Meet my favorite person in the world. Literally he tops every other celebrity : Kim Jong Kook

Kim Jong Kook (김종국)

In case you don't really understand the muscles on this man... Here he is compared to Heechul.

Dear.... God... *dead*

I can't even begin to explain just how much I love this man. When people ask me what my ideal type is... It's Kim Jong Kook... And why? He's funny, he's sweet, he's strong, he's muscular, he's healthy, hes adorable, etc... The list goes on and on. 

I've written small blogs on him before... But never fully went into detail about him... Even my "Meet Jong Kook" blog didn't go into extreme detail. This is going to go into such detail that you will officially label me a stalker.  Which would not be a lie.. Not in this case, anyways. 
Like did you know he has the cutest mole on the left side of his neck? pffft. lololol. So I am a stalker. Don't judge me...

In honor of Kim Jong Kook, the playlist on my blog will be nothing but Kim Jong Kook from 3/1/14 - 3/15/14. You're welcome. 


To start into my detailed blog about the most amazing person on this freaking PLANET... Kim Jong Kook was born on April 25, 1976. His birthday is 4 days before mine and he's 2 months older than my mom but I AM GOING TO MARRY HIM. I WILL. Don't underestimate my seductive power. 

I'm telling you.. He will be mine. HE WILL BE MINE. 

Okay continuing...


Flashback to the 90's! We're going back into Turbo (터보) days. Now let me tell you.. The Turbo days were like seriously dark days. They had extreme ups, but I think they had alot more extreme downs than anything. 

Though he was extremely gorgeous and adorable in the 90's.. Kim Jong Kook is just one of those men who have gotten EXTREMELY better looking with age. It is almost un-comprehensible how much better looking he has gotten. 

Turbo was formed in October of 1994 with 2 members, Kim Jung Nam and Kim Jong Kook, to compete with Deux. They actually didn't have their first album until 1995 though. And they DOMINATED Korea with that first album. 
They like shook all other kpop groups. Like just beat them to a pulp and said YOU AREN'T WORTHY OF MAKING MUSIC! THIS IS MY COUNTRY! YOU GO AWAY.. And then they would like break into dance....
Okay so that's probably not necessarily what happened, though I like to think that's the scenario that went down. 
But really they did dominate the kpop world when they released it. But what really got them their popularity? If you know anything at all about Turbo.. Even one extremely famous song that almost everyone knows to this day.. Then you know what I'm talking about. But just in case you don't.. I am talking about none other than "검은 고양이" commonly know as "Black Cat Nero". The best dance song in the WORLD. In my opinion it even tops H.O.T's "Candy" and Shinhwa's "Eusha Eusha". And everyone knows how big I am on those 2 songs. It's so upbeat and so awesome you can't help but to start dancing like a wild animal to it. Or maybe I'm just weird. But I don't think that's the case this time.. Because I'm not the only one who thinks so. 
Here's some videos. 

They DOMINATED with this song. I'm sorry I just can't say it enough. 
A year after their first album release, they released another album.. AND DOMINATED AGAIN! 
With what song, you ask? That would be "Twist King". It swept all the charts. 

This song is also an iconic song. 


But sadly right after they got their glory from their second album.. They broke up a few months later due to problems with their management. And went into seclusion. They hid so well that police were brought in to investigate their whereabouts. That's crazy right? But it was almost like they just disappeared off the face of the earth. 
So many people demanded for Turbo to come back, so Kim Jong Kook decided to return, but Kim Jung Nam decided he just could not reconcile with the management and left the group. And later joined SNAP in 1999. But the weird thing is that no one has heard from him since. SNAP was not successful and there's absolutely no news on Kim Jung Nam at all anymore. I really do wonder what happened to him. 
Kim Jung Nam's leave from Turbo left Kim Jong Kook looking for a new partner. And I'm actually thankful that Kim Jung Nam left because the new partner into Turbo, I love very much. 
In 1997 Mikey joined Turbo. He moved to America at the age of 6 but returned to Korean in 1997 in hopes of becoming a singer and actually beat 3500 people to become the next member of Turbo. This was because of his awesome rapping skills and because he could speak English.. In October of 1997, Turbo was back with their album "Born again.." which was the holder to some of my personal favorite songs.. Such as

"회상" (December/Remembrance)

"금지된 장난" (Forbidden Games)

Goodbye Yesterday

 

Wanna guess what they did with this album? They DOMINATED!! Lol. AGAIN! Turbo had officially taken back the dance scene.

