Kim Jong-kook (singer)

Kim Jong-kook (Hangul: 김종국; Hanja: 金鐘國; born 25 April 1976) is a South Korean singer, actor and TV personality. He was initially part of the Korean duo Turbo, but later pursued a successful career as a solo artist. Apart from being a triple Daesang award-winning singer, he is also an active participant in variety shows such as X-man and Family Outing (since episode 19). He gained worldwide popularity as part of the SBS variety show Running Man.

Kim was born in Hapcheon, South Korea.

Kim attended Myeong Hak Elementary School, Shin Seong Middle High School and graduated from Hansei University. He then obtained a master's degree from the Pop Culture Performing Arts – School of Arts Department of Dankook University.

1995–2000: Debut with Turbo

Kim Jong-kook first entered the Korean music industry in 1995 as a member of the duo, Turbo, which became immensely popular for their catchy music. After the duo disbanded a few years later, he became a solo singer in 2001, mostly concentrating on ballads.

2001–2005: Successful solo career

Kim Jong-kook had a set back after Turbo as he faced difficulties settling down as a solo artist. Problems like lack of songs from composers, less support from his respected agency and also a change of taste within the fans caused his first album as a solo artist to fail. However he made a successful comeback with his second album Evolution in 2004, which spawned the hit single "One Man". Kim then became a permanent cast member of the popular variety game show, X-Man, which further raised his popularity.

In 2005, Kim released his third album, This Is Me. The album sold over 300,000 copies and became one of the best-selling albums in Korea that year. The lead single, "Lovable" topped various music charts, and was included in online games such as Pump It Up and Audition Online. Kim swept the Daesang (Artist of the Year) Award from all three major Korean TV stations, SBS, KBS and MBC; becoming the second artist to accomplish this feat since Cho Yong-pil in the 1980s.

2006–2008: Shootdori, Military service and Return to the music industry

Kim was made the leader of the first series of Shootdori, where kids who are interested in soccer form teams and compete. However, he had to leave the team after receiving an enlistment notice. He wrote and sang a song for his team, titled "Toward a Dream". Kim enlisted in March 2006. Around that time, he released his 4th album, Volume 4 - Kim Jong-kook's Fourth Letter. The music video of the lead single, Saying I Love You featured Yoon Eun-hye, whom was previously involved in a love-line with him in X-Man. Though Kim was unable to directly promote the album as he was in the military, the album sold more than 100,000 copies and later won "Album of the Year" at the Melon Music Awards.

It was announced in late April 2008 that the singer would end his military service on May 23, 2008. On that day, he was greeted by fans, and during an interview, he said that he was "relieved". His fifth studio album, Here I Am was released on October 22, 2008 with songs such as "Today More than Yesterday" and "Thank You".

2008–2010: Family Outing and Sixth album

Kim also returned to television, becoming a permanent member of reality-variety show Family Outing since episode 19, part of SBS's Good Sunday lineup. Family Outing has become one of the top-rated shows in Korea, consistently achieving the highest ratings for the Sunday mid-afternoon time-slot, and has gained online popularity among Hallyu fans.

His sixth album, titled The Eleventh Story was released on January 27, 2010. The album featured the singles "This is the Person" and "Don't Be Good to Me". The music video of the latter single featured fellow Family Outing cast member Park Ye-jin.

2011–present: Running Man, Turbo reunion and music collaborations

Since 2010, Kim became a cast member of SBS' variety show Running Man. In 2011, he won the "Best TV Star Award" at the SBS Entertainment Awards. Kim gained pan-Asia popularity from the show, becoming one of the most searched Korean stars in Singapore, and having his showcase there sold out with more than 1,700 fans in attendance. He also enjoyed success in China, where he consistently topped polls, such as being voted #1 Korean singer on the Chinese streaming website, Tudou and being ranked second most popular Korean male celebrity on Baidu.

On November 1, 2012, following a pre-release of selected songs from his new album, Kim made a comeback to the music scene with the release of his seventh studio album, Journey Home after three years. His fellow Running Man co-stars Haha and Gary participated in the album as well as former Running Man member Song Joong-ki, who starred in the music video for lead single "Men Are All Like That". The same year, he began to host the documentary program Crisis Escape No. 1, which won him the "Best Entertainer Award" at the 2013 KBS Entertainment Awards.

Running Man Brothers, Kim Jong-kook and Haha, in Dallas, December 14, 2014

In 2014, he formed a duo with fellow Running Man cast member Haha, known as Running Man Brothers. The musical duo held a concert tour in the United States in July and December.

In 2015, Kim made his official acting debut with a supporting role in the KBS drama, The Producers, and was praised for his "solid acting chops".

In September 2015, he left Urban Works ENT after his contract expired. He later went on to sign an exclusive contract with Maroo Entertainment in October 2015.

In December 2015, he and fellow Turbo members Kim Jung-nam and Mikey reunited for Turbo's 20th anniversary album. The album, titled Again was released on 21 December 2015. The eponymous lead single, which features Yoo Jae-suk, topped online music charts upon its release.

On 23 August 2016, he officially made his singing debut in China with his first single, "Hate That Happiness Came" (恨幸福来过), produced by JJ Lin and lyrics written by Vincent Fang.

After the Running Man Controversy with Kim and Song Ji-hyo, the show was supposed to end near the end of February 2017. However, on 30 January, it was revealed that Kim played a big role in keeping Running Man going, after the show was previously announced to come to an end in 2017. Kim accepted SBS' Entertainment Director Nam Seung-yong's request to stay with the show, and persuaded the other members to do so as well.

Kim is the uncle of Soya. Kim is known to be good friends with Cha Tae-hyun , Hong Kyung-min and Jang Hyuk. The trio are known as the "Dragon Brothers" because they were all born in 1976, the year of the dragon.

On 27 August 2010, Kim received a lumbar microdiscectomy surgery to relieve a herniated disk. Kim’s management company, 101 Entertainment stated, “Kim Jong-kook carried on with his daily activities without knowing that he had a ruptured disk. However, he did feel pain, but didn’t think much of it, and he endured his condition with painkillers while filming SBS Running Man."

In 2011, Kim controversially attended the wedding of Yoo Seung-jun (Steven Yoo) in person, who is banned from re-entering South Korea after evading military service.

In January 2015, he was a guest on the popular talk show, Healing Camp, where he shed light on many personal controversies, including his choice to work as a public service worker instead of an active-duty soldier during his mandatory military enlistment.

Studio albums

Digital albums

Single albums

Digital singles

Soundtrack

Collaborations and featuring

Film

Television

Variety shows

Music video

• 2011: Rosa by Haha
• 2016: NICE 2 MEET U by Mighty Mouth feat Soya

SBS's Inkigayo

KBS's Music Bank