These days within popular girl groups there is a common factor. It’s that within the team there are members who grew up in foreign countries or studied overseas.

9 member girl group SNSD who is receiving lots of popularity with their new mini album title song ‘Gee’, members Tiffany (20) and Jessica (20) are from overseas. Tiffany and Jessica grew up in the States and to fulfill their dreams of becoming singers during middle school and high school, they came to Korea.

5 member girl group Kara’s member Nicole (18) is from overseas. Kara’s entertainment company DSP Media informed on the 16th ” Born in America, Nicole came to Korea around the age of 15 after living there to become a singer.”

New and superior girl group After School’s youngest Baekha (20) also came from overseas from Hawaii in America and before 1 year and 6 months ago, lived there since.

In popular girl groups, after being born in Korea, there are members who traveled overseas to study in America, Japan and China.

Wonder Girls’ Yoobin (21) went overseas for a year and 2 months after her family’s business moved to the States and came back to Korea.

Jewelry’s HaJuyeon (23) also studied overseas. Jewelry’s entertainment company Star Empire informed “Ha Juyeon graduated in U.S.A, L.A’s Granada High School and while going to a college there, came back to Korea to become a singer.”

Kara’s Han Seungyeon (21) attended one of America’s top high schools, Tenafly High School in New Jersey for about a year and 6 months. Han Seungyeon told Star News saying “I didn’t graduate from Tenafly High School, in the middle I wanted to become a singer and came back to Korea.” After returning from America, Han Seungyeon graduated from a high school in Korea through a G.E.D and after studying hard in 2008 was accepted at Kyunghee University for Theater and Drama.

SNSD’s Sooyoung (19) and Hyoyeon (20) studied overseas during their middle school days separately in Japan and China. SNSD’s entertainment company SM Entertainment revealed “Sooyoung studied in Japan and Hyoyeon studied in China for over 1 year” and “The two went overseas to study during middle school and after living there has become very familiar to the language.”

Then why are the popular girl groups these days have members from overseas as if it’s a given? About the topic, entertainment officials say “It is because the members provide multiple benefits to the team and selling overseas.”

There is also the positive factor that the foreign members could naturally digest the English raps to songs when looking at the team internally.

One entertainment official said ” Within girl groups, the members from oversea are fluent in English” and “These days, girl groups’ songs having English raps are common, its comfortable for the foreign members who are used to English and could express it better, making it a positive point.” Wonder Girls’ rapper Yoobin and Jewerly’s Ha Juyeon is an exception.

In general, during oversea activities, the members give a lot of help to the team. Of course in Asia and America, when promoting, the members who are comfortable with English, Japanese and Chinese are responsible for the role of introducing themselves to fans and local media members.

SM Entertainment informed “When SNSD met with fans from China and Japan, Hyoyeon and Sooyoung who are used to the culture are the one who mainly interact with the fans” and explained that “In English interviews, Tiffany and Jessica are a big help.”

Translations by juhyun ♥@ soshified.com/forums
Article by Reporter GilHyesung @ Starnews