Who Speaks English in Itzy?

One could make an argument that, out of all K-pop groups, JYP Entertainment’s Itzy is the most impressive at speaking English. That is not necessarily to say that they all speak the best or most perfect English; after all, several of the most popular K-pop groups have at least one fluent English speaker, like Yunjin in Le Sserafim, Giselle in Aespa, or almost everyone in Blackpink. However, Itzy is a group that, for the most part, simply learned English from hard study, all while living extremely busy lives as idols, and it has allowed them to foster an even larger international fanbase, leading to successful world tours. Here, among Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna, we will explain with examples the full answer to who speaks English in Itzy and how fluent each member is.

Everyone in Itzy Speaks English, with Lia the Most Fluent and Ryujin the Most Eager

Lia speaks fluent English in Itzy because, as she explained in episode 61 of Idol Room in June 2019, she lived in Toronto, Canada for around three years during elementary school. Typically, when a K-pop group has a fluent English speaker, that person becomes the spokesperson for the group during international, English-language interviews, as is the case with the aforementioned Yunjin in Le Sserafim and Giselle in Aespa. However, remarkably, that is not the case in Itzy. In fact, one could argue it is Yeji (who is the leader) or Ryujin who sometimes leads the charge in English interviews.

Yeji and especially Ryujin both speak quite capable English in Itzy, with a sometimes impressive vocabulary. Their general pronunciation is good, only mildly accented, with Yeji’s accent being a bit thicker. And although their grammar is sometimes imperfect, the meaning of their words in context is always clear. Yeji and Ryujin demonstrate an admirable degree of confidence in speaking English, which is key to speaking any language well. Between the two, Ryujin appears to have better English-speaking ability, or at the least, she seems to be the most eager Itzy member to provide English answers to questions, arguably even more so than Lia. To give a pointed example of her English skills, Ryujin used the complex word “paradox” correctly in a July 2022 Seventeen interview to describe how Lia could have a clean room and messy hair!

Chaeryeong and Yuna seem to speak less English than the other Itzy members, or at the least, they seem to speak less often in English-language interviews. Nonetheless, they do speak basic English, and it should be noted that their self-confidence in speaking English does not necessarily correlate with their actual English fluency levels. But to give an example of a time when Yuna gave a full English answer to a question (as opposed to just a few words), she used rather flawed, but ultimately comprehensible, grammar to explain in an October 2022 Entertainment Tonight interview how many pairs of sneakers she owned and how comfort was an important factor during dance practice.

At this point, there are a multitude of videos to showcase the English-speaking skills of Itzy, such as their fun Wired “ITZY Answer the Web’s Most Searched Questions” video from January 2023. However, perhaps the best showcase of their skills is the 25-minute radio interview they did with SiriusXM in December 2022. It is clear that Itzy studied English diligently to reach the skill level shown there, especially if you compare it to a 24-minute live studio interview with BUILD from January 2020. In fact, there are two videos on Itzy YouTube from February and March 2021 respectively that demonstrate the group studying English with their teacher, Tiffany, even engaging in fun role-playing scenarios. Although, some statements made in those videos suggest that studying English was not a constant part of their schedule at that time, and in general, it is unclear at any given time how much schedule time JYP has formally dedicated to English study.

But to summarize, in Itzy, everyone speaks English to varying degrees, with Yuna speaking unaccented fluent English and Ryujin speaking modestly fluent English. Yeji also speaks capable English, and although Chaeryeong and Yuna speak English less often, they still have a basic knowledge base. Ultimately, while it is certainly not a requirement for a K-pop group to speak English, Itzy is undeniably a shining beacon of English ability in the industry, and their fans are extremely grateful for all of their hard work.

For more about the group, check out how old the Itzy members currently are, how tall they are, what each member’s MBTI is, or when Itzy originally debuted. We also maintain a complete archive of all of the Itzy music videos, to make it easy to watch everything in one place. Or for another thorough analysis of a group with impressive English-speaking ability, check out who can speak English in Fifty Fifty.