Koo Jun-yup

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.”

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.[4] 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.[5]

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.

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).

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. [5] 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.[6]

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 “First Love,” and  “90’s DJ Koo Driving Mix,” a lengthy track that is a mishmash of Clon’s 14 hits.[7]  

In the 2019 Dream Concert, one of the largest K-pop joint concerts, Koo and co-ed group KARD performed hit songs from CLON including “I,” “First Love, and “Kungtari Shabara.” Clon member Kang Won-rae also appeared as a special guest. In 2020 and 2021, Koo played at the Seoul World DJ Festival which were held online both years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2021, Koo created his own fashion label Unclebald, focusing on biker and military fashion for men.

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.[8]