Jo Yoon-kyung () is a South Korean lyricist and writer. She has written primarily for SM Entertainment artists such as BoA, Girls' Generation, Shinee, Exo, NCT, Red Velvet, and Aespa. In 2017, she won Lyricist of the Year at the Gaon Chart Music Awards. Jo is known for her "fairy tale" lyrics.
Life and career Jo was a fan of Shinhwa in middle school, and applied to become a lyricist at SM Entertainment after finding an audition application guide in one of their albums. In her first year of high school, she signed an exclusive contract to be a lyricist for SM. She debuted as a lyricist in 2002 with BoA's "Listen to My Heart". As a college student, she thought she would not become a lyricist because of the low income. Jo graduated from Hanyang University in 2003, having studied Korean Language and Literature. In 2017 at the 6th Gaon Chart Music Awards, Jo won Lyricist of the Year. In April 2021, she published Into Your World (), a romantic fantasy which connects 12 songs she has written into a narrative. As of April 2024, she is a freelance lyricist not affiliated with any company.
Discography
Jo made her debut as a lyricist in 2002 with "Listen to My Heart" by BoA. Since then, she worked primarily with SM Entertainment artists such as BoA, Girls' Generation, F(x), Shinee, Exo, NCT, Red Velvet, and Aespa. She has also worked with non-SM artists like The Boyz and Kiss of Life. Her "representative songs" include Shinee's "Sherlock", Taeyeon's "U R", and Red Velvet's "Rookie". As of September 7, 2025, Jo has 409 credits listed with the Korea Music Copyright Association.
Filmography Television series Year Title Role 2013 Pure Love Writer
Web series Year Title Role Notes 2020 Café Kilimanjaro Writer Starring Kwon Hyun-bin
Bibliography Into Your World (, 2021)
Awards + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, award category, nominee(s) of the award and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Award category Work(s)/nominee(s) Result Gaon Chart Music Awards 2017 Lyricist of the Year Jo Yoon-kyung
References