English fever catches on among K-stars

Counterclockwise from the top, actor Lee Byung-hun, left, poses with Hollywood star Bruce Willis during a promotional event for action comedy film “Red 2,” in which Lee speaks only in English. Actress Bae Doo-na, right, waves her hand while posing with Halle Berry at a promotional event for American sci-fi film “Cloud Atlas.” Singer and actor Rain, right, who is known as Jung Ji-hoon, talks with a foreign film crew while shooting American action film “Ninja Assassin.” / Korea Times file

'Having fun is crucial in learning foreign language since it’s long race’

By Park Si-soo

The Korea-China relationship is closer than ever. Some diplomatic analysts attribute it to President Park Geun-hye delivering a speech in Chinese at China’s prestigious Tsinghua University in June.

She spoke in Chinese for only five minutes in the early part of her 20-minute speech, during which she made multiple pronunciation errors. But the “unprecedented” event, given that a head of state normally speaks only one or two sentences in the language of a country he or she visits at the beginning of a lengthy speech, left Chinese people with a strong impression of her and her willingness to get closer to their country. And it worked.

This case highlights the fact that language is not just a communication tool. The more important function is making an emotional connection and establishing a relationship between people through different languages.

Korean singers and actors seem well aware of this function, so they place equal emphasis on foreign language studies and entertainment work before trying to penetrate overseas markets while riding the Korean wave, or “hallyu.”

It’s no surprise that English is the most sought-after foreign language among Korean entertainers making overseas debuts. In the past, learning English didn’t necessarily mean that entertainers aimed to make their debuts in super competitive English-speaking markets such as the United States and the U.K.

Yet Psy has expanded the sphere with “Gangnam Style.” His mega-hit in those two countries last year with his dance music approved that the world’s two largest markets are no longer impenetrable to Korean entertainers, prompting globe-trotting star-wannabes here to become more aggressive in learning English.

Regrettably Psy is not an ideal example to prove the eagerness, considering that his fluent spoken English was a product of the years he had spent in Boston.

Perhaps a better case in point is actor Lee Byung-hun. The 43-year-old was born in Seoul and has had no educational experience abroad, but he recently played a leading role in a Hollywood action comedy film “Red 2.” The film also stars Bruce Willis and John Malkovich. Many YouTube clips of his TV interviews in English also prove that he is as fluent in the language as Psy.

“I found that my English fluency has improved. This is something other actors, shooting crews, and news reporters I met in Hollywood agreed with,” Lee said during a promotional showcase of the movie in Seoul on June 28. “It’s still mysterious how it could happen. Actually I had no time studying English because I was so busy.” He wrapped up the comment with a joke, “Perhaps it was possible because of how smart I must be.”

In another interview with KBS TV one month later, Lee admitted, “It’s still uncomfortable for me to speak in English. But I try to improve it through trial and error.”

Unlike Lee, many celebrities here rely on private classes. In most cases, a management agency hires a native English speaker or a professional Korean English tutor to educate its entertainers. They normally receive classes at the agency’s office, but the venue is flexible depending on the working schedule of the learner. It has been said that a top singer’s English tutor taught the singer inside a car, accommodating the singer’s schedule.

The singer Rain, also known as Jung Ji-hoon, is known to have learned English from actor Lee Bum-soo’s wife Lee Yoon-jin, a professional Korean-English interpreter. Though the singer’s fame is largely tainted due to a series of unsavory scandals he was embroiled in during his military service, the 31-year-old, who made his U.S. debut in 2008 through the action movie “Speed Racer,” and reinforced his fan base with “Ninja Assassin” in 2009, will be back on stage soon to regain his past glory.

“I started teaching him (Rain) with his U.S. debut only 100 days away,” interpreter Lee said. “Back then he did not have enough time to learn English step by step. So my teaching was focused on how to deliver ‘key messages’ in English during interviews there. Actually there is no problem catching a speaker’s key message with only a couple of words or sentences.”

Actress Bae Doo-na seems to be another trial-and-error based English learner like actor Lee. The 34-year-old boasted about her English fluency in the American sci-fi film “Cloud Atlas,” in which she acted with big name Hollywood stars such as Tom Hanks and Halle Berry.

“I acted with what I had learned of English during my high school years,” Bae said in an interview earlier this year. “I managed to film my scenes through countless trial-and-error. Many of those who watched the movie think I’m a fluent English speaker, but that’s really not the case. I still feel uncomfortable speaking in English.” Following the production, she stayed in London for six months to learn English, according to her management agency.

Comedian Kim Young-chul is widely known as an avid English learner, though there is no immediate sign of an overseas debut. He said learning English will help realize his dream of becoming a global comedian, “like Jim Carrey.” He has published seven books, including four on English conversation.

Kim told The Korea Times in March that learning a language “takes time no matter how smart you are.”

“On the flip side, as long as you try persistently, anyone can learn it,” Kim said. “In this era of globalization, English is something you have to live with. Thus, it is important to have fun with it because it will be a long race.”