Stars Who Speak English Very Well

[Guest luna16]

he's not a big name, but kim jun sung ("Geu YuhJah") speaks english very well. actually, he speaks english, cantonese, mandarin and korean.

(grew up in HongKong, went to college and worked in the states, decided to act in korea).

jinu and brian seem to have lived in korea for too long! their english sentences are beginning to sound awkward.

I don't know if anyone mentioned him but... Jo Sung Hyun <3 AKA: Eru ^^!

He studied at Berklee.

& Susan: Kim Ki Bum? ㅋㅋㅋ :x

haha...tae jina had a variety goods store in queens, ny for atleast 5 years.

[Guest mariella]

I keep seeing people assumed that just because someone studied in an English-oriented country, they automatically become fluent in English. That's not necessarily true. I came to the States when I was 13 and have been here for 15 years and my English is still slightly accented and I sometimes still caught myself using bad grammar. I tried and tried and tried but I can't help it cuz English isn't my first language. It has also been proven that the older you get the harder it is for you to pick up another language. So stars, such as Bi, can try all he wants to, but he will probably never achieve what most you called "perfect English". Also just because you grew up overseas doesn't mean you can speak good English. While the majority of the time, that is true; I have met numerous people who been here since they were 2 or 3 years old or was even born here, yet their English is still heavily accented and can't use correct grammar at all.

Most of the stars named in this thread speaks pretty good English, accented or not. Even if they don't, I still give them kudos for trying on television.

I can understand people who come at age 13 (that's rather late) and still have an accent. But having an accent when you came at age 2 or 3? or when you were BORN here? wow. that's strange. I think there is something wrong with that. I personally don't know anyone like that. I was born in the U.S. and I have a bit of a New York accent (not Brooklyn like most people imagine as "New York accent".. I mean mainstream New York) and no one thinks I'm Asian when speaking to me over the phone. None of my friends who are Korean and born in the States as well have accents other than having accent pertaining to their location. (Boston, Queens, New Jersey, Californian etc.)

I agree, people like Bi will never be perfect in English no matter how hard he tries. It's too late to be perfect. I feel language needs to be started at a very young age. But it's still impressive and an achievement to be okay at it - that is to be proficient enough to communicate what you want to say. But Koreans nowadays are going crazy with learning english. They start early- at Nursery level. 2 year olds are learning the language when they can barely speak. There's no room to take the english Toefl exam in S. Korea (there is a limited number of availability) so tons of Koreans are going to other countries to take them. To get a job, Koreans now need to take the english Toefl exam. It's getting a bit crazy in my opinion. Education is important all over Asia... but it's getting really obsessive I think in S. Korea.

[Guest asdfjkl;fdsajkl;]

I agree, people like Bi will never be perfect in English no matter how hard he tries. It's too late to be perfect. I feel language needs to be started at a very young age. But it's still impressive and an achievement to be okay at it - that is to be proficient enough to communicate what you want to say. But Koreans nowadays are going crazy with learning english. They start early- at Nursery level. 2 year olds are learning the language when they can barely speak. There's no room to take the english Toefl exam in S. Korea (there is a limited number of availability) so tons of Koreans are going to other countries to take them. To get a job, Koreans now need to take the english Toefl exam. It's getting a bit crazy in my opinion. Education is important all over Asia... but it's getting really obsessive I think in S. Korea.

o believe me its not only in korea...its crazy all over asia (at least i think so)...in china you also have to take the toefl exam. heck they had that exam since my parents were students. actually i went back home to china like 2 yrs ago and i started talking in english to my cousins as a joke. its kinda funny..sure they sound fobby but they could actually understand me and stuff.

i actually dont think its obsessive...its good later on in life b/c i kno soooooo many college students back home who want to move here after they finish college.

on top of that ive heard of all these kids who jus came to america and have been offered these crazy high-paying, high-status jobs...and no im not kidding

[Guest 나짱!]

the best english speaker from Kdrama are the girl in Lovestory at Harvard...the mean one...her English is PERFECT!

you mean kim tae hee?

shes from seoul university...whoever gets accepted there should at least speak at that level of fluency.

[Guest javabethel]

Just want to add my two cents' worth... I think, in my humblest of opinions, there is a huge difference between fluency and accents... I think fluency means that the person is able to speak in a smooth and flowing manner easily and readily... Which means that your English can be heavily accented but as long as you're clear and your sentences flow well, you are fluent in English... Which also means that accents don't determine the ability to speak English well... It's fluency that matters... Alas, the Korean accent doesn't sit in well with the English language so much so that it affects the clarity criterion of speaking English fluently... Thus rendering many Korean celebs to be unable to speak English well...

Maybe you can take it this way... A person who speaks American-accented English with terrible grammar is not fluent in English but a perfectly-structured English spoken by someone with a heavy Japanese accent shows fluency in English... As long as the clarity criterion is not affected... Hope I'm making some sense...

=You've got a point there.

WOW! Some of my favorite actresses knows how to speak English. That's great! As far as I remember LEe Da Hae spoke a few English words in My Girl. She sang this song with the lyrics, " I love you, you love me" in that drama. It was so cute. I love her.

It's a pity I wasn't able to see the shows wherein Eugene guested to when she came here in the Philippines. I hope someone posted a video in you.tube...

I'd love to hear Han Chae-hyung and Kim Sun Ah speak English!

What about the other way around? Is there a thread about learning Korean? I'm doing a self study of the language and would like to go on formal study of it... Anyone who can help?

[situponatree*]

you mean kim tae hee?

shes from seoul university...whoever gets accepted there should at least speak at that level of fluency.

I think she means Kim Min. not Kim Tae Hee. although Kim Tae Hee's alright too. but Kim Min's the most fluent one.

