Recently, LE SSERAFIM has become one of the K-pop groups that have performed and won awards at the VMAs. This year, their company has given the group several opportunities to “fight” in the international market, such as performing at Coachella, promoting on American TV, and most recently, appearing on stage before the VMAs.
LE SSERAFIM is growing rapidly, but the public has not yet fully recognized them due to unresolved skills gaps. In addition to the ongoing debate about their live singing, the group has also been criticized for its members’ language skills.
As an internationally oriented group, English is something that many people pay attention to. In LE SSERAFIM, lead singer Huh Yunjin is a real American girl, and Japanese member Kazuha has strong communication skills. As a result, during interviews or performances abroad, Yunjin and Kazuha typically take on the role of communicating and engaging with the audience.
LE SSERAFIM was recently highly sought after by international media at the VMAs. As usual, Yunjin answered most of the interviews. However, during one interaction at the VMAs, leader Kim Chaewon had an awkward moment when she was asked a question in English. She was visibly confused, unable to understand even a simple question.
@forpiona fimmies on Entertainment Tonight! interview #lesserafim #chaewon #sakura #yunjin #kazuha #eunchae #vmas
♬ CRAZY (David Guetta Remix) – LE SSERAFIM & David Guetta
Even when Yunjin stepped in to help by translating the question into Korean, Chaewon was left embarrassed and unable to answer. Kazuha ended up having to answer on her own, while Chaewon tried to save face with a “killer” expression to hide her embarrassment.
This moment of Chaewon was widely shared on social media, with many critical comments. People mocked LE SSERAFIM for lacking key qualities to succeed in the international market. Chaewon’s inability to understand a simple question, leaving her group members helpless, was criticized, with some saying that the LE SSERAFIM leader was not making an effort to improve his skills.
Many netizens even compared LE SSERAFIM to other girl groups of the same era. Especially, next to NewJeans, LE SSERAFIM’s English proficiency is noticeably poor. Aside from Chaewon, even the youngest member Eunchae has difficulty speaking English fluently. Once again, Chaewon faced an embarrassing moment.
However, fans of the group have offered various reasons to defend the idol. They argue that English skills can be learned and developed over time. Fans also believe that netizens are applying “double standards” to LE SSERAFIM, as many Korean idols who are not fluent in English are given sympathy, while Chaewon is attacked due to pre-existing dislike. From a fair perspective, LE SSERAFIM is still a group that speaks English well, without the need for an interpreter, as they have three foreign members.
Source: K14
