I. Introduction
Kang Young-hyun born December 19, 1993, better known by his stage name Young K, is a talented South Korean singer, songwriter, and rapper. He is best known as a bassist, vocalist and rapper of South Korean rock band DAY6.
II. Career
Young K was raised in Ilsan and moved to Toronto, Canada, to attend high school, where he lived there for 4 years.
Way before Day6 debuted in 2015, he covered a lot of songs on YouTube, and even already performed on a lot of stages along with his bandmates called 3 Degree back in his hometown.
The high school band consisted of Brian—the younger version of Young K, Don Lee, and Terry He. They covered some songs, or sang their original songs and uploaded them on YouTube. They also performed on some off-air stages and already got many fans even back then.
Young K was later scouted by JYPe with his 3 Degree bandmate Don Lee in Toronto to come to audition for JYPe. After he successfully passed the auditions, he returned to South Korea. Young K eventually made his way into TV by making an appearance in Dream High 2, the popular Korean drama. But unlike his fellow JYP trainees, JB and Jinyoung, his appearance in Dream High 2 was only a short one.
Aside from making cameo appearances in Dream High 2, Young K also made a collaboration with some artists before Day6 made their official debut. In June 2015, the same year Day6 made their debut, which was in September 2015, he was featured in fellow JYP artist, Baek A-yeon’s song “Shouldn’t Have” where he did compose and wrote the rap part.
He was also featured in a song in July 2015 by Korean indie musicians, Park Sae-byul & Like Likes, in the song titled "Sky High" where he wrote rap part.
Throughout his trainee days and debuting in Day6, Young K attended Dongguk University majoring in Business Administration. He didn’t abandon his responsibility as a university student just like that. He continued his studies while doing Day6’s activities.
Quote from Young K talking about him tackling being a uni student and idol"I had a lot of group projects as a Business Administration student, and it was hard to cooperate with other students, especially those who were difficult to be contacted."
In another After School Club episode, Young K replaced Ji-min, the regular MC because he was told to do so by the manager. Although he was getting ready to go to college, the manager called him to go to After School Club instead.
After living the life of a university student for around 8 semesters, Young K finally graduated from Dongguk University and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
He finished university while doing every Day6 project, where Day6 had to release two songs in a month for a whole year in 2017 and had to compose and write for each of their songs.
III. Solo debut
On September 6, 2021, Young K made his solo debut with his first mini-album Eternal and its title track "Guard You".
Young K also announced that he will enlist as part of his mandatory military service on October 12, 2021, where he will be serving in KATUSA.
IV. Subunit
On August 31, 2020, Young K, Dowoon and Wonpil debuted as Even of Day, a sub-unit of Day6 and released their debut EP The Book of Us: Gluon, with the lead single "Where the Sea Sleeps" (파도가 끝나는 곳까지).
V. Discography
VI. Mini albums
VII. Collaborations
VIII. Features
- Baek A Yeon - "Shouldn't Have..." (2015)
- Likes, Likes - "Sky High" (2015)
- Jimin Park - "Young" (2016)
- X Lovers - "LOVE" (2020)
- Stamp - "ใจอ้วน / Sugar High" (2021)
- Ben&Ben - "Leaves" (2021)
VIV. Songwriting credits
| 2016 | "Stuck On You" (빠져가지고) | Up10tion | Burst | Yes | Wonpil, Sungjin (Day6), Daniel Kim | Yes | Wonpil, Sungjin (Day6), Daniel Kim | [31] |
| "Answer" | Park Ji-min | 19 to 20 | Yes | Nathan | No | |||
| "Beggin On My Knees" | Got7 | Flight Log: Departure | Yes | No | [32] | |||
| 2017 | "In Your Eyes" | Crude Play | The liar and His Lover OST | Yes | Frants | No | ||
| 2018 | "Sleep Mode" | Nakjoon | Still... | Yes | No | [33] | ||
| 2019 | "Hope" | Young-jae | Fancy | Yes | Isaac Han | Yes | ||
