Learn More About Korean Duo, Their Relation and Best MVs
Among the many Korean K-Pop idol groups with many members, some groups are consisting of only two members. Some of these K-Pop Duos are legendary, especially the ones with hip-hop background. Recently, there is a series of newly debuted K-Pop duos. Some of them gained instant success and became established in the Korean music industry, while others disbanded and disappeared not too long after their debut.
Korean duos are unique in terms of the members’ relation. Some are blood-related, like brother and sister or sister and sister while others are close friends who share a common passion for music. In this article, Byeol Korea will provide you with a detailed explanation of everything about K-Pop duos. So, stay tuned!
Leessang
The hip-hop duo Leessang was formed in 2002 by Gary and Gil. They managed to release 8 albums, among them: Leessang of Honey Family, Jae, Gyebal, Asura Balbata, and Unplugged. Leessang spent three years of their early career in indie music and went to the mainstream music industry with their third studio album.
Gary met Kil when he joined a hip-hop group called X-Teen in 1997. They left the group and joined another group called Honey Family. Gary, Gil, and another Honey Family member, DIggity, formed another hip-hop group, Leessam Trio in 2000. Due to personal reasons, Diggity left the group, prompting Gary and Gil to change their group name into Leessang, roughly translated as double Lee.
Leessang released their first album, Leessang of Honey Family, in 2002. They collaborated with female singer Jung In and released a single titled “Rush.” Jung In collaborated with the duo Leessang for many singles almost as if she was the unofficial third member of Leessang.
Leessang’s most famous MVs should be “Girls Who Can’t Break Up,” “Guy Who Can’t Leave.” As always, if they need a female voice, they call Jung In to borrow her voice. Gary’s fluent rapping vocal, Gil’s husky voice, and Jung In’s unique voice are perfectly combined into easy-listening music. Lee Hyori has appeared as a female model in the MV.
The duo Leessang parted ways, although informally, in 2017. Their latest album, Unplugged was released in 2012. Each member managed their own agency, Gary with Magic Mansion and Gil with Yangban Nation. Previously, Leesang was under the management of Leessang Company. All of the staff members were dismissed but the company itself wasn’t closed down. Before their parting, Gary and Gil were busy with each of their variety shows. Gary spent a lot of time with the variety show Running Man, while Gil was active in MBC’s Infinite Challenge and Mnet’s Show Me the Money 5.
Gary got married to a non-celebrity woman on April 5th, 2017. He released his latest album titled Purple Bikini on August 2nd, 2019. Currently, Gary is busy recording and broadcasting his own YouTube channel, Kang Gary. His YouTube channel has more than 241.000 subscribers and he seems to enjoy his life as a vlogger.
Gil got into trouble several times for his drunken driving problem. After his third drunken driving case in October 2017, he was sentenced to two years probation and 80 hours of community service.
Dynamic Duo
Gaeko and Choiza started their careers in the music industry with the hip-hop group Kod in 1998. The duo met another rapper, Curbin, and decided to form a hip-hop group called CB Mass. CB Mass debuted with their first album, Massmediah, in 2000. CB Mass disbanded in 2003 after a dispute between Choiza, Gaeko, and Curbin. Gaeko revealed the reason for the break-up through his rap lyrics in Dynamic Duo’s first album. He said that the former member became greedy and found more interest in money rather than music.
Dynamic Duo gained popularity with their album Taxi Driver. The album has a record as the best selling Korean hip-hop album. Two of their most popular singles in the album are “Insomnia” featuring Bobby Kim and “Ring My Bell” featuring Naul. Dynamic Duo formed their label record, Amoeba Culture in 2006.
One of Dynamic Duo’s popular MVs was “Ring My Bell.” “Ring My Bell” was released in their debut album Taxi Driver. The MV was funny and entertaining as it was inspired by Jacky Chan’s old martial art movie Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow.
Dynamic Duo performed at Off Route Fest in Nanji Hangang Park on October 05 – 06, 2019. Gaeko and the other performers were Miguel, Simon Dominic, Kid Milli, and Jay Park to name just a few.
Dynamic Duo is scheduled to perform at their concert on December 7 – 8, 2019. The concert is called Dynamic Duo Duty Free concert and it will be held at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium.
Bolbbalgan4
Bolbbalgan4 is a young duo consisting of Ahn Ji-young as main vocal and Woo Ji-yoon as backing vocal/rapper/guitarist. Their genre is K-Pop, folk-rock, RnB, and indie-pop. Bolbbalgan4 was found by Shofar Music in 2016. Before signing a contract with Shofar Music, Bolbbalgan4 performed as a participant on Superstar K6 in 2014. Bolbbalgan4 debuted with the single titled “Fight Day” on April 22nd, 2016. They went into a temporary hiatus due to Ahn Ji-young pursuing her education.
