Peggymania

It’s hard to find someone in today’s society who isn’t familiar with the name Peggy Gou. This vibrant South Korean DJ has been breaking records on global charts, making a breakthrough in her career in just two years since her debut.

photo: Davide Guidone

Peggy Gou (Kim Min-ji), grew up in South Korea. Her love for music began in childhood—Peggy started playing classical piano at 8 years old. At 14, she went to London to study English. After finishing her studies four years later, Peggy returned to her homeland, but she soon enrolled at the London College of Fashion to study fashion. This institution has produced renowned designers like Jimmy Choo, Jonathan Anderson (Loewe, JW Anderson), and William Tempest. Even after graduating, Peggy’s involvement in fashion didn’t end—she worked as an editor-correspondent in London for Harper’s Bazaar Korea before moving to Berlin.

Peggy was taught how to DJ by a friend from Korea back in 2009. She gave her first performance at Cirque Le Soir in Soho and later performed regularly at The Book Club in East London. Soon after, Peggy learned to use Ableton Live and began creating her tracks. Her first track, released in 2014, was named after a character from a Korean fairy tale, “Hungboo.” She performed it for the first time in Korea at the Style Icon Awards in 2016, the same year she released her first vinyl record, “The Art of War,” on Rekids.

From there, her career skyrocketed. In 2017, Peggy embarked on her first North American tour and debuted at Boiler Room in New York. Peggy became the first Korean DJ to perform at the legendary Berlin club Berghain. She went on to perform over 100 concerts in a year, including at Coachella, Glastonbury, Ibiza, and the Amsterdam Dance Event. A standout moment was her performance at Virgil Abloh’s Off-White fashion show.

In 2018, her track “It Makes You Forget” was named the best track at the AIM Independent Music Awards and was featured in the FIFA 19 soundtrack. The following year, Peggy launched her independent record label, Gudu Records, and released a compilation in the DJ-Kicks series: Peggy Gou. In 2019, Peggy was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 as an Asian leader, pioneer, and entrepreneur.

Her track “(It Goes Like) Nanana” became the most popular of her career. The “pop” element, which wasn’t as prominent in her earlier works, propelled the track to the top of numerous European music charts. The song was played on all radio stations and at countless parties.

Beyond DJing, Peggy is a true fashion icon, frequently featured in fashion collaborations, setting trends, and even launching her clothing brand. Her label, Kirin, is named after the giraffe, her favorite animal in the Korean language.