Fans of any K-pop group are always hoping to see that group appear in variety shows or special interviews, and it’s sometimes extra exciting when that programming is geared toward an international audience. Often, English becomes the primary language in international content, so it’s handy to have someone who is fluent in the language. FNC Entertainment K-pop boy group P1Harmony has plenty of ability at speaking more than just Korean, so among members Theo, Keeho, Jiung, Intak, Soul, and Jongseob, here is who speaks fluent English or another language (Japanese, particularly) in the group.
Keeho Speaks Native English in P1Harmony, but Several Members Speak Admirable English
While he is ethnically Korean, Keeho speaks native English because he was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. In fact, when he first arrived in South Korea, Keeho had very weak Korean fluency, knowing only “basic” terminology and not being able to read or write the language. Notably, when P1Harmony was first preparing to debut back in 2020, they filmed an entire sci-fi action movie as a (highly unorthodox) introduction. Keeho felt awkward during filming because the script was in Korean. (For more about that movie, we have an entire summary and plot synopsis for P1H: The Beginning of a New World!) Nonetheless, even if he may potentially have shaky reading comprehension, it is safe to say that Keeho is fluent in Korean now, and Jiung has praised his pronunciation.
Most of the members of P1Harmony actually speak a surprising amount of English though, and Jiung is fairly fluent. The best specific example of Jiung speaking English continues to be a 50-minute Daebak Show interview he and Keeho did with Eric Nam in November 2021, where he explained (in English) that he simply learned the language through studying hard in school. At his mother’s behest, he began studying English at an academy when he was age 7 or 8. Jiung’s grammar is noticeably flawed, but his general meaning is typically clear.
Plus, the fact that Jiung is willing to enter into heavily English situations demonstrates a high degree of confidence, which is crucial to speaking another language well. Another example of this is that, in 2023, he and Keeho appeared in all episodes of season 3 of Dive Studios’ Hwaiting, an English-language idol game show on YouTube. Jiung spoke less often on average than the other hosts, but he understood what was going on and was an active participant in all activities. At the end of the season, he humbly said he would “study English harder” if he were invited to return, and Eric Nam assured him that his English was “already great.”
Among the other P1Harmony members, they can all be seen speaking English in concise pieces across the many international interviews the group has done over time. Theo and Soul probably speak the least English, but they can still introduce themselves and use some basic vocabulary. They also seem to be able to get the gist of a topic of conversation, even if they cannot actively participate in full English. Intak and Jongseob seem to speak commendably comprehensible English though, with Jongseob having surprisingly good pronunciation. There simply aren’t many examples of either of them attempting to speak English for a prolonged period.
Indeed, besides Keeho, the members of P1Harmony typically default to speaking Korean when given the choice. As a habit (and he is the leader, after all), Keeho also regularly translates English questions for the rest of the team during English-language interviews, in addition to then translating team answers. Keeho is very much the crux of English-language interviews for P1Harmony, even though Jiung can hold his own by himself. (However, the group has had fun learning about other languages when the opportunity presents itself.)
So in summary, when it comes to the languages P1Harmony speaks, Keeho speaks native English, Jiung speaks fairly fluent English, and Soul speaks native Japanese. Jongseob and Intak also speak modestly good English in concentrated doses. All members of the group speak Korean, and all members understand at least a degree of English.
For more about the group, check out how old the P1Harmony members currently are. Or for more discussions of language skills in K-pop, check out the excellent English skills of Itzy, who speaks English in Boynextdoor, or who speaks English in RIIZE.