DJ & Producer · Berlin, Germany
Peggy Gou
Peggy Gou, born Kim Min-ji in Incheon on 3 July 1991, is a Berlin-based DJ, Gudu Records founder and XL Recordings artist behind I Hear You.
quick facts
- Real name
- Kim Min-ji
- Born
- 3 July 1991
- Birthplace
- Incheon, South Korea
- Nationality
- South Korean
- Based in
- Berlin, Germany
- Labels
- Gudu Records, XL Recordings, Ninja Tune, Rekids
- Genres
- House, Techno, Dance-Pop
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, de.wikipedia.org, ko.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org
Few DJs have crossed from the booth to the pop charts as cleanly as Peggy Gou. She came up through East London bookshops and Berlin basements, turned a run of house 12-inches into a career that now takes in a fashion label, a record label, a major-label album and a Lenny Kravitz duet. Her story is one of the clearest examples of how a club reputation can scale without the club disappearing from the picture.
From Incheon to London and Berlin
Peggy Gou was born Kim Min-ji in Incheon, South Korea, on 3 July 1991, a date given by English, German and Korean Wikipedia. According to the English Wikipedia biography she began classical piano lessons at eight, and at 14 her parents sent her to London to study English. She returned to Korea at 18, went back to London six months later, and studied fashion at the London College of Fashion. After graduating she worked as London correspondent editor for the Korean edition of Harper's Bazaar before moving to Berlin, where German Wikipedia says she has lived since 2013.
The DJ side came almost by accident. Wikipedia says a friend from Korea taught her to mix in 2009, and her early gigs were in London, including Cirque Le Soir in Soho and a weekly slot at The Book Club in East London. In 2013 she learned Ableton Live and started writing her own tracks, and her first completed track, "Hungboo", dates to 2014. It is named after the hero of a Korean fairy tale.
Early Records and the Itgehane Breakthrough
Her recording debut came in January 2016 with The Art of War Part 1 on Radio Slave's Rekids label, which included a remix by Galcher Lustwerk. The next EP, Seek for Maktoop, carried the track that made her name, "It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)". It was followed by Once in 2018, the first record on which she sang, and Moment in April 2019. In 2018 she also released through Ninja Tune and Phonica, and "It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)" won Best Track at the AIM Independent Music Awards that year, according to Wikipedia.
Her music sits in the house family, with vocals in Korean and English according to German Wikipedia. The booking sheet is wider than that label suggests: Wikipedia says she was the first Korean DJ to play Berlin's Berghain, and lists Coachella, Glastonbury, Dekmantel, Primavera Sound and Sónar among her festival appearances. RTS.FM's report on Berghain and the DJ Mag clubs poll notes that the closing party at UNVRS, the venue that topped that poll, listed Peggy Gou alongside Anyma, Black Coffee and Rampa.
Gudu Records, Kirin and DJ-Kicks
2019 was the year she built infrastructure around herself. Wikipedia reports that she launched the fashion label Kirin ("giraffe" in Korean) in February with support from Virgil Abloh, then founded her own label, Gudu Records, in March. She has said Gudu was meant to offer artists starting out better treatment than she received. In June she delivered DJ-Kicks: Peggy Gou for !K7, the 69th instalment of that mix series, which reached number nine on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Album Sales chart. Forbes named her among Asian leaders under 30 that year, and her "Starry Night" video, with actor Yoo Ah-in, followed in July.
In festival terms she was by then a fixture. For 2019, Nuits Sonores in Lyon handed one of its daytime programmes to her, alongside Bonobo, Maceo Plex and Lena Willikens. Her name sat on the 2023 Kappa FuturFestival bill with Fatboy Slim, Swedish House Mafia and Carl Craig, and she was among the headliners at Printworks London's farewell weekend in spring 2023, covered in our piece on the venue's return. A guide to clubbing in Spain records that she was also booked for the Sophie Festival summer series, according to the Spanish press reports it cites.
Nanana, XL and I Hear You
The biggest shift came in June 2023 with "(It Goes Like) Nanana" on XL Recordings, which samples André Tanneberger's 1998 track "9 PM (Till I Come)". It led her debut album, I Hear You, released on 7 June 2024. A second single, "I Believe In Love Again" with Lenny Kravitz, arrived in November 2023, and "1+1=11" followed in April 2024. The album also features Villano Antillano, and Olafur Eliasson made the cover art and contributed a poem to the track "Your Art". Wikipedia's album article describes it as dance-pop, with lyrics in Korean, English and Spanish, and lists reviews ranging from 6.2 out of 10 to 9 out of 10. It scored 73 on Metacritic from 12 reviews, reached number three on the UK Dance Albums chart and number 39 on the UK Albums chart.
Her standing in DJ Mag's Top 100 DJs poll tracked the same arc. She was named The World's No. 1 House DJ in the 2023 poll, according to DJ Mag's own headline, and Bandwagon reported her as the highest-ranked Asian DJ at No. 10 in 2024. A tracker on Techno Airlines lists her at No. 13 in the 2026 poll, a figure we have not been able to confirm on DJ Mag's own pages.
2026: Remixes, Collaborations and the Road
Her 2026 output has been collaborative. Wikipedia reports that in April she remixed Ayra Starr's single "Where Do We Go", released by Mavin Records, and that on 26 June 2026 the two released a joint single, "Wo, man", through XL Recordings. On the road, EDMTunes announced her Echostage debut in Washington, D.C., for Friday 2 October 2026, presented by Factory93.
FAQ
How old is Peggy Gou?
Peggy Gou was born on 3 July 1991, according to English, German and Korean Wikipedia, which makes her 35 as of November 2026.
Where is Peggy Gou from?
She was born in Incheon, South Korea, and has lived in Berlin since 2013, according to German Wikipedia. She spent part of her teens and early twenties in London.
What nationality is Peggy Gou?
South Korean. She was born in Incheon and is based in Berlin, Germany.
Who is Peggy Gou?
Peggy Gou, born Kim Min-ji, is a South Korean DJ, producer, singer and fashion designer based in Berlin. She is the founder of Gudu Records and the Kirin fashion label, and released her debut album I Hear You on XL Recordings in 2024.
What is Peggy Gou's best-known song?
Her best-known tracks are "It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)" from 2018, which won Best Track at the AIM Independent Music Awards, and "(It Goes Like) Nanana", released on XL Recordings in 2023.
What is Gudu Records?
Gudu Records is Peggy Gou's independent label, launched in March 2019. She has said she founded it to give artists starting out better opportunities and treatment than she received at the beginning of her career. "Gudu" means "shoes" in Korean.
When was Peggy Gou's debut album released?
I Hear You was released on 7 June 2024 on XL Recordings, with guests including Lenny Kravitz and Villano Antillano.
What is Peggy Gou's latest music?
On 26 June 2026 she released the single "Wo, man" with Ayra Starr through XL Recordings, after remixing Ayra Starr's "Where Do We Go" in April 2026.
What does Peggy Gou's music sound like?
Her records sit in the house family, with vocals in Korean and English. Wikipedia describes her debut album I Hear You as dance-pop, with lyrics in Korean, English and Spanish.