Koo Jun-yup
Koo Jun-yup (; born September 11, 1969), also known by his stage name DJ Koo, is a South Korean singer, disc jockey, dancer, rapper, music producer, songwriter, and artist. He is well-known as a member of the K-pop dance duo CLON. Koo is considered as one of the first-generation Hallyu stars when CLON gained extreme popularity internationally, most notably in Taiwan. He is also known as one of South Korea’s most renowned disc jockeys, who performed as the first and only Korean DJ at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Florida consecutively. Early  Life. Koo was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. His parents divorced when he was in middle school. He has an older sister. Koo attended Kyunggi High School, where he met fellow CLON member Kang Won-rae. Koo graduated from Kyungnam University with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design. Career. Career beginnings. In 1990, Koo and his best friend from Kyunggi High School Kang Won-rae joined a dancing competition, which they won fourth and first place respectively. Koo and Kang were signed by Lee Soo-man, founder of SM Entertainment, as backup dancers for singer Hyun Jin -young and formed a group called Hyun Jin-young and Wawa. In 1991, Koo enlisted for his two-year mandatory military service and began to serve in the army. After completing his military service, he and singer Lee Tak briefly formed a group called Tak2Jun2 in 1993 and released their single titled “Hunch.” CLON. In 1996, Koo and Kang Won-rae debuted as CLON, which became extremely popular for their unique sound and cool dance track executions. Their first album "Are You Ready?", featured the hit song “Kungtari Shabara,” sold over 1.12 million copies in South Korea. With the success  of their first album, the duo soon released their second album "One More Time" in 1997, featuring hit songs such as “Bing Bing Bing” and “Getaway” (“City Escape”). In 1998, CLON released their first compilation album in Taiwan. Their signature song “Bing Bing Bing” became an instant hit in Taiwan. Mandopop singer Alex To did cover versions of “Bing Bing Bing” in both Mandarin and English. Koo was voted as the “Sexiest Man of the Year” in Taiwan in 1998 and 1999. Many fans considered Koo’s bald look to be his sexiest and most iconic look. CLON soon gained  international popularity and became stars that led the Korean wave in Asia. In 1999, Clon released their third album "Funky Together" along with their first photobook titled "Clon Style". In November 2000, fellow CLON member Kang Won-rae got into a tragic motorcycle accident which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Koo took a long hiatus from his music career to take care of his best friend till Kang was able to sit in a wheelchair on his own. Acting debut. Koo made his acting debut in 2002 through television series "Age of Innocence" (2002) followed by "April Kiss  (2004). He also made cameo appearances in television series Dream High" (2011) and "Kill Me, Heal Me" (2015). DJ Koo. In 2003, Koo released his first solo album titled "KooJunYup," including songs like “Escape,” “You’re My Life,” and “Oppa’s Wish,” featuring Kang Won-rae. In 2005, CLON released their fifth album, "Victory," with “My Dear Love, Song” as its lead track. In order to perform with Kang Won-rae on the stage again, Koo specially choreographed a wheelchair dance, which was nominated as the Best Dance Performance at the 2005 Mnet Asian Music Awards. In addition, they held  their tenth anniversary concert in Seoul. As a successful singer and dance icon, Koo has also focused his music career on DJing. Not only has he contributed to introducing electronic dance music to the Korean fans but also producing his own music. In 2008, he released his first extended play "I’m DJ KOO." Between 2011-2014, Koo performed at the Ultra Music Festival, world’s biggest EDM festival which takes place in Miami, Florida each year. He is recognized as the DJ that represents Korea. He also performed at Ultra Korea and Ultra Japan in 2014 and 2015. In  2014, Koo was featured in singer IU’s cover version of Clon’s 1996 hit song “Kungtari Shabara,” titled “Boom Ladi Dadi,” alongside Kang Won-rae. In 2015, Koo and disc jockey Maximite produced the song "Pick Me" for television show "Produce 101". In 2017, Koo reunited with Kang for CLON’s 20th anniversary album titled, "We Are". The album features the powerful and rhythmic electronic dance music with “Everybody” as its lead track. The whole album was composed by Koo. Other songs include “Go Tomorrow,” which features the innovative genre of EDM, “Ore Ore O,” a remixed version of  Clon’s classic hit “Cho Ryun,” and  “90’s DJ Koo Driving Mix,” a lengthy track that is a mishmash of Clon’s 14 hits.   Other ventures. Koo released his artwork through NFT for the first time in 2021 and was sold out in 17 minutes. In 2022, Koo published a limited edition NFT artwork in partnership with Kakao Ground X Clip Drops which was sold out in 7 seconds. Personal life. In 1998, Koo met Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu when he was invited to Taiwan as a concert guest. The two started dating shortly after. Koo said, “It was  love at first sight...we learned each other's language and often travelled in disguise to visit one another.” However, their relationship only lasted for about a year. Due to “dating ban” in the K-pop industry, their relationship was opposed by Koo’s management which led to their heartbreaking split in 2000. On 8 March 2022, Koo announced on his Instagram account that he had married Barbie Hsu. He tagged his wife in the post, written in both Korean and Traditional Chinese, which read: When their marriage announcement broke out, it took over news headlines everywhere in both South  Korea and Taiwan. Both Korean and Taiwanese fans cheered and sent their support and blessings to the international super couple. Fashion magazine "Vogue Taiwan" highlighted the couple’s marriage as “a love story more thrilling than an idol drama.” On 9 March 2022, Koo flew to Taiwan, where he would have to undergo a 10-day quarantine in a hotel before reuniting with his wife. Taiwanese media outlets covered his arrival in live broadcast on YouTube and dubbed him as “Taiwan’s Son-in-Law.” The video of Koo arriving at Taoyuan International Airport exceeded 30,000 views in two hours . It was the most viewed and searched news on Naver besides the 2022 South Korean presidential election. Although Koo and Hsu registered their marriage in Taiwan on 28 March 2022, the couple officially tied the knot on 8 February 2022, the day they registered their marriage in South Korea.