Koo Jun-yup

Koo Jun-yup (born September 11, 1969), also known by his stage name DJ Koo, is a South Korean singer, DJ, music producer, dancer, and songwriter.

He is well-known as a member of the legendary K-pop duo CLON.

Koo is one of the first-generation Hallyu stars when CLON gained huge popularity internationally, most notably in Taiwan.

He is also known as one of South Korea’s most renowned DJs, who has performed at the Ultra Music Festival, Ultra Korea, and World DJ Festival.

Koo was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea.

He has an older sister Koo Eun-yeong(구은영, 具恩英).

His parents divorced when he was eleven years old.

He went to Seoul Sinjung Elementary School and Seocho Middle School.

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.

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 Tak and Jun in 1993 and released their single titled "Hunch".

In 1996, Koo and Kang Won-rae were signed by Media Line Entertainment and debuted as CLON.

Their first album Are You Ready? (1996), featured the hit song "Kungtari Shabara", sold over 1.12 million copies in South Korea.

In 1998, CLON signed with Rock Records and released the Taiwanese version of One More Time, which was a compilation of hit songs from Clon's first album Are You Ready? (1996) and second album One More Time (1997).

Koo took the title of "Taiwan's Sexiest Man" in 1998 and 1999.

He was also selected as the "Best-Dressed Male Celebrity" by Taiwanese designers.

CLON soon gained international popularity and became stars that led the Korean wave in Asia.

In 1999, Clon released their third album Funky Together.

In 2000, Clon released their fourth album New World (2000) which sold over a million copies in Asia.

In August 2000, Clon held their live concert in Taipei.

In September 2000, Clon won the "International Viewer's Choice Award for MTV Korea" at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.

In November 2000, fellow CLON member Kang Won-rae got into a tragic motorcycle accident which left him paralyzed from the waist down.

The management company asked Koo to go solo and take advantage of his popularity, but he refused.

Koo took a long hiatus from his musical career to take care of his best friend till Kang was able to sit in a wheelchair on his own.

In 2001, Koo and Kang received the Achievement Award at the 2001 Mnet Asian Music Awards.

In 2002, CLON released their first compilation album titled The Best of Clon. The album contains three new songs.

New song "Friend" is written by CLON and contains a message from Koo to his friend Kang Won-rae.

"La La La" and "Kick It" feature singer Uhm Jung-hwa.

"Kick It" is also the official cheering song for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

After a long hiatus from his music career, Koo released his self-titled debut studio album in November 2003.

KooJunYup (2003) featured songs like "Escape", "You're My Life", and "Thinking About You".

The solo album was a precursor to the comeback of CLON.

Koo performed at the 2003 Mnet Asian Music Awards, including songs like "You're My Life", "Escape", "I", and "Thinking About You".

In December 2003, Koo was invited as one of the Korean performers at the 5th Korea-China Song Festival, hosted by KBS and China's CCTV and performed "Escape" and "Kungtari Shabara".

"Escape" was nominated as "Best Buzz Asia South Korea" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards Japan.

In 2004, Koo was one of the performers at the Open Concert for the 2004 Athens Olympics Delegation Departure Ceremony where he performed hit songs "Come Back to Me", "First Love", "World Cup", and "Kungtari Shabara".

In 2005, Koo reunited with Kang Won-Rae and released their fifth album, Victory (2005), with "My Dear Love, Song" as its lead track.