BLACKPINK’s Lisa Reveals Why She Learned to Speak Four Non-Native Languages

BLACKPINK‘S Lisa I learned to speak different languages ​​out of necessity.

In a new interview with Vanity fairthe “Rockstar” artist, 27, talked about growing up in Thailand and later learning to speak Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese in addition to her native language.

“I mean, I don’t know I got that good!” Lisa exclaimed about her language skills. “I don’t think I have the talent for languages, but in Korea I had to live, so I had to learn.”

The star moved to South Korea as a young teenager to pursue music, and has since released music in Korean, English and Japanese as a member of BLACKPINK (alongside Jennie, Rosé and Jisoo) and as a solo artist.

“I had to survive, I guess,” Lisa said of why she became multilingual. “It was just common sense. To get what I want, I had to learn and try to talk to the locals, and I spent more and more time doing that.”

Learning Korean was also helpful because she watches “a lot of K-dramas.”

“Right now I’m watching one on Netflix called Love next door. I just love the combination of the male character and the girl character: they start off as friends! Like, they’ve been friends for 30 years,” Lisa said of the TV series.

“Those things feel so real,” she added. “(K-dramas are) nothing serious, so when I need to calm myself down I watch it, and it really helps.”

Lisa recently returned to Thailand to film season 3 The White Lotusin which she stars as Thidapon Sornsin. While in country, she was surprised that the rest of the cast didn’t need much guidance.

“I didn’t give them any advice, because they introduced me to some places! They say, ‘Oh, I went there yesterday, and it’s really good, you should go.’ It was a bit strange, but funny,” she said.

“I’m just glad that they enjoyed Thailand, you know, Thai food, the culture and the weather because it’s very hot there,” she reflected. “The crew and the rest of the team started speaking a little Thai, and it made such an impression on me.”

Lisa also received regular visitors during production. “My mother came to stay a few times, and I could eat as much Thai as I wanted,” she recalls.

“It was so much fun, and I’ve never spent so much time in Thailand after I left. I felt like I was home and I got a lot of energy from that trip too,” she added.