It is only natural for us K-drama fans to be enamored with particular K-actors and K-actresses for their beauty and performing prowess. But many of our favorite performers are also intellectuals, in addition to being extraordinarily brilliant onscreen. When they traveled abroad to study, some even had the chance to become fully immersed in various cultures and acquire new languages. Here are 10 Korean celebrities who studied in foreign universities:
1. Seo Yea Ji
Seo Ye Ji is praised for her strong acting abilities in ‘It’s Okay to Not Be Okay,' for her role as Moon Young, a famous children's book author with fantastic chemistry with her co-star Kim Soo Hyun. Seo Ye Ji traveled outside Korea to study and learn Spanish before making her acting debut. She convinced her parents to let her travel alone so she could spend three years in Spain. Seo Ye Ji has demonstrated her fluency in Spanish in prior drama series.
2. Choi Woo Shik
Choi Woo-Shik, known for his role in the Academy Award-winning movie Parasite, was born in South Korea. But his family decided to come to Canada during his elementary school years. He resided and attended school in British Columbia, for ten years and later went to Simon Fraser University.
3. Ahn Hyo Seop
He spent his childhood in Toronto, Canada, but his family was originally from South Korea. When Ahn was seventeen, his family immigrated to Canada, and he went back to South Korea. He earned his degree in International Business from Kookmin University. He initially sought to join JYP as a trainee but moved his focus to acting after realizing that his towering stature did not fit with a K-pop group.
4. Jung Eun Chae
Eun Chae, who played the role of prime minister Goo in The King: Eternal Monarch, spent eight years living and studying in London. She can communicate in and understand English. Eun Chae simultaneously worked as a commercial model. She succeeds at assimilating into different cultures while spending time with her family. After her brother's influence, she got interested in acting. She attended Central Saint Martins with a focus on textile design.
5. Han Ye Seul
Han Ye Seul, a South Korean actress who appeared in the TV shows 20th Century Boy and Girl and Birth of a Beauty, was born in the United States. She majored in computer graphics while attending Cerritos College in Los Angeles.
6. Jung Ryeo Won
She was born in South Korea, but later her family moved to Brisbane, Australia. By junior high school, she had mastered in English language and had accustomed to Australian culture. At Griffith University, Jung Ryeo Won majored in international business. When she returned to Korea as an exchange student, she found an interest in k-pop. She began her career as a K-pop singer before branching out into acting after her group split up.
7. Park Min Young
Fans of Park Min Young will be pleased to learn that the actress actually speaks and communicates in English very well. Park Min Young explains in a magazine interview that this was due to her time as an exchange student at an American high school, where she had the opportunity to study the language and get immersed in the culture. While traveling abroad, she also referred to herself as Rachel.
8. Kim Go Eun
Her family relocated to Beijing, China, when she was three years old, where they stayed for ten years. She mastered Mandarin to a high degree. Her love for pursuing the arts and drama sparked her dream to become a filmmaker and actress. At the Korea National University of Arts, she studied acting. Kim Go Eun made popular drama series and was a successful leading lady for prominent Korean actors.
9. Jennie Kim
This pop icon stands out from the crowd thanks to her exceptional education at ACG Parnell College in Auckland, where Jennie spent her formative years, in a nation where English literacy is regarded as moderate. Jennie has benefited from her proficiency in English as a music and style icon who is adored by followers worldwide thanks to her boarding school experience. Jennie is learning French and speaks Japanese well.
10. Park Ji-Sung
Park Ji Sung, a former midfielder for Manchester United FC who holds the position of being the first Asian footballer to participate in a UEFA Champions League final, is another well-known Korean who joins this list. Park first realized that running a football team required a lot of responsibility and in-depth commercial understanding in England. From Old Trafford, he ventured into uncharted territory in Leicester City at the highly regarded FIFA Master International MA in Management, Law, and Humanities of Sport at De Montfort University.
