The K-pop industry has come to dominate the world and is not just limited to idols of Korean descent. It engaged in scouting young talents overseas from China, Thailand, Japan, the USA, etc., where foreign K-pop idols who aren’t Korean are increasingly sharing the Hallyu spotlight and the Korean standards.
Here are the top 10 most famous non-Korean K-pop idols.
1. Lisa (Blackpink)
Lalisa Manoban, a.k.a Lisa, is the leading dancer and lead rapper of the world’s biggest girl group Blackpink under YG Entertainment. Lisa is Thai by ethnicity and was born and raised in Thailand. She won the YG Entertainment Competition in 2013 when she was 13 years old and later became an official YG Entertainment trainee. She is the first non-Korean k-pop idol to be signed by YG Entertainment and will soon be releasing her first solo on September 9, 2021.
2. Tzuyu (Twice)
Tzuyu is the stage name of Chou Tzuyu, is a Taiwanese singer and dancer who is the lead dancer and visual of JYP Entertainment’s girl group Twice. She was scouted at the MUSE Performing Art Workshop in Tainan in 2013 and later brought to South Korea as a K-pop trainee.
3. Jackson Wang (GOT7)
Jackson Wang is the main rapper and the Face of JYP Entertainment’s boy group GOT7. Jackson was born in Hong Kong and is of Chinese descent. He was a member of the Fencing National Team in Hong Kong before JYP Entertainment scouted him. He has his record label called Team Wang, where he plans to continue his solo career.
4. Sana, Momo, And Mina (Twice)
Popularly dubbed as the J-Trinity or MiMoSa, Sana, Momo and Mina are the Japanese members of the popular girl group Twice under JYP Entertainment. While Sana and Momo were born and brought up in Japan, Mina was born in Texas, the USA, to a Japanese couple but brought up in Kobe, Japan. Sana is the lead vocalist of the group, while both Mena and Momo are the leading dancers.
5. Lay (EXO)
Lay is the stage name of Zhang Yi Xing. He is a Chinese singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, record producer, director, and actor. He debuted as a member of SM Entertainment’s boy group EXO in 2012. He is the leading dancer. He has also released many solo hits like- Lit, What you need, etc.
6. Minnie ((G) I-DLE )
Minnie is a Thai singer-songwriter, actress, composer, and producer under Cube Entertainment, where she is the main vocalist of the girl group (G)I-DLE, which debuted in 2018. She also made her acting debut in 2021 in the Netflix sitcom ‘So not worth it.
7. Nickhun (2 PM)
Nickhun Buck Horvejkul is a famous singer and actor born in California to a Thai father and a Chinese-American mother and scouted by JYP Entertainment at the Los Angeles Korean Music Festival and later debuted as a K-pop boy group 2 PM IN 2008.
8. Amber Liu (f(x))
Amber Josephine Liu is a Taiwanese-American singer, rapper, and songwriter who debuted as a member of SM Entertainment’s K-pop girl group f(x) in 2009. Amber was also the first f (x) member to release her solo and is currently under contract with Steel Wool Entertainment in 2019.
9. Sorn (CLC)
Sorn is the stage name of Chonnasorn Sajakul, who is of Thai descent. She won the reality show “K-pop Star Hunt,” where the prize was to become a trainee in Cube Entertainment. She was a member of Cube Entertainment’s girl group CLC. Although the group has unofficially disbanded, Sorn continues to stay in the spotlight through her Tik-Tok videos.
10. Ten (WayV, NCT U, And Super M)
Ten is the stage name of Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul, who was born in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a singer and dancer and a member of the supergroup SUPER M of SM Entertainment. He belongs to a member of the subunit NCT 127 of the Kpop group NCT and the China-based unit of the Kpop group WayV.
