Cube Entertainment K-pop girl group (G)I-dle was popular straight from their debut back in 2018, and they have only gotten much more popular since then, going on world tours to cater to their increasingly global fanbase. However, (G)I-dle itself is an inherently global group, in that not all of the members stem originally from South Korea. So among Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi, and Shuhua (and former member Soojin), here is the full answer to where all of the (G)I-dle members are from, in terms of country and nationality.
Country Where (G)I-dle Members Are From
- Miyeon is from South Korea.
- Minnie is from Bangkok, Thailand.
- Soyeon is from Gangnam in Seoul, South Korea.
- Yuqi is from Beijing, China.
- Shuhua is reportedly from Taipei, Taiwan, born in Taoyuan.
- Former member Soojin is from South Korea.
Miyeon, Soyeon, and former (G)I-dle member Soojin are all originally from South Korea. Miyeon was actually a trainee at YG Entertainment for five years first, but it didn’t work out; she later auditioned for Cube as what she perceived as her “last chance” to become an idol, and things finally came together at that point.
As Soyeon herself explained in a predebut video to Cube YouTube from April 2018, she is simply from Seoul (born at Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam), even though others had thought she had studied abroad. In elementary school, she had been a ballet dancer and won competitions, but when she saw YG Entertainment boy group BigBang perform, she wanted to become an idol. She quietly went to 20-30 auditions in elementary school but failed all of them, so she segued into studying rap. Ultimately, she passed an audition for Cube (though she had to travel via train to Incheon for it, because an audition in Seoul had already passed!), and the rest is history.
Minnie was born Nicha Yontararak, hailing from Bangkok, and she came to South Korea in 2015 when she was 17 years old. She trained at Cube till debut in 2018. She had been initially apprehensive about the idea of leaving her friends and school to train in Korea, but it was actually her mother, who had also had ambitions of being a singer once upon a time, who pushed Minnie to go through with it.
Meanwhile, Yuqi came to South Korea at age 16; she had been in high school and took part in a global audition in Beijing, her hometown, which led her to be invited by Cube to South Korea with the promise that she would be able to debut within one year. Her parents preferred that she focus on her schooling though, so Yuqi said she fought about it with her parents and cried every day for around two weeks before she was able to convince them to let her follow her dream. Yuqi’s interest in K-pop began with Super Junior, and without that group, she said she would never have had interest in becoming a K-pop idol.
Finally, Shuhua has reportedly said that she is from Taipei, Taiwan, apparently born in Taoyuan, but the original video where this was stated is no longer available. We are currently seeking an archived version of the video or other evidence to confirm this information. Regardless, it was watching HyunA perform that convinced Shuhua that she wanted to become a singer. She in turn joined an art school, and upon the suggestion of a friend, she tried out for Cube at an audition. Of course, she passed that audition, and then she pushed past her fears to make the decision to move to Korea to fulfill her dream.
So to summarize where everyone comes from, among the (G)I-dle members, Miyeon, Soyeon, and former member Soojin are from South Korea; while Minnie is from Bangkok, Thailand; Yuqi is from Beijing, China; and Shuhua is from Taiwan.
For more about the group, check out how old the (G)I-dle members currently are and how tall they are, or refresh yourself on who the leader is and why she’s so important.
