Two Pillars of K-POP History: the 30th Anniversary of Dooz’s Kim Seong-jae and Jimin’s Spotify Record

November 20 marks exactly 30 years since Kim Seong-jae, the singer from the legendary hip-hop duo Dooz, passed away. He died just one day after making his debut performance of “Malhajamyeon” on SBS’ “Sengbangsong TV Gayo 20” on November 19, 1995, becoming an immortal icon that night. Debuting in April 1993 alongside Lee Hyun-do, Dooz had a transformative impact on Korean popular music history until their breakup in July 1995, two years later. They produced hit songs such as “Nareul Dolawo,” “Gullereul Boteona,” “Urineun,” and “Yeoreum Anjeosa,” standing shoulder to shoulder with “Seo Taiji and Boys” at the time. “Muje,” included on Dooz’s second album, was the first 100% rap song in South Korea, marking a milestone in Korean popular music history with the emergence of 100% rap songs. Recently, Netflix’s animated series “KPop Demon Hunters” featuring “Nareul Dolawo” once again confirmed that Dooz is not merely a relic of history but the foundation of modern K-POP. Music critic Im Hee-yoon commented, “In terms of music, as well as dance, fashion, and attitude, they were both mainstream and underground, hipsters and young masters.” Lee Hyun-do handled the musical quality, while fashionista Kim Seong-jae brought attention to his exterior appeal. Kim Seong-jae’s sense of style and fashion sense, shaped by growing up in Japan, became an object of admiration for many young people. Even today, there are ongoing testimonials from those in the music industry, designers, and fashion editors claiming to have been influenced by him. The cause of death remains a mystery 30 years later. Twenty-eight needle marks were found on his body, and the animal anesthetic zolotil was detected. His former girlfriend, identified as A, was suspected, but the Supreme Court ruled her innocent due to insufficient evidence. Meanwhile, another peak in K-POP history in 2025 is BTS’s Jimin’s Spotify achievements. Jimin’s title track from his second studio album, “Who,” was recorded as the Most Streamed Song in seven countries on Spotify’s country-specific charts: South Korea, Bulgaria, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Venezuela, Singapore, and Latvia. This is the first and only achievement of its kind among K-POP singers. “Who” surpassed 83 million filtered streams on Spotify’s South Korea chart. With “Like Crazy,” the title track from his first album, exceeding 50 million streams in August, Jimin became the first and only singer to have two songs on the same chart with over 50 million streams each. The record continued on global charts as well. On October 24, 461 days after release, “Who” reached 2 billion filtered streams on Spotify’s global chart, becoming the first and only solo song by an Asian artist to do so. It also set a record as the fastest Asian male artist to achieve this milestone. On U.S. charts, it recorded 430 million streams, ranking it 84th among the most streamed songs of all time. This is the highest record for K-POP in the U.S. market with the largest user base, and it is the first and only K-POP song to exceed 430 million streams on that chart. It also surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify’s Brazil, Japan, and Thailand charts, and reached 98 million streams on Chile’s chart. What is interesting about these two moments is their significance. In November 1995, Korean hip-hop was pioneered by Kim Seong-jae, while in November 2025, K-POP reached its global peak represented by Jimin. Over these 30 years, Korean popular music has moved beyond borders to become central to world music history. Lee Hyun-do is currently preparing Dooz’s fourth studio album. This project, underway since 2023, aims to extract Kim Seong-jae’s voice using artificial intelligence from existing recordings. It is similar to how The Beatles revived the 30s voice of the late John Lennon using AI in their new song “Now And Then” released 27 years later in 2023. Lee Hyun-do said, “I thought, ‘Let’s not ignore or turn away anymore.’” He added that while all media cover Kim Seong-jae’s death as a tragedy in November, he wants to highlight the moments when Seong-jae was at his brightest and most impressive. He explained, “From the start of Dooz, I convinced Seong-jae by saying, ‘I can’t do it without you. You have to be here.’” He also mentioned that considering his good height and confident fashion sense, he is working on the fashion style for this fourth album as well.