Foreign Heritage Idols That Made It Big Through K-Pop

AKP STAFF

1. GOT7

Though many people are aware that Jackson is a foreign idol, many don't know that Mark and Bambam are foreign nationals as well! Jackson's parents hail from Mainland China, but he was raised in Hong Kong, where he was actually fairly well-known for fencing! Mark is from California and is American-Taiwanese, while Bambam is from Thailand!

2. Twice

Though many of Twice's members are Korean, they have four foreign nationals in their group! Taiwan's sweetheart, Tzuyu, is probably the most well-known among the four. Myoui Mina or 'Mina' for short hails from Texas, US, but moved to Japan when she was older. Similarly, Hirai Momo is from Kyoto and Minatozaki Sana is from Osaka!

3. NCT

NCT, like TWICE, has multiple foreign members as well! In NCT's sub-unit, NCT 127, there is Nakamoto Yuta from Osaka, Japan, as well as WinWin from Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China. In NCT's main unit, there is also Mark, who hails from Vancouver, Canada!

4. Blackpink

Lisa is most popularly known as the group's foreign idol because she hails from Bangkok, Thailand. However, she's not the only foreign-born national! In fact, Rose was born in Auckland, New Zealand and raised in Melbourne, Australia!

5. miss A

Fei and Jia are both some of the most well-known foreign idols with the most long-running careers as such! Fei is from Haikou, Hainan, China and Jia is from Changsha, Hunan, China. Though Jia is no longer a part of miss A due to her contract expiring. Fei has the capability to speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and a bit of English and Jia can speak Mandarin, Korean, and a bit of English as well! Talk about a talented duo!

6. 2NE1

CL and Dara are both Korean, but they spent a lot of their youth growing up in different areas of the world! Dara was born in Busan, but moved to the Philippines. It was actually there that she first made her debut! Moreover, CL grew up in Japan and Paris despite being born in Seoul. She lived abroad for 2 years ALONE at 13! Park Bom also spent a lot of time in the United States.

7. f(x)

Victoria is Mainland Chinese from Qingdao, Shandong, China while Amber is Taiwanese-American from California. Though neither are Korean, both have excellent Korean capability!

8. Ailee

Both of Ailee's parents are Korean nationals, however, she herself was born in Colorado, USA. She lived most of her childhood in New Jersey and moved to Korea to pursue her singing career in 2010. Good thing she moved when she did!

9. Super Junior-M

There are a number of Chinese members in Super Junior-M, due to the need to speak Mandarin! Henry, Zhoumi, and former member Han Geng were all from other countries. Zhoumi hails from Wuhan, Hubei, China and Han Geng from Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, China. Henry, on the hand, was born in Toronto, Canada to a Chinese father and Taiwanese mother. He was subsequently raised in Canada. None of these members are Korean!

10. Fiestar

Cao Lu, the moodmaker of Fiestar, hails from Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China! A lesser known fact is that Cheska, or Francesca Ahn, a former member of Fiestar was from Alabama, USA!

11. 2PM

Most K-Pop fans are aware that Jay Park was a former member of 2PM from the Seattle Metropolitan area in the United States, however many are not aware of the other members of the group and their hometowns! For example, member, Nichkhun is not Korean, but rather is of Chinese-Thai descent. He was born in Rancho Cucamonga, a small town in Southern California. He grew up in the US, New Zealand, and Thailand and brings a special Chinese-Thai-American heritage to the group. Moreover, Taecyeon, though Korean, spent some of his childhood in Bedford, Massachusetts.

12. U-Kiss

Ever since their debut in 2008, U-Kiss has been a group that hosts many international idols. Eli Kim was born in LA, but spent most of his childhood with two sisters in Washington, DC. His skills in Mandarin, Korean and English have been a great strength to U-Kiss. Moreover, former member and ASC host, Kevin Woo, was born in Danville, a town in Northern California. Though Kevin is Korean, he had to warm up his language skills before debuting with U-Kiss.

13. Who are your favorite foreign idols?

We only went over some of the idol groups with foreign members! There are many others who didn't make it onto this list.
Tell AKP your favorite foreign idols and why below!

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