the Inzai World Cup for her 29th career win.
In 2021, she had a daughter, and in October received the Cheongnyong Medal of the Order of Sport Merit. In 2022, she missed the national team in her first trials after childbirth. In 2023, she won her 30th lead World Cup at Chamonix and finished fifth in combined at the world championships in August. In 2024, second place in lead at the national championships put her back on the national team.
The year she turned 37, she competed at the Seoul world championships, the first held in Korea, and placed 23rd in the lead semifinal. In 2026, she joined Chanel’s mentoring project for women athletes.
Jain Kim (born Sep 11, 1988) made her World Cup debut in Jul 2004, the year she turned 16, and became known when she won the combined title at the world championships on Sep 16, 2012, the year she turned 24. She won her first World Cup in 2009, the year she turned 21.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Competed in her first World Cup in Chamonix, France, and finished 41st of 45 climbers.
Source 01 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Spider girl, 16 · opens in a new tab The article gives no competition date, so only the month is shown.Won the lead event at the competition held in Yeongam, South Jeolla.
Source 01 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Spider girl, 16 · opens in a new tabReached the roof in 15 minutes wearing only a single safety rope.
Source 02 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Climbing a building wall · opens in a new tabBeat a climber from Hong Kong in the final in Suphan Buri, Thailand, to win gold.
Source 03 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Indoor Asian Games gold · opens in a new tabFinished third in the women’s lead event at a World Cup in Belgium. Yonhap News Agency reported it as the first World Cup podium for a Korean in the event.
Source 04 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · First World Cup medal · opens in a new tab The article gives no competition date, so only the year is shown.Won the lead discipline at the two-day invitational event in Arco, Italy, held Sept. 6–7. Seoul Shinmun wrote that it was effectively her first international title.
Source 05 · Seoul Shinmun (Korean) · Rock Master win · opens in a new tab The article does not give the day of the win, so only the month is shown.Won women’s lead at the fifth World Cup round in Brno, Czech Republic. Dong-A Ilbo wrote that it was her first World Cup win and that she had repeatedly finished second before.
Source 06 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Conquering the World Cup · opens in a new tabSource 07 · Seoul Economic Daily (Korean) · World Cup win · opens in a new tab Korea time. Seoul Economic Daily gives the location as Brno, Turkey, while Dong-A Ilbo gives the Czech Republic.Maeil Business Newspaper reported that she won World Cup lead in Kranj, Slovenia, for a fifth straight World Cup win. She was No. 1 in the season, world and overall rankings.
Source 08 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · Queen of sport climbing · opens in a new tab The event was held on the 13th and 14th; the article does not give the day of the win, so only the month is shown.Topped both qualifying and the semifinal, then won the final with 47 points.
Source 09 · Nocut News (Korean) · Kranj World Cup win · opens in a new tab Korea time.In Paris, she placed first in the overall standings, combining second place in lead, fifth in bouldering and a speed time of 17.7 seconds. Xportsnews wrote that it was a first in Korean climbing. On her return home she said she had never seen so many reporters.
Finished fourth at the eighth World Cup round in Kranj and still took No. 1 in the World Cup and world rankings. It was her first time at No. 1 since 2010, and she won four times that year.
Source 14 · Newsis (Korean) · 10 sports stars of 2013 · opens in a new tabReceived the excellence award at the ceremony at the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul.
Source 13 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · MBN Women’s Sports Awards · opens in a new tabWon the lead event at the championships in Gijón, Spain, which OSEN described as a first in Korean sport climbing history. She had finished second in lead at this event in 2009, 2011 and 2012.
Source 15 · OSEN (Korean) · Return from the world championships · opens in a new tab Korea time.Won lead at the second World Cup round in Briançon, France, for her first win of the season. It was her second international event after surgery for a torn knee ligament right after the previous season ended.
Source 16 · Star News (Korean) · Briançon World Cup win · opens in a new tab Korea time.Held a wedding in Yeouido, Seoul, with a firefighter her own age. She said she would keep competing after the marriage.
