Kim Jong-kook
김종국- Name
- Kim Jong-kook
- Born
- Not confirmed yet
The singer. He joined after the first vocalist left and held 30th anniversary concerts in October 2025.
Their story
A dancer looking for a singer
Turbo began with Kim Jung-nam, who danced and rapped and needed a voice next to him. The first singer, Kwak Seung-nam, left after about eight months, and Kim Jong-kook took his place. As a duo they released 280 km/h Speed in 1995, and "My Childhood Dream" made them known. The second album, New Sensation, followed in the summer of 1996, the year the idol groups started to arrive.
A new rapper
In 1997 Kim Jung-nam left, citing differences with the management. Kim Jong-kook kept the group going with Mikey, a young rapper who had grown up in the United States and was picked from about 3,500 applicants. Born Again came out that October, and Perfect Love and E-Mail My Heart followed in 1998 and 2000. After the fifth album Turbo stopped, and in 2001 the group officially ended, with History as its farewell.
Songs that came back
Turbo made fast dance pop, and the songs kept a second life long after the split. When Kim Jong-kook and Kim Jung-nam performed together on Infinite Challenge in December 2014, "Love Is", "My Childhood Dream" and "White Love" shot to the top three of Genie's real-time chart. Those songs were nearly 20 years old, and the response led to calls for a real reunion.
Where they are now
For the 20th anniversary all three came back. Again arrived on 21 December 2015, with Yoo Jae-suk on the title track, and topped the big charts within hours. A win on Inkigayo and the group's first solo concert followed, then the mini album Turbo Splash in 2017, their last release so far. Kim Jong-kook went on as a soloist and in October 2025 played sold-out 30th anniversary concerts that covered the Turbo years as well.