Artist of the week - Kim Jong Kook

PROFILE:

Name: Kim Jong Kook (김종국)

Birth Date: April 25, 1977
Family: Parents, 1 Older Brother, Jong Kook
Education: Myeong Hak Elementary School, Shin Seong Middle and High School, Han Se University, Dan Kook University Postgraduate
Hobby/Interest: Sports (Weights, Soccer, Boxing), Soccer Game
Blood Type: A
Religion: Buddhism
Nickname: Bear
Management Company: 101 Entertainment
Soccer Team: Entertainer Soccer Team FC Burett System
Official Website: Kim Jong Kook’s Official Website
Fan Clubs : Official Korean Fan Club, Kim Jong Kook Global, KJK Soompi Fan Club, KJK Chinese Fan Club

BIOGRAPHY:

Our featured artiste this week is Kim Jong Kook.  Kim has a trademark high-pitched voice which is very unique in k-pop.  He first debuted in the K-pop music scene as part of the dance group duo Turbo way back in September 1995. Turbo became an instant hit with their catchy songs ‘Black Cat’ and ‘My Childhood Dream’. Turbo kept churning out hit after hit. Some of their notable songs were ‘Love Is’, ‘Goodbye Yesterday’, ‘In A Jazz Bar’, ‘White Love’, and ‘Hwesang / December’, among many other hits. In 2001 Turbo officially disbanded and Kim Jong Kook decided to pursue a solo career.

2001 marked the beginning of Kim Jong Kook’s solo career with the release of his first album ‘Renaissance’. This album unfortunately wasn’t successful and Kim Jong Kook was left to ponder his future as a solo singer.

3 years later Kim released his second album ‘Evolution’ and this time he struck gold. His ballad "Han Namja" (One Man) became a big hit and forever changed Kim Jong Kook’s status as a ballad singer. With the success of ‘Han Namja’, he was able to shed his past image as a
dance gasoo (singer) and completely transformed himself into a bona fide ballad singer.

He followed up the success of his second album with an even more successful album. He released his third album ‘This Is Me’ in 2005 with the title song ‘Walking In One Spot’, followed by the uber popular song ‘Loveable’. That year he swept all 3 major music awards (Daesang) from the 3 TV stations (KBS, SBS and MBC) earning him the rare ‘triple crown award’. He was the only triple-award winner in more than 2 decades. This album was also very successful selling over 300,000 copies.  By now, Kim Jong Kook has established himself as one of the top male solo artistes in Korea.

Prior to releasing his album in April 2006 Kim Jong Kook was called up to serve his mandatory military service, so he was unable to do promotions for his own album. Despite the lack of promotions, his album, with its title song ‘Letter’, still sold over 100,000 copies.  Two songs from this album, "Letter" and "Words of Loving You", still reached the top 10 despite a lack of promotional activities.

Kim Jong Kook was officially released from military service in May 2008. After the end of his military service, he began working on his 5th solo album. Many famous composers and lyricists contributed to his album. He was once again reunited with Hwang Chan Hee and Jo Eun Hee, who had previously penned his hit song ‘Han Namja’. He also reunited with Yoon Sa Ra, who has penned many of his other hit songs (‘Loveable’, ’Letter’, etc). On Oct 22, 2008, Kim Jong Kook released his long-awaited 5th album ‘Here I Am’, with his title song ‘Today More Than Yesterday’. Upon the release of the album, his songs topped online and offline sales charts in Korea, proving that he is still one of the top singers in the country. Kim Jong Kook is currently winding down the promotion of ‘Today More Than Yesterday’ and is getting ready to promote his follow-up song ‘Thank You’.

DISCOGRAPHY:

Turbo Albums:

09/06/1995 — Turbo 1st album 280 Km/H Speed
08/14/1996 — Turbo 2nd album New Sensation
11/29/1996 — Carol Album X-Mas Dance Party Mix with Turbo
06/24/1997 — Turbo Summer Remix
10/22/1997 — Turbo 3rd album Born Again
10/17/1998 — Turbo 4th album Perfect Love
07/15/1999 — Millenium Turbo Dance Megamix
01/27/2000 — Turbo 5th album E-Mail My Heart
06/19/2001 — Turbo History Best

Solo Albums :

12/13/2001 — 1st album Renaissance
Korean Lyrics || Romanization || Translation
MV 행복하길 (Haengbok Hagil / Wishing You Happiness) Streaming
Listen Here (cr: mythnoona)

Purchase this album
06/18/2004 — 2nd album Evolution
Korean Lyrics || Romanization || Translation part 1
MV 한 남자 (Han Namja / One Man) Streaming
MV 중독 (Joongdok / Intoxication) Streaming

