Jackson Wang (王嘉爾/왕잭슨) is currently in Indonesia making various guest appearances. The idol recently went viral earlier this week after accidentally ‘offering advice’ on dating white men, which amused fans. Although he doesn’t have any tips on dating itself, he might actually have some useful advice on learning the Korean language, which actually involves dating.
As you may know, the GOT7 member was born and raised in Hong Kong before moving to South Korea after a successful audition. A requirement for becoming a K-pop idol is, of course, to learn Korean. Apart from formal education, he found another way to improve his skills in his third language.
Yesterday (Thursday, 6 March), Jackson Wang appeared on Raditya Dika’s podcast, where he discussed his childhood, his early fencing days, and how he was scouted by JYP Entertainment. At one point during the interview, the host asked the singer about learning Korean and overcoming language barriers during his trainee days. The GOT7 member explained that he formally studied for one year before really putting his skills to the test.
“I improved my Korean through dating. It works really well, especially if your partner doesn’t speak English. When you’re dating, you end up getting into arguments. The more we fight, the more frustrated I get, so I have to look up more Korean words to respond to her argument. From there, my Korean just significantly improved,” he said. The host, Raditya, then emphasised that dating a Korean person is a great way for people to learn and improve their Korean language.
That moment during the show instantly went viral on social media, with fans mostly amused by the story. Some quipped that they would now be looking for a partner whose native language is the one they’re learning. Others pointed out that this isn’t the first time Jackson has brought up the story, as he previously mentioned it on the “Let’s Eat Dinner Together” show in 2018.
Apparently, one of the reasons for the arguments he had with his then-partner was his lack of use of emojis when texting. Although the relationship didn’t last, the artist definitely didn’t leave empty handed as he’s now fluent in Korean. Would you be taking his advice?
Watch the full interview below or skip to 7:13 for the dating story:
