Famous Koreans Who Speak Fluent Japanese — Their Background and Reasons

Surprisingly many famous Koreans speak fluent Japanese. What's interesting is that the reason for learning Japanese differs completely by generation.

Generation 1: Colonial Education (Born 1910-1945)

Those born during Japanese occupation received education in Japanese. It was essentially a second native language.

Lee Byung-chul (Samsung founder, 1910-1987)

Studied at Waseda University. Native-level Japanese. Samsung's early business models benchmarked Japanese companies.

Kim Jong-pil (Former PM, 1926-2018)

Fluent from colonial education. Negotiated the 1965 Korea-Japan normalization directly in Japanese with FM Ohira Masayoshi.

Kim Dae-jung (Former President, 1924-2009)

Gave his 1998 Japanese Diet speech in Japanese, creating a sensation.

Generation 2: Study Abroad/Business (Born 1940-1970)

Lee Kun-hee (Samsung 2nd chairman, 1942-2020)

Studied at Waseda following his father. Deeply studied Sony and Toyota management.

Son Masayoshi (SoftBank, 1957-)

3rd-generation Korean-Japanese. Born and raised in Japan — Japanese is his native language.

Generation 3: Global Management (Born 1970+)

Lee Jae-yong (Samsung 3rd chairman, 1968-)

Keio University graduate. Three generations of Japanese university education.

Generation 4: K-POP/Entertainment (Born 1990+)

BTS, TWICE, BLACKPINK

Japanese learned for the Japanese market — a direct business tool. Japan accounts for a significant portion of K-POP revenue.