After studying voice in his home city of Seoul, Jongmin was a member of the Milan Accademia del Teatro alla Scala from 2007 to 2009. His repertoire includes the roles of Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Don Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte. He has won awards at numerous competitions. In 2007 he received a special award at the International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition in Vienna, and at the International Voice Competition of Bilbao he won one of the top prizes. Jongmin has been a member of the Hamburg State Opera ensemble since the beginning of the 2010/2011 season. In February 2010, he gave his first solo lieder recital in Munich.
