Languages path to stardom for S Korean singers

Jun 1, 2006

SEOUL- Besides their singing and dancing skills, South Korean pop stars these days have another thing they need to practice daily -- foreign languages.

With the boom in popularity of South Korean pop culture overseas broadening their potential fanbase to include countries such as China, Japan and the United States, budding entertainers here are now striving to learn foreign languages to help them reach their goal of becoming global superstars.

Bi, who always travels with a private English language tutor in tow, cites a particular event that caused him to suddenly feel a desperate need to be able to speak English.

"After attending the Time (magazine) 100 party, I realized speaking English is the way to survive," the singer, also known by his English name Rain, said in a recent interview.

Attending the party as one of the world's 100 most influential figures selected by Time magazine, he conversed with other invitees like US film producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Hollywood actor Will Smith.

"I regretted that I neglected my English studies as a kid. Now I'm learning English grammar and conversation from my tutor and I always bring a vocabulary book with me when I have something scheduled," he said.

Male singer Seven, who has joined the top ranks of entertainers in Japan, divides his time off stage between learning Japanese, English and Chinese, according to his South Korean agency YG Entertainment. In his debut concert in Tokyo in April, he joked and conversed with his audience in Japanese.

"Full-time teachers follow him because he doesn't have time to sit and study," an official of his agency said, "There is not always enough time with schedules planned overseas."

The modern era of multilingual entertainers was ushered in by South Korean female pop singer BoA, who speaks Japanese and English as well as her native Korean. Having learned Japanese from tutors when she was in elementary school, Boa is now focused on honing her English skills.

SM Entertainment, the South Korean agency representing BoA and boy band Dong Bang Shin Gi, said it organizes special language courses for its budding stars.

At its "SM Summer China Camp," aspiring global superstars undergo courses to learn Chinese language and culture to give them an edge in the fast growing Chinese market for pop music, it said.

(Asia Pulse/Yonhap)