While foreigners in K-Pop are no longer that hard to come by, there are still not as many K-Pop idols coming from Southeast Asia. Despite that, these six Thai idols traveled all the way to Korea to pursue their dreams of being an idol. Wanna know who they are? Check them out here!
These Thai K-Pop Idols Are Owning The Game Right Now
1. BLACKPINK's Lisa
Lisa debuted in 2016 in the YG Entertainment girl group BLACKPINK and serves as the group's main dancer, lead rapper, sub vocalist, and maknae. Additionally, she is the first foreign artist to ever debut from YG Entertainment. Prior to her debut, she was active in dance contests in Thailand and was even part of a dance crew called We Zaa Cool, where she was members with GOT7's Bambam.
Lisa auditioned for YG Entertainment in 2010 and was the only applicant to pass amongst the 4,000 hopefuls. In 2020, she proved her leadership skills and dance skills as the dance mentor for the Chinese survival show "Youth With You."
2. GOT7's BamBam
BamBam debuted with GOT7 in 2014 under JYP Entertainment and is the group's sub rapper and sub vocalist. Like Lisa, he has a strong dance background and was even in the same dance crew as her. He auditioned for JYP Entertainment when he was 13 and trained in JYP Entertainment for three and a half years.
The idol was first introduced to the public in the YG Entertainment survival show "WIN: Who is Next" in the YG vs JYP episode, in which he represented JYP alongside future GOT7 and Day6 members.
3. (G)I-DLE's Minnie
Minnie debuted with (G)I-DLE in 2018 under CUBE Entertainment and is the group's main vocalist. She auditioned for CUBE Entertainment in 2014 and moved to Korea the following year. She was revealed as a trainee through CUBE Entertainment's official trainee Instagram page a year later. Since (G)I-DLE's debut, Minnie has help compose, write lyrics, and arrange music or the group.
Minnie gained popularity in 2019 following (G)I-DLE's appearance on "Queendom," where her Thai intro for their "Latata" stage went viral in both Thailand and South Korea.
4. NCT's Ten
Ten first made his debut with NCT U in 2016 as the group's main dancer, sub-vocalist, and sub-dancer. He has since debuted with WayV and SuperM, which is official positions in the former group being the main dancer, main vocalist, and sub-rapper. Ten is ethnically Chinese but was born and raised in Thailand.
In 2013, Ten was cast by SM Entertainment and was announced as a trainee later that year. Other than his activities with NCT, WayV, and SuperM, Ten debuted as a soloist with the song "Dream in a Dream" in 2017. He is also part of SM Entertainment's performance team, SM The Performance.
5. CLC's Sorn
Sorn debuted with CLC in 2015 under Big Hit Entertainment and is the group's vocalist. Prior to her debut, she competed in "K-Pop Star Hunt Season 1" back in season one and was the winner of the show. She had also appeared in the 2013 documentary "Seoul: Capital of K-Pop (Inside K-Pop)," where she went into detail about her trainee life.
Sorn now actively promotes as a member of CLC and also has her own personal YouTube channel called "Produorn," where she shares vlogs and behind-the-scenes content for CLC.
6. 2PM's Nichkhun
Nichkhun debuted with 2PM in 2008 under JYP Entertainment and is the group's vocalist, rapper, and visual. Nichkhun is Thai-American - he was born in California, US, to Thai-Chinese parents and was raised in Thailand. He moved back to the United States for high school. There, he was scouted by JYP Entertainment.
Nichkhun was first introduced to the public in Mnet's "Hot Blood," a program that showed the training of thirteen male trainees for the chance to debut in a ballad group (now known as 2AM) or a dance group (now known as 2PM). Other than his activities with 2PM, Nichkhun is active as an actor in Thailand, China, and Japan. He is also active as a soloist in Thailand, South Korea, China, and Japan.