| "Love Me Tonight" | 휴이 (ḦU) | RE:verse | No | Yes | ||||
| "원해" (I Want You More) | No | Yes | ||||||
| 2020 | "Don't Know" | Jeong Se-woon | 24 Part.1 | Yes | Jeong Se-woon | No | ||
| "Trouble with You" | Eric Nam | The Other Side | Yes | Eric Nam | No | [34] | ||
| "Paradise" | Yes | No | ||||||
| "How You Been" | Yes | No | ||||||
| "Love Die Young (Korean Ver.)" | Yes | No | ||||||
| 2021 | "Sugar High" (ใจอ้วน) | STAMP feat. Young K | Non-album single | Yes | STAMP | No | ||
| "What a Wonderful World" | Park Moon-chi, Young K | What a Wonderful World | Yes | Park Moon-chi, DVWN | Yes | Park Moon-chi, DVWN |
VV. Day6 Songwriting credits
| 2015 | The Day | "Freely" | Yes | Naru, Day6 | Yes | Naru, Day6 | No | — |
| "Out of My Mind" | Yes | Day6 | Yes | Andrew Choi, 220, Day6 | No | — | ||
| "Congratulations" | Yes | Yes | Hong Ji-sang, Lee Woo-min, Day6 | No | — | |||
| "Habits" | Yes | mr.cho, Day6 | Yes | mr.cho, Park Kun-woo, Day6 | Yes | mr.cho, Park Kun-woo, Day6 | ||
| "Like That Sun" | Yes | Frants, Day6 | Yes | Frants, Day6 | No | — | ||
| "Colors" | Yes | mr.cho, Day6 | Yes | Hong Jung-pyo, mr.cho, Park Kun-woo, Day6 | No | — | ||
| 2016 | Daydream | "First Time" | Yes | Day6 | Yes | Hong Ji-sang, Lee Woo-min, Day6 | No | — |
| "Blood" | Yes | Jae | Yes | 220, Jae Park | No | — | ||
| "Letting Go" | Yes | Wonpil | Yes | Hong Ji-sang, Lee Woo-min, Wonpil | No | — | ||
| "Sing Me" | Yes | Wonpil | Yes | Nuplay, Neil Nallas, Walter Pok, Day6 | No | — | ||
| "I Hope" | Yes | Sungjin, Wonpil | Yes | Sungjin, Wonpil | No | — | ||
| "Hunt" | Yes | Frants, Wonpil | Yes | Frants, Wonpil | No | — | ||
| 2017 | Non-album singles | "I Wait" | Yes | — | Yes | Hong Ji-sang, Lee Woo-min, Jae, Wonpil | No | — |
| "Goodbye Winter" | Yes | Park Sung-jin, Jae, YUE, Cha Il-hoon | Yes | Park Sung-jin, Young K, YUE, Cha Il-hoon | No | — | ||
| "You Were Beautiful" | Yes | — | Yes | Hong Ji-Sang, Lee Woo-min, Wonpil, | No | — | ||
| "My Day" | Yes | — | Yes | Mr. Cho, Joo-hyo, Kim Wonpil | Yes | Mr. Cho, Joo-hyo, Wonpil, Dowoon | ||
| "How Can I Say" | Yes | Wonpil | Yes | Hong Ji-sang, Lee Woo-man, Jae, Wonpil, Sungjin | No | — | ||
| "I Would" | Yes | — | Yes | Hong Ji-sang, Lee Woo-man, Jae, Wonpil | No | — | ||
| "I'm Serious" | Yes | Sungjin, Wonpil | Yes | — | No | — | ||
| "Say Wow" | Yes | — | Yes | Hong Ji-sang, Wonpil | No | — | ||
| "Dance Dance" | Yes | — | Yes | Hong Ji-sang, Lee Woo-min 'Collapsedone', Jae, Sungjin, Wonpil, Dowoon | No | — | ||
| "Man In A Movie" | Yes | — | Yes | Hong Ji-sang, Sungjin, Wonpil | No | — |
VI. Filmography
VII. Tv Series
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Dream High | Jason backup dancer | KBS2 | Extra, episode 3 |
| 2012 | Dream High | I:dn backup dancer | KBS2 | Extra, episode 1 |
VIII. Web Series
| Year | Title | Network | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Touching You | Naver TV Cast | Customer | Cameo, episode 11 |
| 2020 | Let Me Off The Earth | TEENPLY YouTube | Intern teacher | Cameo, episode 6-7 with Wonpil |
VIIII. Radio Presenting
| Year | Title | Channel | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Idol Radio | MBC Radio | Host with Got7's Youngjae from May 18 - September 25 |
| Kiss The Radio | KBS Radio | From November 23, 2020 |
VII. Music Videos
VIII. Videography
IX. Trivia
- Young K has a hidden talent for dancing, he is actually a very good dancer.
- When it comes to the Korean language, Young K is known as a “living dictionary”.
- Young K loves watching webtoons.
- Young K is known as a multi-talented person because he can sing, rap, dance, play musical instruments, as well as write lyrics, compose songs, and beatbox.
- When Young K was still a trainee, he lived with GOT7’s Bambam.
- Young K’s favourite colour is purple.
- Young K didn’t like bass, but he practiced hard to like and master it.
- Young K’s role model is One Republic.
- Young K and Wonpil almost debuted on a dance group.
- He was a member of the original formation of Day6 known as 5LIVE.
- Young K and Stray Kids‘ Bang Chan were roommates as trainees.
