Sungkyunkwan University
Kim has a bachelor's in theater and film from Dongguk University and a master's in journalism and mass communications from Sungkyunkwan University; she also taught performing arts at Sungkyunkwan University as an adjunct professor in 2001. In 2013 Kim admitted to having plagiarized her master's thesis "A Study on Actor Communication," with parts copied verbatim from at least four books. She apologized for her actions and said she was willing to forfeit her master's degree.