One day shy of his 22nd birthday, Kim posted an 8-under 62 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, to build a two-shot cushion over Rickie Fowler, Will Zalatoris, Akshay Bhatia and Kurt Kitayama.
Scottie Scheffler, who shares the same birthday as Kim, was part of a tie at 5-under 65, along with Australian Cam Davis.
World No.1 Scheffler credited a tweak in his swing mechanics for helping him get back on track as Thursday ended a six-round streak of failing to break 70.
"Definitely feel like I'm swinging a lot better than I did last week," he said. "It's nice to get here on some familiar surfaces and hit some good putts and see some balls go in."
As for Kim, five of his birdies came on the back nine, including a 16-foot putt at the par-4 10th hole and a 2 1/2-footer following a terrific approach at the par-4 12th. He punctuated his round by converting birdie putts from 14 and seven feet, respectively.
Already a three-time winner on tour, Kim is looking for his first win at a signature event.
Both he and Scheffler gorged themselves on pizza to get their shared birthday celebration out of the way before turning their focus to the golf.
"I had a lot of pizza," Kim said. "I wouldn't do that in a tournament, but it's my birthday and it's kind of a tradition. Me, Scottie, we have the same birthday, so we had an early birthday celebration."
Davis enjoyed a bogey-free round and made birdies on the fourth, sixth and eighth with two more on the 12th and the last.
The Travelers is the tour's last signature event of the regular season, with $20 million in prize money on offer and no 36-hole cut coming on Friday.
Defending champion Keegan Bradley opened with a one-under 69 while former world No.1 Jason Day had a 71.
with AP
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