Born and raised in Seoul, the Encounter actor recently surprised fans by speaking fluent English during a fan meet in the Philippines. His efforts to communicate with international fans definitely impressed the crowd, especially as he came onstage with a translator in tow. The 26-year-old heartthrob spoke in English for almost the entire two-and-a-half hour event, where he also sang and danced to BTS’ hit song “Boy With Luv”.

Check out the sweet video below:

In 2019, Parasite made waves in the movie industry and Choi Woo Shik, who played the lead male role, gained more popularity for his acting. But did you know that he speaks almost fluent English due to the time he spent in Canada growing up?

In an interview in 2012 with Star English, he shared that he had to learn English when he moved to Canada at 10 years old. However, in a more recent video, Viu Singapore published a short clip of him speaking fluently to two foreigners in the reality show Youn’s Stay.

He also shared that he finds it hard to be bilingual because he thinks in Korean and has to translate the words to English before speaking it, which, in our books, is very relatable.

Check out the video below:

Actor Ahn Hyo Seop has starred in quite a few notable dramas, including Abyss, where he wowed everybody with his fluent and natural English. More recently, he promoted his other show Dr Romantic 2 in English, surprising fans and netizens alike with his on-point pronunciation.

He picked up the language when he moved to Toronto, Canada with his parents, before moving back to Korea when he was 17-years-old to pursue his dream of becoming a celebrity.

Check out the video below:

Not a lot of people know that Lee Seung Gi (Vagabond, A Korean Odyssey) is fluent in English until he filmed Sisters Over Flowers, where he expertly navigated Istanbul, Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik while leading a group of veteran actresses. After receiving praises from netizens, his company revealed that he has been regularly picking up English, but that he’s more fluent in Japanese – apparently, he speaks Japanese like a native!

Here’s a clip of Lee Seung Gi speaking English at KCON 2014:

Although he has never studied in a foreign country, the actor is pretty fluent in English. He is self-taught, and his pronunciation and diction do not reflect that (in short, he is the person we all want to be). In fact, he even had a radio show when he was serving in the army, where he taught basic conversational English through scenario-based lessons.

He also nailed a full BBC interview in English, impressing everyone! While we don’t have a clip of the interview, here’s a clip of him speaking English for a Louis Vuitton ad:

Best known for his leading roles in Korean dramas like Flower Band and High Society, the actor and model, can speak English pretty well as he’s studied in New Zealand and England. But in an interview with 10Asia, the 31-year-old revealed that he’s better at understanding English than writing in English, saying, “People who study in English-speaking countries write good essays, while for me, it’s not like I can pick outstanding vocabulary when I write them”.

Here’s a compilation video of Sung Joon speaking English:

Taecyeon, from K-pop group 2PM, speaks four languages, of which one of them is English (and with an American accent to boot!). He was once a US citizen, but gave it up when he went to serve the military.

He showed his fluency in English in 2017 show Suddenly A Millionaire when he went on an American camping trip in Arizona and talked to others in the language.

Check out the video below:

The comedic Seoul-born actor and former boyband member, who shot to fame for his leading roles in romcoms like Another Oh Hae-young, actually has teaching certificates for English and German! The 38-year-old studied in England when he was a teenager, which explains why he’s so fluent in the language.

Watch this clip of Kim Ji-seok speaking English in K-drama Personal Taste:

Vernon (real name: Chwe Hansol) and Joshua are from K-pop group Seventeen. Both grew up in America and speak both Korean and English fluently. Recently, Seventeen released their first original English-language track titled ‘2 Minus 1’, which was written and performed by both of them.

Check out the video below:

Jang Kuen Suk made himself known for his English-speaking skills early on in 2009 when he acted in The Case of Itaewon Homicide and spoke all his lines in English, with Beyond Hollywood praising his performance. The 34-years-old had attended a school in New Zealand in his junior high days, where he picked up the language. Things have been a little quiet on his end, but he was discharged from the military in May 2020 and released two singles in early 2021, so we are hoping we will see more of him.

Check out the video below:

The actor revealed in a previous interview that he started learning English when he was younger because of his relative in America.

He started sprucing up on his skills when he made his Hollywood debut. He told Korean media at the press conference for G.I. Joe: Retaliation that acting in English was difficult and different from speaking English.

He added that when one of the staff pointed out a mispronunciation, he ended up focusing on pronunciation instead of acting.

Watch him show off his English skills in this interview for The Magnificent Seven:

The Super Junior Member is often the appointed speaker whenever the K-pop group visits an English-speaking country. His fellow members revealed in a variety show that Siwon tends to slip in English words whenever he’s angry.

Here’s an adorable video of Siwon with his Super Junior bandmates – watch as he switches from English to Korean effortlessly:

Judging from how fluent he is, you would have thought the BTS leader has lived in an English-speaking country for at least a few years, but in fact, he picked up the language just by watching the US sitcom Friends!

He told Yahoo Music, “The show is really good. It’s kind of like the show of my life. Firstly, I had no interest, because I cannot understand a word. But, my mum thankfully let me watch it in Korean, like subtitled. So as I watched the show, and I was into the show — the characters, the love stories. She bought the DVDs, seasons 1 to 10 and I repeated it like a dozen times. I think that’s why I learned English so well. Their speech is clear and easy to understand.”

In 2018, the rapper also delivered an empowering speech at the UN in English, watch it for yourself below:

You might recognise the actor from variety shows such as Grandpas Over Flowers, Three Meals A Day and Youn’s Kitchen. He graduated from New York University Stern School of Business, which explains why he’s fluent in English. In Grandpa Over Flowers and Youn’s Kitchen, he was tasked with interacting with the locals because of his fluency in the language.

Check out this video below:

When Rain enjoyed explosive popularity in Asia, he was offered a leading role in a Hollywood production, Ninja Assassin.

But unlike most actors who broke into Hollywood, he wasn’t fluent in the language. In fact, he honestly admitted that he had only started learning the language, but his performance in the movie impressed moviegoers. His secret to picking up a new language?

He revealed that he practised by talking to himself — he would sit at a coffee shop, ask himself questions and answer them himself.

Watch this interview he did – in English:

Although Key was in America for only six weeks for an exchange programme, he continued to learn the language until he became proficient in conversational English.

He sometimes uses English in his Instagram captions to communicate with international fans.

Check out the video below for an interview done in a mix of Korean and English:

In his first year of junior high, the actor moved to America to live with his aunt and studied in California, where he attended high school before returning to South Korea for university. He shared a surprising tidbit with everyone too: him being fluent in English was one of the reasons his wife, actress Han Ga In, was attracted to him. He said that she had overheard him talking to his cousin, who lives in the US, on the phone and thought he looked charming while speaking the foreign language

Click the video below:

When the actor was in Singapore, he impressed the press with his fluency in the language. He told The Straits Times, “I’ve been learning English for the past five years. I wanted to travel by myself and wanted to communicate without the help of a translator. I hope to get a chance to work abroad one day!”

Click the video below:

Text: Hidayah Idris/Cleo & Elizabeth Liew, additional reporting: Terri Kue

Read Next

New K-Dramas To Catch From Now Until November

How To Recreate Stylish K-Drama Outfits For Work

12 K-Drama Couples Who Got Married In Real Life