KPOP 1st generation · GM Agency / The Turbo Company
Turbo
ターボ / 터보
Turbo made some of the fastest dance records Korea produced in the years after 1995, with Kim Jong-kook at the front before television made him a household name.
- 1995DebutSep 1, 1995
- 3Members
- 1thGeneration
Last updated:
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In 30 seconds: Turbo
Kim Jong-kook, Kim Jung-nam and Mikey worked across records, dancing and variety, and the songs still get played at every reunion event.
Start here for Korean dance music from before the idol system existed in its current form.
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Key facts
- Group name
- Turbo
- Reading / Hangul
- ターボ / 터보
- Company
- GM Agency / The Turbo Company
- Debut date
- September 1, 1995
- Days active
- 11,383 days (31 years, 1 month)
- Debut song
- My Childhood Dream
- Generation
- 1st generation
- Fandom name
- (未公表)
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Member guide
マイキー마이키 · MikeyView in JapaneseProfile comparison
| Members | Birth date | Blood type | MBTI | Nationality | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| キム・ジョングク | 1976-04-25 | 50 | 178cm | A | Not disclosed | South Korea |
| キム・ジョンナム | 1973-01-25 | 53 | 176cm | A | Not disclosed | South Korea |
| マイキー | 1980-01-30 | 46 | 176cm | B | Not disclosed | South Korea · United States |
Ages are as of 2026-10-31.
Selected releases
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Start here
Follow a few songs from the starting point to the group's current sound.
Black Cat Nero MVBlack Cat Nero is the one everybody knows and the fastest route in.
Twist King MVTwist King is the signature dance record of the group's peak.Again MVAgain belongs to the later period and explains why people keep coming back.05
From debut to now
- 1995Built around Kim Jong-kook and Kim Jung-nam, Turbo arrived with high-speed dance songs as a leading first-generation dance group.
- 1996Twist King and Love Is... followed, and the group settled into the popular memory of nineties K-pop dance music.
- 1997After Kim Jung-nam left, Mikey joined, and the later Turbo came out of the mix of vocals and rap from Kim Jong-kook.
- 2000Releases continued until around 2000, leaving the prehistory that leads to the solo work of Kim Jong-kook and his television presence.
- 2015Kim Jong-kook, Kim Jung-nam and Mikey regrouped as a trio, and Again and Hide and Seek tied the old and the new together.
- 2017The Music Bank stage for The Black Cat and the Hide and Seek stages show how the restarted act presented itself.
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Achievements
Key milestones
Verified information
Verified English information is not yet available for this section.
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Official links
Official social accounts and platforms
Shopping guide
Verified English shopping links are not yet available.
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KPOP DISCOVER's Turbo note
Turbo debuted in September 1995 as a duo of Kim Jong-kook and Kim Jung-nam. As the debut record 280km/h Speed makes plain, the title itself states the style of the act. Relentless high-speed dance paired with the voice of Kim Jong-kook gave them a striking presence in the first-generation K-pop scene. New Sensation kept the momentum in 1996 and carved the memory of a dance group into the Korean music scene of the nineties.
Start with Black Cat Nero, Twist King and Again. Black Cat Nero is the stage-ready song that stands for the group, its high-speed dance and sharp beat carrying the body heat of nineties K-pop. Twist King is just as representative of the dance music of its day and draws the outline at once. Moving to Again brings the three-man Turbo that regrouped in 2015. The breadth of genre, from Eurodance to ballads, also comes into view the further you listen.
Kim Jung-nam left in 1997 and Mikey joined, changing the shape of the act. Born Again and Perfect Love from this period deepened the mix of vocals and rap from Kim Jong-kook and set the form of the later years. In 2015 Kim Jong-kook, Kim Jung-nam and Mikey came back together, and the album Again, which carries Again and Hide and Seek from the trio, tied past and present into one group. Black Cat Nero, then Twist King, then Again runs through the signature song, the outline of the dance and the present after the reunion.
Editors' take Black Cat Nero / Twist King / Again — a trio out of GM Agency / The Turbo Company, from high-speed dance to the reunion in three songs.
Trivia worth knowing
Voice
Kim Jong-kook's high register is the clearest marker here, and his later solo and variety work leads listeners back to the group itself.
Early line-up
Kim Jung-nam was an original member who shaped the dance side heard around Black Cat Nero and Twist King.
Later line-up
After Mikey joined, the rap colour changed, and everything from Goodbye Yesterday onwards reads from a different angle.
Reunion
Again, released in 2015, ties memories of the 90s to a warm, familiar television presence.
Comparison
Set beside Koyote and g.o.d, the differences between first-generation dance, vocal and mixed-gender acts come into focus.
Note
Many 90s music videos circulate as unofficial reuploads, so the safest viewing starts from broadcaster or label channels.
Frequently asked questions
What defines Turbo?
Kim Jong-kook, Kim Jung-nam and Mikey worked across records, dancing and variety, and the songs still get played at every reunion event.
Why should a new listener start with Turbo?
Start here for Korean dance music from before the idol system existed in its current form.
Which songs should a new listener try first?
Start with Black Cat Nero, Twist King, Again, then continue to the official video index.