SM Entertainment’s first exclusively contracted lyricist and winner of the Gaon Chart Lyricist of the Year award, songwriter Cho Yun Kyoung has built up a formidable world through the lyrics she’s written. Everyone has sung and held close to their hearts words penned by Cho over the years—now get ready to take a look at some of the songs that make the heart of this master of her craft soar.

RIIZE - “One Kiss” 
Cho Yun Kyoung: If there’s one thing that’s really important for making a song that will exist in the memories of fans and their favorite artist for a long time, it’s that the song makes it possible for both of them to experience the purest of loves for each other. I’ve been following pop music ever since the first generation of idols. And the core of my lyrics has grown along the way. I recommend listening to “One Kiss” to hear a song where the artist and their fans can really lock eyes and sing together in concert.

KISS OF LIFE - “Nobody Knows” 
Cho Yun Kyoung: Seeing “Sugarcoat (NATTY Solo)” take off again made me realize how powerful it can be when the trinity of an artist’s backstory, talent, and music really comes together. I’m proud of that, but on the other hand, I also thought a similar song but performed by all the KISS OF LIFE members together would be perfect for them. And the label made it happen without delay. There’s nothing more real than a girl group doing R&B.

CRAVITY - “C’est La Vie” 
Cho Yun Kyoung: For some songs, I’m just so in the zone when I’m writing them that it’s like you-know-who has come to me. Working on songs like that is like getting a flood of dopamine, you know? And that’s what I felt when I was writing “C’est La Vie.” Judging by the video where the artists talked about recording the vocals, they were really excited about it, too. Once I saw that, I thought, Wow, this song’s gonna turn out amazing! And it really, truly did.

aespa - “Set The Tone” 
Cho Yun Kyoung: I think it’s fair to say that “the Scene, its finale” of a steel feel is aespa. When I was working on “Set The Tone,” I thought, The choreography for this song is gonna slay—they’re straight up serving up a helping of that steel feel. Throw in each of the aespa members’ characteristic charisma and skill and you end up with what can only be called a crazy song. Not sure what I mean? Go check out their live performance of “Set The Tone” right now.

THE BOYZ - “Survive The Night” 
Cho Yun Kyoung: THE BOYZ member SUNWOO wrote all the lyrics to this song alone. The lyrics themselves are one thing, but looking at them as a lyricist, there’s such a skilled degree of control on display here. I could go on for an hour about what makes each line in these lyrics amazing—it’s just that no one’s ever given me the opportunity. If I had to choose just one part, it would be the line, “Once again into the night I dive.” The topline, his understanding of the vocals, the picture it paints, the enunciation and breathing, the use of structure. There’s just so much going on. Okay, I’ll stop there.

KEY - “Mirror, Mirror” 
Cho Yun Kyoung: Since writing lyrics is my line of work, lyrics are how I approach songs. When I look at the lyrics for “Mirror, Mirror,” I feel there’s an infinitely wide scope, one that only the singer himself could ever possibly embrace, and one that a mere freelance songwriter could never hope to reach. I can’t be the only one who feels that way. I’m sure all the writers who tried to work on this song felt the same way, too. Lyrics like, “You should’ve understood how I feel when I’m looking at you / You should’ve reflected me differently sometimes”—ones that are simple but take aim right at your heart—stay with you for a really, really long time.

Girls’ Generation - “Into The New World” 
Cho Yun Kyoung: Listen to this song again. The intro alone is enough to get your heart racing. Not only is the song great, but it’s a chance that K-pop stans won’t want to miss to hear the really pure, still-developing vocals from the group’s early days. An artist grows as their collection of albums grows and as the number of performances they put on does, and their vocals become progressively more refined, but there’s just something so special about their singing from before they’re full of confidence after perfecting themselves that it’s hard to know exactly how to feel. There’s still something so beautiful about that world, no matter how many times you return to it.

Cho Yun Kyoung’s recommendations
SHINee - “An Encore” 
HA SUNG WOON - “Starlight” 
TWS - “hey! hey!”
Red Velvet - “Night Drive” 
Young K (DAY6) - “let it be summer”
TAEYEON - “Heart”
NCT DREAM - “Dive Into You”
SHINHWA - “Erase all of time”