TWICE Claims JYP Won’t Let You Debut Unless You’re Certified In Foreign Languages

TWICE recently made an appearance on SBS‘s Legendary Stage where they revealed a behind-the-scenes story about their debut.

On the show, Sung Si Kyung asked the members if there was a special class that the foreign members took.

And Sana spoke up about the class that she took with Momo prior to their debut.

Momo and I took Korean class for around 3 years. When I first came to Korea, I couldn’t speak a word of Korean. Momo and I just said hello whenever people passed by.

— Sana

But this led one of the hosts, Sandara Park to question the Korean members about the foreign languages they were required to take.

Don’t the Korean members also take lessons for Japanese or Chinese?

— Sandara Park

And Jihyo surprised many with her confession.

When I was in middle school, JYP made me get a certifiation for Chinese.

— Jihyo

“Legendary Stage” | SBS

What drew particular attention was when Nayeon added that foreign languages were a determining factor in their debut.

If we didn’t get certified in foreign languages, we couldn’t debut.

— Nayeon

TWICE debuted through JYP Entertainment back in 2015.

| JYP Entertainment

They’re famously known for being a diverse group, with members from Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.