Ko Ah Sung plays Seo Bom in the drama "Heard It Through The Grapevine." Because Seo Bom comes from a poor family she surprises her wealthy in-laws with her mastery of English. When her character had to read the pages of a difficult English book, her command of the language also surprised many k-drama fans.
The 23-year-old actress does have a gift for languages but she perfected her English when she played Song Kang Ho's daughter in the Bong Joon Ho film "Snowpiercer." The film had an international cast with many English-speaking characters. Playing Yona, a girl who grew up hearing many different languages spoken, she said she had to tailor her English in that film.
"Yona can speak little bit of every language existing on the train," said Ko in an interview with tenasia. "So I spoke with an accent that was a mix of the Philippines, India, the United States and other places. People in Korea complemented me on my English pronunciation, but it would sound funny to a native speaker."
Another k-drama actor known for his fluency in English is Im Si Wan. He took The English proficiency TOEIC exam shortly after he wrapped up his role in the hit drama "Misaeng." His exam score was 820 out of 990, which he was very happy about. He only hoped to reach a score of 800.
Being able to speak English fluently is key to landing Hollywood roles. Some actors who improved their English skills enough to make the transition are Lee Byung Hun, Kim Yunjin and Bae Doona.
Lee Byung Hun has had several roles in Hollywood blockbusters such as "Red 2" and can soon be seen in "Terminator Genysis." Yunjin Kim currently appears in the TV series "Mistresses" and played a pivotal character in the hit television show "Lost." Bae Doona has appeared in several Wachowski productions, including the film "Cloud Atlas."
Being fluent in English is no guarantee that an actor will land an English-speaking role. 2PM's Ok Taecyeon is another actor whose English is commendable, which is not surprising since he attended high school in the U.S. The singer-actor appeared in "Dream High," "Who Are You?" and earned praise for his performance in the weekend drama "Wonderful Days." But despite having language skills he has yet to interest any Hollywood producers.
Krystal Jung, the star of "My Lovely Girl" is also fluent in English but that's because she was born in San Francisco. The actress and f(x) singer was discovered by a talent agency on a family trip back to Korea.
English language skills also come in handy when a drama is set partly in the U.S., as was the case in "The Heirs," which Krystal played a role in.
