In 2016, the aspiring pianist said goodbye to family in South Korea as she embarked on her adventure.
To fund her aspirations, she started working at an abattoir in Victoria’s south on a 417 working-holiday visa.
Seven months later, her life changed forever when she was injured in an agonising workplace incident.
Ms Kim’s hands were crushed when she caught them in what is called a "hide puller" machine.
Her injuries were so severe she had to have six fingers amputated.
One was successfully reattached.
The incident has left her traumatised.
Doctor Diane Hedin is a hand therapist and says the injury has affected all parts of Yun Kim's life.
Ms Kim is entitled to -- and is receiving -- some compensation, but it is a legal minefield the 21-year-old cannot navigate alone.
Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer Gino Andrieri has been trying to help her through the legal processes.
“She’s had some difficulties in terms of delay and decision-making, and so some of the entitlements she has been approved (for), some of the entitlements there have been delays in the approval, and some of them have been outright rejections."
Situations similar to Ms Kim's prompted an investigation into the management of worker-compensation claims.
In 2016, the Victorian ombudsman found a number of systemic issues concerning complex cases.
Inundated with claims, two years on, ombudsman Deborah Glass is revisiting the issue.
