Meet Malaysian “I-LAND 2” Trainee Lingling — The Show’s Only Southeast Asian Contestant

Mnet recently unveiled all the contestants for I-LAND 2, the girl group sequel series to the survival show that formed ENHYPEN, and buzz is beginning to build. Of the show’s contestants, 16 hopefuls are Korean, 6 are Japanese, and one is of both Japanese and Korean heritage. One trainee, however, breaks the pattern, and that’s Malaysian trainee Lingling! Here’s everything you need to know about her.

Wong Lingling is 18 years old, born on April 20, 2005, which means she’ll turn 19 during the course of the survival show.

Lingling chose #PolyglotGenius as one of her hashtags for her I-LAND 2 profile, so it’s likely she speaks Korean as well as her native language. It’s reported that she knows Chinese too, and given that she’s said to have an English name (Alicia Wong), it’s presumed she also speaks English — along with over 70% of the Malaysian general population.

While Lingling is currently signed to Kep1er and ZEROBASEONE’s agency WAKEONE (the company that will be managing I-LAND 2’s final group), fans believe she may have originally been a trainee under YG Entertainment — though this is not yet confirmed.

With famed producer Teddy of YG Entertainment associate company The Black Label announced to be handling the I-LAND 2 group’s music, it could be a full circle moment for Lingling if she makes it into the final lineup.

Either way, her potential connection to the ‘Big 3’ makes it no surprise that fans are already wowed by the star presence she’s shown off. In the show’s pre-premiere performance videos, she was part of the “Heel Dance” group, dancing to Sam Smith’s “How Do You Sleep” alongside contestants Oh Yuna, Jeong Saebi, Yuiko, Mai, and Kim Eunchae.

SHE IS LITERALLY INSANE????#ILAND2 #아이랜드2 #LINGLING #링링 pic.twitter.com/GMj471Iv6k

— lingling pics (@linglingpic) March 21, 2024

Though her MBTI type is INFJ, her introverted personality is hidden away by her charisma on screen.

Lingling’s “@N/a” teaser is already one of the most viewed on YouTube in just one day, surpassing 20,000 views already.

Her profile photo on the official I-LAND 2 Instagram account, meanwhile, it’s the second most-liked with over 20,000 hearts, just behind popular former R U Next? contestant Bang Jeemin.

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A post shared by Mnet I-LAND2 OFFICIAL INSTAGRAM (@mnetiland)

In her profile, Lingling’s motto reads, “I’ll work hard to become the first female idol from Malaysia!” and fans are already rooting to make that dream come true.

We'll be supporting Lingling

— SonesLoveSoshi (@soneslovesoshi) March 22, 2024

Interestingly, Lingling isn’t the first female Malaysian K-Pop fan to try her hand at becoming an idol herself. Last year, for example, the nation got their representation on SBS’s survival show Universe Ticket with contestant Alyssa.

Alyssa’s rankings started out strong, but unfortunately, she dropped out of the show in episode four, long before the final members of UNIS were decided.

The boy group world, meanwhile, has Sabah-born Malaysian idol Isaac of SKYE (formerly IN2IT), the group formed on CJ E&M’s 2016 survival show BOYS24.

I-LAND 2 is scheduled to premiere on Thursday, April 18, 2024. As Lingling continues to attract attention from international K-Pop fans, she’s sure to be one to watch throughout the show.