Turbo also got offered an opportunity to make a song with Will Smith during the time of this album. He had just released "Just the two of us" and wanted to make an Asian version.. And out of all Asian groups, he picked Turbo because of their unique style and abilities. I don't believe they ever did it though. 
They released more songs and albums and were going strong...
Turbo was eventually voted one of the best artists of '98. 
But then.... After they just got back to the top...
They faced disbandment again.. Why? Because of their management. In October 1998 there was a HUGE Superconcert that featured all the most famous artists from all over Asia.. But due to Kim Jong Kook's argument with the management before the concert, he protested his role in the concert by not performing his section of the concert AND leaving before bowing. Extremely rude behavior. Top politicians and netizens all over Korea went nuts. He was severely criticized. Due to this incident, Turbo, the group, but Kim Jong Kook himself as well, was banned from appearing on TV... 
A year later, October 1999, the ban was lifted and 4 months later Turbo released their 5th album "Email My Heart". Want to guess what they did?
THE DOMINATED.. AGAIN.. Even after all this hardship the group had been through.. But trust me the hardship didn't end. Ohhh no it didn't. With this 5th album came crap. Their 5th album was a major success, BUT their title song "Cyber Lover" music video got banned from being on TV because of the inappropriate chat dialog in the video. 

It was an extremely popular song though regardless.. 


The other most popular song on their 5th album was "Tonight". The music video was set in Harlem and it dramatized gang violence.. In the music video, the girl Kim Jong Kook loves gets killed by a gang member.. And this is the first and the last time I should EVER and I literally mean EVER see him cry. Because he cried in the music video. And I thought my heart was breaking. Though extremely popular, even the music video, it was decided that it was "too violent" for TV... And the music video got banned. 

After releasing their 5th album, Kim Jong Kook left the group because his contract expired. And Mikey's visa was expiring.. So Mikey moved back to America and Kim Jong Kook went on to start his solo career. And you thought Turbo was popular? Oh no. His solo career was extremely successful. The thing alot of people don't know about Turbo is that every single one of their albums was a million seller. Each album sold over a million copies each. That's nuts. These guys were extremely popular. And for good reason. Their music was the best. They were really the "bad boys" of the Kpop industry back in the 90's. But they were really the best of the best. 
If you want to know what happened to Mikey.. He is living in America. He transformed into this beast rapper.. Into an Insurance agent. He sells insurance. Though apparently he's very successful at it. But, really, can you believe it? It's crazy. He's an INSURANCE SELLER. When he use to be this extremely popular beast rapper. I just.. My mind is blown. 

Though if you didn't know.. When Kim Jong Kook released his most recent album in October of 2012, he did do a song with Mikey. Which to this day is STILL my favorite song of all time. I listen to this song at least 3 times a day. Everyday. 


"Nostalgia" - Kim Jong Kook ft Mikey

It's an extremely amazing song.. And I wish Mikey would come back as a rapper.. Not an insurance salesman.. 


Now onto Kim Jong Kook's solo career.
On December 13, 2001, Kim Jong Kook released his first solo album. And it was a complete bust. Due to this album failure it was very hard for him to become a successful solo artist. He was lacking support from his agency, lack of songs from composers, and the fans music taste changing.
So with his 2nd album he decided to stick with ballads. And became "mosquito voice". Lol I've always called him this because his voice really does resemble a mosquito sometimes!! Especially in Nostalgia. Listen to his back up singing. It's hilarious. But I love it. 
So with the failure from his 1st album, things were not really looking good for Kim Jong Kook. But with his 2nd album, there was one song that was the absolute reason for his success. And that's his song "한 남자" (One Man). This song became his trademark song. And for good reason. It's a really great song. It's nice and sweet and just sounds AMAZING. 
In 2005, his 10th year in the industry, Kim Jong Kook became one of Korea's most popular artists because his 3rd album sold over 300,00 copies. Which made it one of the highest selling albums of the year.
At the end of that year he took the Daesang (which is the best artist of the year award) from all 3 major Korean TV stations. Which was the second time it had ever been done since the 1980s with Jo Yong Phil.
His most notable fun-loving, upbeat, dance worthy song that topped many charts was the title song of his 3rd album "This is me". 
That song was "사랑스러워" (Lovable)

Which everytime me and mom hear this song.. We start singing and dancing. Because it really is a great song. 