[willenette]

you mean kim tae hee?

shes from seoul university...whoever gets accepted there should at least speak at that level of fluency.

Hi - I don't think she's referring to her. There's a lady lawyer there who's close to Lee Jung Jin who spoke fluent English in that drama. I think she's the one. But Kim Tae Hee can speak very good English, too but not as much as the other girl does. Oh, I never knew that she came from Seoul University. : : :blush:

[Guest seitentaisei]

IMO:

Eugene speaks English with an accent due to her Guam background.

Both Eric from Shinhwa & Micky from DBSK speak Engrish---they tend to slur their words, especially when they rap

Brian from FTTS, Tablo, Tim, & Tae Bin speak American English without any accent due to the fact that they were either

A. born in the states

B. raised in the states

C. both.

But on the other hand, which stars' Korean pronunciation needs work?

I've seen Tablo have a hard time READING Hangul on a Starbell show.

it's not always in the states... that's not the only country that teaches english, there's places like Europe, North America (Canada for example) and if you live in singapore or malaysian, some ppl do speak english. not all english literate people are from the states, Alex from Clazziquai is Canadian you know.

Tablo may have graduated from Standford but he went to Canada first.

[Guest Azura]

i saw Han Ye Seoul speaks really well in Couple in Trouble....

[Guest s k y .]

lee byunghun, eugene, brian, tablo, han goeun.

that's all i can think of right now.

if i think of more, i'll add them later<3

[Guest lingling22]

andy lee.... from shinhwa... haaaayyy he's turnsto a very mature man ... love the accent and evrything when he speaks english

[pnaysurfer84]

I keep seeing people assumed that just because someone studied in an English-oriented country, they automatically become fluent in English. That's not necessarily true. I came to the States when I was 13 and have been here for 15 years and my English is still slightly accented and I sometimes still caught myself using bad grammar. I tried and tried and tried but I can't help it cuz English isn't my first language. It has also been proven that the older you get the harder it is for you to pick up another language. So stars, such as Bi, can try all he wants to, but he will probably never achieve what most you called "perfect English". Also just because you grew up overseas doesn't mean you can speak good English. While the majority of the time, that is true; I have met numerous people who been here since they were 2 or 3 years old or was even born here, yet their English is still heavily accented and can't use correct grammar at all.

Most of the stars named in this thread speaks pretty good English, accented or not. Even if they don't, I still give them kudos for trying on television.

i was 14 when i came here, California. i speak english pretty well. i dont know what you are talking about but the only thing i can say is that if u expose yourself around english speaking people you would learn the language and wont have the accent/will have a slight accent when you say certain words. when i went to highschool, i was told to take ESL (English as a Second Language). i can say that i stutter when i speak in english. but most of the time my english is pretty ok. i had a heavy tagalog accent so adjusting from that to a faint accent is pretty good.

koreans i've heard speak in english

brian joo

tablo

jeong ryu won

kim sun ah

sung shi kyung

son ho young

kim yoo jin (eugene)

[uluvlancelot]

brian joo, tablo, and eru are the stars that i know that speaks english! but eru's english is smewhat weird i don't know, but gosh he is hot!!!!

[Guest sacgrl]

A lot of u are saying u heard Lee Da Hae speak english in my girl but she also spoke some english when she guest starred in the game show Sang Sang Plus it's on you tube but its not subbed but on one of the parts she spoke some sentences in english and she spoke very well.

[Guest xsilentangel]

hmm stars.. this includes not from dramas..

jeong ryeo-won as you stated, brian joo, tablo from epik high, daniel henney, dennis, han chae young, and taebin

[Guest Soy]

ki kibum from super junior's english isn't half bad either, and tim is another one you should add to the ever growing list

[Maybelline Li]

Tablo graduated from Standford<3 and speaks english fluently

[Guest cookiemonster1430262540]

Jung Ryeo Won did a great job at My Name is Kim Sam Soon. I almost forgot Han Ye Seul.

[Guest johanaiscrazy]

WOW A LOT OF KOREAN ENTRETAINERS SPEAK ENGLISH ... WELL I'M NOT KOREAN .. OR ASIAN. .. HAHA SO IT'S ALWAYS SO COOL TO HEAR PEOPLE SPEAK ENGLISH ... I THINK MOST OF THE ACTORS NAMED HERE SPEEK ENGLISH WELL ... ALTHOUGH PEOPLE SHOULDN'T EXPECT THEIR ENGLISH TO BE PERFRECT BECAUSE ITS NOT THEIR NATIVE TONGUE UNLESS THEY STUIDIED FOR YEARS ... MY PARENTS HAVE A HEAVY ACCENT AND THEY HAVE BEEN LIVING HERE FOR 20 YRS .. SO I CHEER ON PEOPLE LIKE RAIN WHO .. I PERSONALLY THINK SPEEKS SUPERB ENGLISH .. I WAS READING PREVIOUS PAGES AND MAYBE IT'S NOT CRITISISM BUT STILL YOU KNOW GIVE THE PEOPLE A BREAK ... O AND ON THE PREVIOUS PAGES SOMEONE COMMENTED ABOUT PEOPLE FROM CALI HAVING AN ACCCENT... I DONT REALLY THINK WE HAVE AN ACCENT... HAHA SORRY FOR RANTING FOR SO LONG

[Guest jangneri]

I heard Eric from Shinhwa talk recently in English. It was quite good. I understood ever word he said. Even Andy.

Shinhwa's Kim Dong wan is good too. For a person who didn't study and stay abroad. ^^ I saw a clip of him when Shinhwa went to singapore for their concert. he was in the airport buying stuff and talking in English. Though sometimes he tends to forget his grammars.