07/01/2005 — 3rd album This Is Me
Korean Lyrics || Romanization || Translation part 1 part 2 part 3
MV 제자리걸음 (Jejarigoreum / Walking In One Spot) Streaming
MV 사랑스러워 (Sarangseurowo / Loveable) Streaming
MV 별, 바람, 햇살 그리고 사랑 (Byul,Param,Haessal Keurigo Sarang / Star,Wind,Sunlight and Love) Streaming

04/13/2006 — 4th album Kim Jong Kook’s Fourth Letter
Korean Lyrics || Romanization || Translation part 1
MV 편지 (Phyonji / Letter) Streaming
MV 사랑한다는 말 (Saranghandaneun Mal / Saying I Love You) Streaming
MV 꿈을 향해 (Kkumeul Hyanghae / Towards A Dream) Streaming
MV 사랑이에요 (Sarangieyo / It’s Love) Streaming

Purchase this album
10/22/2008 — 5th album Here I Am
Teaser Trailer MV 어제보다 오늘 더 (Oje Boda Oneul Deo / Today More Than Yesterday) Streaming

MV 어제보다 오늘 더 (Oje Boda Oneul Deo / Today More Than Yesterday) Streaming

Lyrics from his 5th album:
Track Listing
어제보다 오늘 더 (Oje Boda Oneul Deo / Today More Than Yesterday) Korean Lyrics || Romanization || Translation 1 || Translation 2
고맙다 (Gomapda / Thank You) Korean Lyrics || Romanization || Translation
이보다 더 좋을 순 없다 (Featuring 시진) (I Boda Deo Joheun Soon Optda/ Can’t Get Better Than This) Korean Lyrics || Translation
그리운 날들 (Keurioon Naldeul / Missing Those Days) Korean Lyrics || Romanization || Translation
이별의 정석 (Ibyuleui Jeongseok / Break-up Formula) Korean Lyrics || Romanization || Translation
우리 둘이서 (Oori Dooriseo / Us Together) Korean Lyrics || Romanization || Translation

Digital Singles:
December 2005 — Kim Jong Kook Digital Single
MV 스키장에서 (White Love (ft. Mikey)) Streaming

11/23/2007 — Turbo & Kim Jong Kook Digital Mini Album "2007 Hwesang (Recollection)"

01/04/2008 — Turbo & Kim Jong Kook Digital Mini Album "2007 Hwesang (Recollection) part 2"
Track Listing || Listen To The Songs

Others:

6/22/2004 — featured in Kim Jang Hoon’s digital single "Highway Romance"

12/24/2004 — participated in a various artist recording of "When That Day Comes" Streaming

12/01/2005 — Big 4 Voices of My Dream Digital Single "Untouchable" with SG Wannabe and M To M
MV Untouchable Streaming

11/15/2006 — S.101 Digital Single "I’ll Follow You (ParamMan ParamMan)" with SG Wannabe
Korean Lyrics || Romanization || Translation
MV 바람만바람만 (Paramman Paramman / I’ll Follow You) Streaming

AWARDS:

1995-1998
Il Gan Sports TV Korea Music Daesang Singer Award
Sports Seoul – Seoul Gayo Daesang Singer Award
KBS Gayo Daesang Singer Award
MBC Gayo Daesang Singer Award
SBS Gayo Daesang Singer Award

2004
Il Gan Sports – 2004 Golden Disk PAVV Popularity Award
Sports Seoul – Seoul Music Awards Bonsang Award
SBS Music Awards Bonsang Award
KBS Music Awards Bonsang Award
MBC Best 10 Singer Music Awards Bonsang Award

2005
M-net Music Festival Best Male Solo Award
Golden Disk Bonsang Award
KBS Entertainer Awards Best Entertainer
SBS Music Awards Daesang Award
KBS Music Awards Daesang Award
MBC Music Awards Most Popular Singer
Hankook Pangsong (Korean Programming) Producer’s Prize Singer Award
Korean TV Awards Photogenic Solo Singer Award
Korean Entertainer Awards Ballad Award

2006
Golden Disk Bonsang Award

Kim Jong Kook has also appeared in many music, variety, and game shows. He was also an active guest star in SBS X-Man from 2004-2006. In addition, he was also active in KBS Happy Sunday Nalara Shoot Dori as the head coach of a kids’ soccer team. Starting from Oct 26, 2008, he will also be part of SBS Family Outing. This will mark Kim Jong Kook’s return to the variety show circuit.

VARIETY SHOWS:

2008 SBS Family Outing –
2004-2006 SBS X-Man – Regular Guest
2005-2006 KBS Nalara Shoot Dori – Coach

Thanks to o-cha for writing this post.