Source 17 · Star News (Korean) · Wedding announcement · opens in a new tabSource 18 · Kukmin Ilbo (Korean) · Wedding · opens in a new tab JoongAng Ilbo wrote in 2023 that the 2021 birth came seven years after the marriage, but the marriage year follows these two articles.Finished third in lead at the second World Cup round in Villars, Switzerland, and returned to No. 1 in the world rankings after 2013 and 2014.
Source 19 · Star News (Korean) · Back to No. 1 in the world rankings · opens in a new tab Korea time.Completed the climb in 2 hours 29 minutes at the “Kim Ja-in Challenge 555” event. Ajunews wrote that she was recorded as the first climber to scale the tallest building in Korea.
Source 20 · Ajunews (Korean) · Lotte World Tower climb · opens in a new tabWon lead at the World Cup in Arco, Italy. Edaily wrote that she broke the record for the most wins in IFSC World Cup history.
Source 21 · Edaily (Korean) · Arco World Cup win · opens in a new tab Korea time.Won bronze in combined at the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, where sport climbing was an official event for the first time. In lead she was the only one of the six finalists to reach the top, placing first.
Source 22 · SBS News (Korean) · Asian Games combined · opens in a new tabFinished third in the lead final at the championships in Innsbruck, Austria.
Source 23 · SBS News (Korean) · World championships lead bronze · opens in a new tabWon the final of the fifth lead World Cup round. It came 14 months after her 2017 win in Arco.
Source 24 · My Daily (Korean) · 27th career win · opens in a new tab Korea time.Won the final of the sixth lead World Cup round in Inzai, Japan, as the only finalist to reach the top.
Source 25 · My Daily (Korean) · Inzai World Cup win · opens in a new tabHad a daughter. Yonhap News Agency reported that she kept training until her eighth month of pregnancy and resumed after the birth.
Source 26 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Cheongnyong Medal of the Order of Sport Merit · opens in a new tab The article gives no birth date, so only the month is shown.Received the Cheongnyong Medal, the highest class of the Order of Sport Merit, in the 2021 awards for contributions to sport. Her 29 gold medals at major international events were cited.
Source 26 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Cheongnyong Medal of the Order of Sport Merit · opens in a new tab The article was published before the ceremony, so the 15th follows the scheduled date in the article.Did not make the national team in the first selection event she entered after giving birth.
Source 27 · JoongAng Ilbo (Korean) · 30th World Cup win · opens in a new tab The article gives no date for the trials, so only the year is shown.Won the World Cup lead final in Chamonix, France, reaching 43+. It was her first World Cup win since 2019. JoongAng Ilbo reported that, according to the IFSC, 30 World Cup golds in a single discipline had not been reached before.
Source 27 · JoongAng Ilbo (Korean) · 30th World Cup win · opens in a new tab Korea time.Finished fifth in the combined final at the championships in Bern, Switzerland. A top-three finish in this event earned a place at the Paris Olympics.
Source 28 · SPOTV News (Korean) · World championships combined · opens in a new tab Korea time.Finished second in lead at the national sport climbing championships, which doubled as national team trials, and returned to the national team.
Source 29 · Ilgan Sports (Korean) · 2024 national team selection · opens in a new tab The event ran on the 22nd to 24th and the article does not give her competition day, so only the month is shown.Placed 23rd of 24 in the lead semifinal at the first world championships held in Korea and did not reach the final. It came 20 years after her first world championships in 2005.
Source 30 · Newsis (Korean) · Seoul world championships · opens in a new tabChanel unveiled a global mentoring project supporting seven women athletes for two years. From Korea, Jain Kim and short track speed skater Kim Gil-li were named as participants.
Source 31 · Newsquest (Korean) · Chanel mentoring · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2004–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
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Sports · South Korea
Sep 11, 1988 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1988: the year of the event minus 1988, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.10.03 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.