Famous Japanese Who Speak Fluent Korean — Why and How They Learned
From K-POP idols to scholars — the reality of the Korean language learning boom
Japanese people who speak good Korean fall into three main types.
Type 1: Korean for K-POP Activities
TWICE — Sana, Mina, Momo
Sana: Most fluent Korean among TWICE members. Called "Korean language genius." Pronunciation nearly native-level, even uses dialects. Japanese fans say "Sana's Japanese sounds awkward now"
Mina: Calm, accurate Korean. Less talkative but grammatically precise
Momo: Fluent daily conversation but occasional Japanese accent in complex expressions
Miyawaki Sakura (LE SSERAFIM)
Former HKT48, through IZ*ONE to LE SSERAFIM. Korean improved rapidly. Fans say "Sakura dreams in Korean now."
Kazuha (LE SSERAFIM)
Ballet student from Netherlands who came to Korea via K-POP audition. Very clean pronunciation despite short learning period.
Type 2: Scholars/Journalists
Kuroda Katsuhiro (黒田勝弘)
Sankei Shimbun Seoul correspondent for 30+ years. Fluent Korean with multiple books on Korean culture.
Japan's Korean Learning Boom
Since the 2010s K-POP/K-drama boom:
Korean test-takers increasing in Japan's university entrance exams
NHK Korean course viewership rising
TOPIK applicants surging in Japan
10-20s women are majority learners — K-POP/K-drama as main motivation
Why Korean Is Easy for Japanese
Nearly identical word order and grammar make Korean arguably the easiest foreign language for Japanese speakers. Shared Sino vocabulary (50-60%), similar particle systems, and honorific structures accelerate learning. Pronunciation (3-way consonant distinction, batchim) remains the hardest part.
Key Differences
K-POP: Sana (TWICE) is a "Korean genius" — uses dialects, Japanese sounds awkward now
LE SSERAFIM: Sakura (dreams in Korean), Kazuha (clean pronunciation despite short learning)
Scholars: Kuroda Katsuhiro (Sankei Seoul 30+ years, fluent Korean)
Learning boom: TOPIK Japan applicants surging, 10-20s women majority (K-POP motivated)
Korean is arguably easiest foreign language for Japanese — but pronunciation is hardest