Hongjoong

Hongjoong is the creative hinge of ATEEZ, balancing leader duties with the kind of writing and conceptual control that gives the group its edge. Born Kim Hong-joong (김홍중) on November 7, 1998, he became the first trainee at KQ Entertainment and helped shape ATEEZ into one of fourth-generation K-pop's most visually disciplined and internationally mobile acts.

He debuted with ATEEZ on October 24, 2018 and quickly stood out for more than stage presence. Hongjoong writes, arranges, and frames ideas with a producer's mentality, which is why side projects like BY. HONGJOONG have felt substantive instead of ornamental. The series let him reinterpret artists he admires while sharpening the auteur image that now defines his solo visibility inside the group.

That visibility has expanded beyond music. Hongjoong's fashion profile keeps him in the luxury and editorial conversation, while his work with World Vision added a philanthropic dimension with real public follow-through through the Global 6K for Water campaign. Right now he reads like more than an idol captain. He looks like an artist building a broader cultural footprint without losing the discipline that made ATEEZ work in the first place.