Foreigners in K-Pop are getting more and more common nowadays, with talents from all around the world travelling to South Korea to achieve their dreams of being an idol. These seven idols came all the way from Taiwan and are now killing the game!
1. TWICE's Tzuyu
Tzuyu is notably the first Taiwanese idol to ever debut in Korea. She debuted with TWICE in 2015 as the group's lead dancer, sub vocalist, visual, and maknae. She was scouted by JYP Entertainment during a performing arts workshop in Taiwan back in 2012 and moved to South Korea later that year. She appeared on the JYP Entertainment survival show "SIXTEEN" to compete for a spot on the debut line-up. Despite not making it to the original seven-member line-up, Park Jinyoung added Tzuyu along with Japanese member Momo to the group, with Tzuyu being added for being the fan favorite throughout the show. Since then, the idol has been killing the game, with Tzuyu even being named as the third most popular idol among South Korean youths in 2016. In 2019, she was named by TC Candler to be "The Most Beautiful Face in The World".
2. Lai Kuanlin (formerly of Wanna One)
Lai Kuanlin debuted in Wanna One back in 2017 as the group's lead rapper and maknae. He was first introduced to the public when he competed on "Produce 101 Season 2", where he represented his company CUBE Entertainment. He ranked 7th place on the show which allowed him to debut with Wanna One. Amazingly, Kuanlin moved to South Korea to pursue his dream of being an idol before he even graduated middle school, and all his worth definitely paid off! Following Wanna One's disbandment in 2018, he debuted in the unit Wooseok x Kuanlin in 2019 alongside PENTAGON's Wooseok. As of now, he is active as an actor in China.
3. (G)I-DLE's Shuhua
Shuhua debuted in (G)I-DLE back in 2019 as the group's sub vocalist, visual, and maknae. Shuhua has stated that though she originally wanted to join the entertainment industry as an artist, her dream changed to being an idol once K-Pop started getting more popular in Taiwan. She has stated that HyunA was her inspiration to becoming an idol. She ended up auditioning to HyunA's former company, CUBE Entertainment, when a friend asked her to go with her to the auditions. She ended up being the one making it and moved to Korea to train. (G)I-DLE is now one of the most popular girl groups in South Korea, with the group always ranking high on brand reputations lists.
4. Linlin (formerly of Cherry Bullet)
Linlin debuted with Cherry Bullet in January of 2019 and was the group's lead dancer, vocalist, and rapper. The idol was praised for her charisma and for being quiet yet having strong appeal. Despite her talents, Linlin was not seen with Cherry Bullet starting July 2019. On December of that year, FNC Entertainment revealed that Linlin decided to leave the group for personal reasons and her contract has been terminated.
5. WayV's Yangyang
Yangyang debuted with WayV in 2019 as the group's main rapper, main dancer, and sub vocalist. Yangyang was born in Taiwan and lived there for eleven years before him and his family moved to Germany, making him Taiwanese-German. Because of how well-traveled Yangyang is, he can speak Mandarin, English, German, and Korean! He was first introduced to the public in 2018 as a member of SM Rookies, and was revealed to be a member of WayV in 2019. He now promotes in both China and Korea.
6. GWSN's SoSo
SoSo debuted with GWSN in 2018 as the group's lead dancer and vocalist. The idol has stated that fellow Taiwanese idol TWICE's Tzuyu is her role model and is possibly one of the reasons she chose to pursue a career as an idol. Prior to moving to Korean, SoSo had taken Korean classes in her high school, which made her fluent when she arrived in the country. Since January 2020, SoSo has been on a hiatus due to health concerns.
7. FANATICS' Chiayi
Chiayi debuted with FANATICS in 2019 as the group's main dancer, vocalist, rapper, and visual. The idol is known for her dance skills, as she has been dancing since she was 10 years old and even majored in Chinese dance. Chiayi can do acrobatics and mid-air flips thanks to her background in Chinese dance, ballet, and contemporary dance. She cal also do the splits and waacking.
