18 K-Pop Idol Songwriters Who Know How To Write A Bop

When many people think of idols, they might assume that not a lot of them know that much about writing music. Although songwriting isn’t necessarily part of their job description, many idols have gone beyond performing and have delved into the realm of music production. As a tribute to their songwriting talents, we present this list of talented songwriters (in no particular order) who also happen to be idols. Enjoy!

1. Block B’s Zico

Known for his rap skills, the Block B leader has led a successful solo career for several years now, and he has no plans to slow down. He has written and produced many hits for himself and for others, such as Song Mino’s “Fear,” Kim Sejeong’s “Flower Way,” and BASTARZ’s “Zero For Conduct.”

2. B1A4’s Jinyoung

Known as one of the most prominent idol musicians, Jinyoung is active in writing, composing, and producing most of B1A4’s songs. “A Lie,” “Sweet Girl,” and “Solo Day” are just a few of his well-known hits. Surprisingly enough, he has written b-sides for I.O.I and Oh My Girl as well.

3. SHINee’s Jonghyun

Since Jonghyun has been involved in SHINee’s music for years, it should come as no surprise that he’s on this list. His credits for songs such as “Juliette,” “View,” and “She Is” are undoubtedly impressive. He also participated in writing EXO’s “Playboy” and Lee Hi’s “Breathe,” just to name a few.

4. SEVENTEEN’s Woozi

From debut, Woozi has been known as the mind behind SEVENTEEN’s many hit songs. His writing, composing, and producing are a part of what has made SEVENTEEN so successful. He has even branched out by making songs for other groups, most notably I.O.I’s farewell song “Downpour.”

5. EXID’s LE

Most people know her as the rapper in EXID, but LE surprisingly has a good-sized list of songs that she helped create. In fact, she’s co-written for Trouble Maker and HyunA in addition to her own group’s discography.

6. BTS’s Rap Monster

As many fans know, all of BTS is involved in the production of their own music; however, leader Rap Monster has an impressive number of writing credits in BTS’s songs, and he’s only continuing to expand his repertoire. Rap Monster co-wrote the song “Dilemma” for Big Hit labelmate Homme just last year.

7. Akdong Musician’s Lee Chan Hyuk

In the brother-sister duo that is Akdong Musician, Lee Chan Hyuk is responsible for writing all the music on their albums. For someone to have written that many songs at such a young age is quite a feat; hopefully he will continue to create great music for years to c0me!

8. PENTAGON’s Hui

Over the past few months, Hui has become a hot topic of discussion for his writing and production of the hit song “Never” from “Produce 101 Season 2.” In addition to writing b-sides for PENTAGON’s albums, he is the mastermind behind Wanna One’s debut track “Energetic” as well.

9. DAY6’s Young K

Although all of the DAY6 members take part in the writing of their own songs, Young K has become the representative songwriter of the group. He says that his writing process takes inspiration from both his own life and “second-hand experiences” like books, movies, TV shows, and so on. His contributions to other artists include GOT7’s “Beggin’ On My Knees,” Park Jimin of 15&’s “Answer,” and UP10TION’s “Stuck On You.”

10. BIGBANG’s G-Dragon

As one of the most successful self-written idol soloists, GD is a given on this list. His participation in writing BIGBANG tracks and his solos has earned him some well-deserved respect throughout the idol world.

11. CNBLUE’s Jung Yong Hwa

With over 100 writing credits to his name, Jung Yong Hwa is a force to be reckoned with. He participates in writing all of his band’s music (in both Korean and Japanese) in addition to projects outside of CNBLUE.

12. Highlight’s Yong Junhyung

Another lyrical powerhouse, Yong Junhyung has co-written the vast majority of Highlight’s songs, with hits such as “Shock,” “Fiction,” “Good Luck,” and “Plz Don’t Be Sad.” On top of that, he has worked on songs for Apink, BTOB, EXID, and HyunA.

13. iKON’s B.I.

Showing his skills in survival shows “Mix&Match” and “Win” predebut, B.I. is one of YG’s newest and most promising lyricists. He is even credited for co-writing WINNER’s “Empty” and BLACKPINK’s “Whistle” in addition to iKON’s songs.

14. B.A.P’s Bang Yong Guk

Because of his career as a rapper, it only seems natural for Bang Yong Guk to start with writing his own lyrics. Since his beginning, he has been credited for co-writing many B.A.P tracks, including “Warrior” and “One Shot.” He has even secretly composed for other groups, most notably VIXX’s “Love Me Do.”

15. 2PM’s Jun.K

Starting early on, the 2PM member has long since been involved in music production. With credits for “My House” and “Go Crazy,” among numerous other solo and collaboration projects, he has an impressive number of titles to his name.

16. VIXX’s Ravi

The VIXX rapper has used writing as a way to express himself regardless of whether its for his own rap or another song entirely. Ravi has at least co-written for the vast majority of VIXX, VIXX LR, solos, and even some Jellyfish Entertainment collaboration songs.

17. IU

Because of her habit of keeping a diary, IU’s songwriting style comes off as down-to-earth and relatable. In her newest title track “Palette,” she discusses her personal growth and how she works to overcome people’s criticisms.

18. Henry

In terms of musical talent, Henry is really an all-rounder. He sings, plays multiple instruments, writes, composes, and produces. Just recently, he worked on the collaboration project “Lemonade Love” for NCT’s Mark and Parc Jae Jung as well as the demo for EXO’s “The Eve.”

Soompiers, who is your favorite idol songwriter? Let us know in the comments below!

jadicus35 is a ordinary college student by day, and a not-so-closet fangirl by night. She spends her time on Tumblr when she’s not (but really should be) studying and/or pretending to be a functional human being.