BLACKPINK’s Lisa overcame huge struggles learning Korean as a trainee, teacher reveals
Lisa shocked fans with her fluency, but her journey to mastering Korean was far from easy.
Her YG Entertainment language teacher opened up about the grueling process in a recent YouTube video. She revealed Lisa spent five years studying Korean intensively, starting from zero when she moved from Thailand to Korea.
The teacher said Lisa “didn’t improve her Korean as fast as she thought she would” at first. To fix this, the teacher convinced Lisa’s managers to only let her speak Korean, cutting off English during training. Lisa practiced Korean about four times a week, exclusively speaking it even in the practice room.
"Maybe Lisa got frustrated," the teacher said.
"She practiced Korean about 4 times a week in the practice room, and she only spoke in Korean."
Lisa’s hard work paid off fast. She jumped from beginner to intermediate level in just six months.
The teacher highlighted how difficult it was for Lisa, since Thai isn’t related to Chinese characters like Korean is. Lisa had to study four textbooks, four workbooks, a vocabulary book, and do extra homework.
One moment stood out when Lisa was so immersed she started speaking Korean even in her sleep. The teacher recalled Lisa mumbling during class:
"Teacher, Chaeyoung has started!"
That, she said, proved Lisa had become “just like a Korean.”
Lisa’s intense language training shows the extreme dedication she put in behind the scenes, making her a top YG idol despite early challenges.
