A Quick Look At Who “Kingdom”‘s Panel Of Expert Judges Are And What They Do

The judges for Mnet’s “Kingdom” have been revealed!

With more and more competition/survival shows arriving in recent years, the judges of those shows have been questioned. While much of it could be attributed to the fact that essentially every judge of anything in history has been doubted, the number of controversies, manipulations, and lies have made people truly question if the judges are qualified.

Mnet‘s program Kingdom was especially questioned due to its 30 member jury and the mix of elder groups with more recent groups. Fans have questioned why the judges were not revealed to them like they usually are on competition shows, so Mnet revealed their panel of judges just before the final round.

Note: The groups participating in Kingdom are The Boyz, ATEEZ, BTOB, SF9, iKON, and Stray Kids.

Music Producers and Composers

1. NIve is a Korean-American singer-songwriter, producer, and composer. He placed 9th in the competition show Superstar K 6. He has written, composed, and produced songs for K-Pop artists such as EXO, Paul Kim, Super Junior, NCT, BTS, CLC, and more.

NIve | @thisisnive/Instagram

2. MonoTree is a Korean music production and publishing company. It was founded in 2014 by G-high, Hwang Hyun, and Lee Joo Hyoung, who were former producers at Sweetune. MonoTree has produced hundreds of songs for artists like Girls’ Generation, SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, IZ*ONE, Red Velvet, TWICE, LOONA, and plenty more.

3. Seo Yong Bae is a music producer and composer working for RBW Entertainment. He has produced and composed songs for many iconic artists like 4MINUTE, ASTRO, BTOB, GFRIEND, INFINITE, MAMAMOO, NU’EST, and more.

4. Seo Ji Eum is a lyricist under Jam Factory Inc. She wrote and arranged songs for artists such as f(x), Oh My Girl, MONSTA X, I.O.I, BoA, EVERGLOW, and more.

Seo Ji Eum | @jieum__s/Instagram

5. Im Soo Ho is a lyricist, professor, and composer! He wrote and arranged hundreds of songs for artists like IU, Ailee, Chungha, Golden Child, Stray Kids, and many more.

6. Jo Yoon Kyung is a lyricist who has written and arranged songs for artists like  SHINee, NCT Dream, CLC, EXO, LOONA, SuperM, Girls’ Generation‘s TaeyeonTXT, and more.

7. Tenzo (PAPERMAKER) is a songwriter, producer, and composer. He has worked with several artists such as composed and produced songs for many Korean artists, such as TO1 (TOO), WANNA ONE, woo!ah!, JO1, Ghost9, IZ*ONE, etc.

Tenzo | @tenzo_777/Instagram

8. Team Galactika is a Korean music production group that has been in business since 2009. Due to their early start, they have created songs for plenty of artists like ITZY, T-ARA, SISTAR, MONSTA X, WJSN, After School, AOA, etc.

Voice Instructors and Voice Coaches

9. Shin Yoomi (YouMe) is a singer and songwriter who mentored the trainees on Produce 101 and Produce X 101. She has been a vocal trainer for many idols and trainees, but some of her more famous clients are Lee Hi, GOT7, DAY6, BTOB, and more.

Shin Yoomi | @newme_/Instagram

10. Jang Jin Young is a singer who currently works as a vocal trainer for SM Entertainment. He usually works specifically for SHINee, Red Velvet, and EXO.

11. Jeon Bong Jin is an actor, singer, and vocal trainer. He has worked with famous idols like SHINee‘s Jonghyun, Super Junior‘s Kyuhyun, EXO‘s D.O., Gummy, Yoon Mi Rae, and Wheesung.

Jeon Bong Jin

Performers

12. Lia Kim is a dancer, choreographer, and trainer. She is the chief choreographer of 1Million Dance Studio and has choreographed several iconic songs belonging to Sunmi, BoA, MAMAMOO, TWICE, A.C.E, EVERGLOW, and more.

13. Park Jun Hee is a choreographer who has worked with GFRIEND, Shinhwa, AKB48, IZ*ONE, and more.

14. Won Shin Lee is a dancer and choreographer from NANA Dance Company. Their crew has worked with big artists like BTS, XIA, 2PM, J. Y. Park, SEVENTEEN, etc.

Won Shin Lee | @wonshin.lee/Instagram

15. Choi Young Joon is a dancer and choreographer who mentored the trainees for Produce 48. He has choreographed for hundreds of songs belonging to AB6IX, GOT7, NU’EST W, Shinhwa, EXO, UP10TION, Weki Meki, and more.

16. Ha Hui Dong is a b-boy dancer who used to be an idol. He is most famous for his work on the dance competition Dancing9.

Music Reviewers and Critics

17. Kim Young Dae is an acclaimed critic and a member of the Selection Committee for the Korean Music Awards.

Kim Young Dae | The Korea Herald

18. Kim Youn Ha

19. Park Hwi Ah 

20. Lee Gyu Tag is an “expert on K-Pop,” a professor at George Mason University-Korea, and a Korean Music Awards committee member.

Lee Gyu Tag | George Mason University Korea

21. Lim Jin Mo 

Magazine Editors and Music Video Producers

22. Kim Yoon Hee is the editor-in-chief of 1st Look Magazine.

23. Lee Maroo is an ELLE Magazine Editor.

24. Rigend Film is a production company that shoots gorgeous MVs for artists such as NCT 127, PENTAGON, TVXQ, Chungha, Kang Daniel, TREASURE, WOODZ, EXO‘s Lay, (G)I-DLE, and many more.

“FIESTA” by IZ*ONE, produced by Rigend Film | Stone Music Entertainment/YouTube

25. Hong Won Ki is the music video director and founder of Zanybros, one of the most famous South Korean video production companies. Zaynbros has made hundreds of music videos for artists such as Epik High, SHINee, Miss A, HyunA, Jay Park, Apink, B.A.P, VIXX, BTS, CNBLUE, (G)I-DLE, PENTAGON, ONEUS, ATEEZ, and so many more.

26. Ma Doo Sik is a producer that has worked on every season of Superstar K.

Music Distribution Platform Employees

27. Bae Sung Ho is the Artist and Label Partnership Manager at Spotify in Korea.

28. Bae In Jae currently works for iTunes and Apple Music in Artist and Label Relations. However, she has also previously worked at CJ E&M, JYP Entertainment, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Group.

Bae In Jae | LinkedIn

29. Kevin Cho is Universal Music Publishing Group’s general manager.

30. Hong Sang Wook is Genie Music Corporation‘s Managing director.

What do you think about this selection?