BLACKPINK‘s Lisa was the first non-Korean trainee in YG Entertainment when she joined in 2011. She impressed the judges with her incredible dance skills in an audition the previous year.

BLACKPINK’s Lisa auditioning for YG Entertainment

As a Thai native, she did not know how to speak Korean at all. She previously told host Woody that it took a year for her to completely settle down in South Korea.

Lisa pre-debut | YG Entertainment

So what was her secret to learning the language so fast? She revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone that it was her teacher’s actions that helped her greatly.

“When I first came to Korea, my teacher didn’t want me to continue speaking English. So she tried to keep me speaking Korean from beginning to end.” — Lisa

During her training with that teacher, she had to speak in straight Korean. This forced her out of her comfort zone and made her learn the language quickly.

“During the hour long class, we only spoke in Korean. I didn’t know any Korean, but she only spoke in Korean so it was really tough.” — Lisa

It was a difficult journey that eventually led to her mastering the language. She explained that she’s grateful for the strict but effective way her teacher helped her.

“I think because she did that, I was able to improve quickly.” — Lisa

Lisa is now fluent in Thai, English, and of course, Korean. She’s a language genius who is also conversational in Japanese and is currently learning Mandarin.

| SBS