Bolbbalgan4’s debut album wasn’t a success but their first studio album Red Planet was incredibly popular which included their most popular singles “Galaxy” and “Tell Me You Love Me.”
Bolbbalgan4’s best MV is “Galaxy.” At the time, their music was unique and refreshing, far from the usually mellow or energetic idol girl groups. They became instantly famous and their songs could be heard anytime and anywhere in Korea. Ahn Ji-young’s voice was very soothing and calm, while Woo Ji-yoon’s guitar performance was very nice. The tune of “Galaxy” is easy to listen to. Their lyrics pretty much talk about every problem that every common teenager faces in their daily life.
Bolbbalgan4 recently released their latest album, Two Five, on September 10th, 2019. Bolbbalgan4 is incredibly busy as they are promoting their latest album. Bolbbalgan4 is performing in concerts almost every week in various places in Korea since the release of the Two Five album.
Akdong Musician
Brother and sister music duo is very uncommon in the Korean music industry. However, Akdong Musician is able to show that a brother and a sister can cooperate and make good music. Akdong Musician consists of older brother Lee Chan-hyuk and younger sister Lee Su-hyun. They debuted under YG Entertainment with the studio album Play in 2014, fresh after winning the SBS K-Pop Star.
Akdong musician, AKMU for short, became an overnight success after releasing their debut album. Their following albums Spring and Winter further established AKMU’s influence in the Korean music industry.
AKMU released their second studio album titled Winter which includes the single “Last Goodbye.” “Last Goodbye” is the duo’s best selling single and earned them various music awards. The music video of “Last Goodbye” is AKMU’s most viewed video on YouTube. It is a sad themed song that tells the story of a break-up among lovers. Each of the lovers recollects good memories when they were together.
Akdong Musician released their latest studio album Sailing on September 25th, 2019. The lead single of the album is “How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You’re the One I Love.” The single reached the No. 1 position on Korean music charts. Before the end of the year, AKMU has two schedules for concert performances. First, a multi-artist concert, 2019 Someday Theatre Pleroma, which is scheduled on November 16-17, 2019 at Coex Hall D. Second, AKMU’s Sailing Concert is scheduled on December 14-15, 2019 at Kyung Hee University Grand Peace Palace, Seoul.
Davichi
Davichi debuted on February 4th, 2008, by releasing their debut studio album Amaranth 2. Their debut single “I Love You Even Though I Hate You” earned them the award for Rookie of the Month. Davichi consists of Lee Hae-ri and Kang Min-kyung. Lee Hae-ri is famous for her high voice and wide voice range while Kang Min-kyung is famous for her soft voice and beautiful visual. Davichi means “to shine through everything” in Korean. Davichi is one of the most successful female duos, having a total of 6 singles as number one on various occasions.
Davichi contributed to several original soundtracks of famous Korean dramas such as Descendants of the Sun, It’s Okay, That’s Love, and Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, to name a few. The duo Davichi is one of the most loved Korean duos. Both Lee Hae-ri and Kang Min-kyoung’s characters are lovable and friendly.
Davichi’s most famous music video is Descendants of the Sun’s OST. The beautiful melodic piano tune is accompanied by an orchestra to produce a memorable love song ballad. Descendants of the Sun is a hit drama and its OST became a hit to drama viewers as well.
Davichi released their latest album on August 10th, 2019, which was recorded to celebrate a decade of the music program Yoo Hee-yeol’s Sketchbook. On December 13-15, 2019, Davichi will hold a concert at Blue Square Market Hall to celebrate the end of 2019.
Khan
Khan is a Korean female duo under Maroo Management. The duo Khan consists of Jeon Min-ju and Euna Kim, both of whom were former members of Ark. Khan debuted on May 23rd, 2018, by releasing the album I’m Your Girl with the main single of the same title. Euna Kim is a Korean-American rapper and singer. Before forming Khan, she took part in a variety of talent search shows like Superstar K3, Unpretty Rapstar 3, and The Unit. Minju was a former member of the Dayday group and participated in K-Pop Star 2 and K-Pop Star 6.
Khan has only one music video with the title “I’m Your Girl.” Their music is catchy and easy to listen to.
