Clon (클론)
Clon is a Korean dance duo. The duo which comprises Kang Won-rae and Koo Jun-yup formed Clon in 1996 under the supervision of Kim Chang-hwan (a major figure in the Korean music industry).
Clon’s debut album “Are You Ready?” was extremely well received and they are known for being one of the first Korean artists to incorporate crisp choreographed dance routines into their music.
However, in November 2000, Kang Won-rae met with a tragic motorcycle accident which left him paralyzed from the waist down. 🙁 How does a dance duo survive with one paralyzed member? Clon disbanded after the accident.
In 2003, Koo Jun-yup released a self titled solo album.
Kang Won-rae (left) and Koo Jun-yup in their “Victory” album photo shoot
In the summer of 2005, Clon made a comeback with their 5th album – “Victory“. The title track of the album is called My Love, Kim Song and was dedicated to Kang’s wife, Kim Song, who encouraged and stood by him through those tough 5 years. With Kang in a wheelchair, they made popular a “wheelchair dance”.
“Wheelchair dance” are you kidding me? Well read about it in the article on KBS Global – Clon Performs Wheelchair Dance to Fight Prejudice against Disable
Name : Koo Jun-yup (구준엽)
Date of birth: September 11, 1969
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 68 kg
Blood type: A
Name : Kang Won-rae
Date of birth : December 21, 1969
Height : 183 cm
Weight : 72 kg
Religion: Christianity
Albums
- Victory (2005)
- The Best of CLON (2002)
- New World (2000)
- Funky Together (1999)
- One More Time (1997)
- Are You Ready? (1996)
I was first introduced to Clon when i saw a YouTube video of Bi dancing with Koo Jun-yup. They were dancing to one of Clon’s fast-paced dance song entitled Nan. The dance moves were super cool and i was wondering who is this “botak” (bald) man dancing with Bi? Check out the video – Rain performing with Clon. Bi looks like he is enjoying himself so much!
Clon’s official website
The music video Tony refers to is "사랑과 영혼 (Love and Soul)", from their 3rd album, "Funky Together". I'm pretty sure they earned a bit of admiration for the wheelchair dance, at least because it was a real innovation. It hasn't been repeated by anyone else, however. I do imagine that it did quite a lot to change the image of the mobility-challenged in Korea. There's still a long way to go, though. No "Koreans with Disabilities Act" exists yet. Then again, considering Korean politicians, this should come as no surprise. Japan is certainly farther ahead in terms of adapting for the mobility-challenged…though not nearly like America. In fact, Kang Wonrae originally wanted to come to the States to rehabilitate, but his doctors advised against it because he would become too accustomed to American facilities for the mobility-challenged and would have to go through difficult readjustment when coming back home. Sad, but true. I think some improvements have been made, but change is slow in coming. Having someone as well-known as Kang Wonrae out front on personal mobility issues has certainly helped, since Koreans have a tendency to ignore things that don't affect them, their family or their friends. They're not necessarily prejudiced (though some are), just ignorant or unmindful of diversity in general. (No flames please, it's just a third-hand observation.)
Does anyone remember the Clon music video where it shows one of the guys as a young boy? He’s playing with a girl with a sling shot. He grows up to be some sort of hitman or assassin and she grows up to be a news reporter. It was a slow song that was on Clon’s 3rd album. I’m trying to find the video all over but no luck.
We had CLON at our KMF, in 2006 or 2007. They did their wheelchair dance. I thought it was very inspriing!
Vic in Long Beach, CA
From what i’ve noticed, Koo Jun-Yup comes out on a lot of shows like Xman. He also has been a model. I actually never knew that he was in a group. Thank you for posting this.
I don’t have answers to your tough questions Liz.
Oh wow, why isn’t their story turned into a film already? What is Kang Won-rae doing right now?
Ditto for Koo Jun-yup? Also, did the wheelchair dance take off? What sort of response did they get in their fight against prejudice?
Doncha think it’s movie-making material here?
Lights, camera, action!