Kim Jong Kook was the leader of the first series of KBS's Shootdori. It's kinda like... I don't know. Its a show involving kids and soccer.. I don't really know. But during the middle of the series.. Kim Jong Kook had to leave for his military duties.. When he told the kids that he would not be able to see them for awhile, he was absolutely devastated because he wanted to finish the season with the kids.. But he had to leave the kids and the show.. He even cried in an interview saying his goodbyes. Stop crying. Never cry again. The words "Kim Jong Kook" and "Cry" should NEVER be in the same sentence together unless their saying.. "Kim Jong Kook's wife Shanea cries during wedding." that should be the only way that those 2 words should be together. But since that will never happen... They shouldn't be involved together. LOL.

The touching thing is that when Kim Jong Kook came back from his military service, he went on the show "KBS2TV Immortal Musical Classics" where the production crew had gathered all of the season 1 Shootdori members and children and had a reunion with the kids.. With tears in his eyes, they all sang "Lovable" together. So touching (':

Onto military service.. 
On March 2006, Kim Jong Kook received his mandatory military service letter.. Right at the height of his popularity and career. He also released his 4th album at the time. Since he was unable to directly promote it while in the military, he used other methods.. To follow the Korean law, he had to shoot the music video for "Saying I love you" so that his face was never shown. But. He did ask Yoon Eun Hye (who was his love-line during X-Man days) to be in the music video. So that brought alot of attention. 

Though he didn't promote his album directly it still sold over 100,00 copies. 


On May 23, 2008, Kim Jong Kook got released from the military and on October 22, 2008, he released his 5th album. Featuring another one of his successful songs "Today More Than Yesterday". 

And proved the myth that you can't rise once again after being in the military false. 


In October 2012, Kim Jong Kook released his 7th album "Journey Home" which is BY FAR my absolute favorite album by Kim Jong Kook. I literally LOVE every single song on that album. And it's rare for me to like EVERY song on an album. I usually always don't like at least one. Not on Journey Home. I love every single song. The title song is "남자가 다 그렇지 뭐" (Men Are All Like That)
Which was a very successful song of his. In the music video it features Song Joong Ki, a fellow "Running Man" member at the time, which he did for free. He actually starred in that music video for free. That's rare. 

The lyrics are absolutely true. Very deep and meaningful. And it's a beautiful song. I really recommend you listen to it and look up the lyrics. 
On "Journey Home" there's also another one of my favorite songs.. Which features his "two kids" from Running Man; HaHa(Haroro) and Kang Gary. 
It's called "Words I Want To Say To You". It's extremely catchy. Extremely funny because of HaHa. Extremely awesome. Kim Jong Kook is a great singer, HaHa doesn't have a bad voice sometimes, and Gary is an amazing rapper. 

The most talented solo artist I have ever seen. Really this man is truly and amazing singer. 

So now onto his variety career. 


As alot of you probably know.. Kim Jong Kook is very much known for his EXTREME muscles.. And he DOES NOT eat or drink anything that is unhealthy for him. It's amazing. 

So his muscles make him very popular for the variety shows he's on for his strength. 
He was one of the original cast members of KBS's first season of "Dream Team", from 2004-2006 he was on SBS's "X-Man" which gained him alot of popularity.
But the two most notable variety shows he was on:
He was a member on "Family Outing" along with popular celebrities like Yoo Jae Suk and Lee Hyo Ri. Yoo Jae Suk and Lee Hyo Ri use to tease him alot and even to this day on "Running Man" Yoo Jae Suk still calls Kim Jong Kook "Kim Kook Jong"
Second variety show:
The most popular variety show known to Korea and the rest of the world where he has gained his nicknames "SpartaKook" and "Mr.Capable" and also has been called "Tiger". Along with individual nicknames he's had couple nicknames with:
Gary and Haha - "김종국과 아이둘" - "Kim Jong Kook and the two kids"
Haha - "우리 형, 내 동생" - "My big brother/My little brother"
Kwang Soo - "호랑이와 기린" - "Tiger and Giraffe"

It's an extremely fun variety show to watch and I wish I could be on it:( haha. That'd be way too awesome.

So this concludes my forever long Kim Jong Kook blog. Enjoy, lovelies! <3