K-Pop Songs Are Made By “Songwriting Camps” With Hundreds Of People—Here’s What The Process Is Like

One team has over 700 songwriters and producers.

Did you know that K-Pop songs are made by teams composed of up to hundreds of members? According to renowned producer Ryan Jhun in an interview with The Korea Herald, they call these teams “songwriting camps.” His team alone has over 700 songwriters working together, the most in Korea.

Having produced songs for top stars like IU and IVE as well as SM Entertainment groups like Girls’ Generation, aespa, and EXO, Ryan Jhun is more familiar than anyone else about the process.

aespa’s Winter

He explained that each songwriting camp has one objective: to make K-Pop songs. They gather professional songwriters and producers from Korea and around the world.

Songwriting camp | Warner Chappell Music UK (WCM)

Furthermore, they are commissioned by artists, groups, and music labels to create songs. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that these camps have changed the way music sounds!

Finally, Ryan Jhun was asked why he thinks there is a growing number of global producers and songwriters interested in entering the K-Pop industry. He believes that it’s all thanks to physical albums and strong fandom culture. People are also drawn to its “charming vibe” and the way it talks about relatable topics like love.

K-pop was able to strengthen its position because local artists still actively manufacture CDs when releasing new albums and the market is buoyed by a solid fandom culture. It was able to be loved by not only song makers but also listeners from out there too because of its charming vibe and more relatable topics such as love.

— Ryan Jhun

IU

In the same interview, the veteran producer opened up about how he lived a very different life prior to being accepted by SM Entertainment. Learn all about it here:

How An Automobile Salesman Became One Of K-Pop’s Biggest Producers, Working With IU, aespa, IVE, And More

Source: The Korea Herald