Khan’s latest appearance was as a guest on a music variety show Channel A’s Vocal Play. Khan has a VLive and a YouTube channel; each of the channels is named Khan. Their YouTube channel has more than 150.000 subscribers. Their latest video was uploaded on December 24th, 2018. Their channels show Khan’s activities like recording and producing songs.
MXM
MXM is a duo of two young former trainees of Brand New Music agency. MXM consists of Lim Young-min as rapper and Kim Dong-hyun as a vocalist. The name MXM represents Mix and Match and More x More. MXM debuted on September 6th, 2017, by releasing their Extended Play album titled Unmix. The leading track for the album was “I’m the One.”
MXM’s music video “Knock Knock” was released on November 7th, 2018. Both members complemented each other with their talents. The MV was recorded on an abandoned building without any occupants. It seemed that the duo wanted the residents to show up by knocking with their song and dance.
On March 20th, 2019, MXM released their latest EP with the title I Want To Know You. The EP was produced by the Boombastic team who has experience with artists such as IOI, Seventeen, and Davichi.
JBJ95
JBJ95 is a duo formed by Star Road Entertainment and Hunus Entertainment. JBJ95 debuted on October 30th, 2018, with the single “Home.” JBJ95 members are Kenta Takada and Kim Sang-gyun. JBJ95 members were former members of an idol group of six members, JBJ. They announced their duo name, JBJ95, on August 17th, 2018. Kenta Takada performed as a main vocal, while Kim Sang-gyun performed as a rap artist.
“Home” is considered as JBJ95’s best music video. The shooting of “Home” took place in a normal residential area. JBJ95’s music is easy to listen to with a catchy tune, making the listeners automatically shake their heads while listening to the song.
JBJ is actively performing in K-Pop concerts across Korea. The duo performed at Movie Day Music Night on October 5th, 2019, in Centum City, Sohyang Theatre, ShinhanCard Hall, Busan, and the 2019 Winter K-Pop Concert on November 2nd, 2019, at the Seoul Children’s Grand Park.
Monogram
Monogram is a Korean duo that debuted on September 23rd, 2017, under Sidus HQ agency. The duo Monogram consists of a man, Kevin Choi as vocalist, composer and piano player and a woman, Riwon also as a vocalist. Monogram debuted with the debut single album Diary which consists of two tracks, “The Child” and “Hello, Goodbye.” The duo Monogram members are talented with awesome voices and musical instrument playing talents. Their music is mainly based on strings and guitars. Kevin is responsible for playing the piano, while Riwon is responsible for playing the guitar. Their voices are smooth and clear although not very high and not too special but complement each other perfectly. Most of their songs are easy to listen ballad songs.
Monogram has released only several MVs and their best MV is “Space Travel.” The music for “Space Travel” is based on orchestra strings, a sweet piano tune, and the duo Monogram’s soft voice. “Space Travel” is calm and relaxing while the music video shows images of outer space and galaxy.
Monogram released their third digital single titled “Picture” on April 14th, 2019. The digital single consists of a single track titled “Picture.” “Picture” was arranged and composed by Kevin while the lyrics were also written by Kevin. The track is based on an acoustic guitar melody and the duo’s soft voices.
Wable
Wable is a Korean duo of two sisters formed by MMO Entertainment. Wable debuted on February 17th, 2016, with the leading track titled “I Want to Fall in Love.” Wable consists of Lee Ki-rim and Lee Pu-reum. Wable’s music is easy to listen and suited for a drama OST. Wable has contributed to the OSTs of several popular dramas such as Reply 1988, Little Miss Sunshine, and Love Me Baby.
Their most memorable MV is their debut MV titled “I Want to Fall in Love.” “I Want to Fall in Love” tells the story of a young girl who desperately wants to fall in love and be in a relationship. Both Lee Ki-rim and Lee Pu-reum have a crush but they don’t have the courage to approach their crush. They only look their crush from afar.
On June 14th, 2019, Wable held a solo concert titled June: Spring at Hongdae, Seoul. In 2019, Wable released 5 digital singles. The singles are “So Yeon’s farewell,” “2019 I Hate to go to work,” “Love With You,” “Paradise,” and “MMM.” Their latest single, “MMM” was released on September 4th, 2019.
Korean duos are talented and blessed with excellent voices. Each member’s relation to the other member is unique. Some are sisters, brothers, brother and sister, while others are close friends who share a common passion for a certain music genre. Some are still active like Bolbbalgan4 and Dynamic Duo, while others have already disbanded or are on an indefinite hiatus like Leessang. Let’s wish the Korean duos luck in the production and release of new tracks and albums. That was all the information about the best K-Pop duos. Don’t forget to kindly share your thoughts in the comment section below!
