NCT's Lucas Made These Hilarious Mistakes When Learning Korean

Everyone who learns a new language is bound to make blunders, and Lucas is no exception.

This talented NCT member was born in Hong Kong to a Chinese father and a Thai mother. Prior to becoming an SM Entertainment trainee, Lucas already spoke Cantonese, Mandarin, and English.

He told the Happy Together cast that he didn’t speak any Korean when he first moved to Korea to begin his trainee life.

In fact, during a group meeting with Lee Soo Man, SM Entertainment’s founder, Lucas just nodded along without understanding a word of what was being said.

His acting was so convincing that Lee Soo Man was none the wiser!

Lucas told the cast that he now understands 70% to 80% of what is being said but, back then, his lack of knowledge about Korean culture caused problems for him.

As a foreigner, Lucas wasn’t used to incorporating bowing as part of his greetings. He used to say hello in passing, rather than bowing, which inadvertently offended his seniors.

Lucas’ height didn’t help the situation either. He believes that his seniors may have been even more offended by the improper greeting because he seemed like he was looking down on them.

That isn’t the only time Lucas found himself in trouble. When he was first learning Korean, he also didn’t realize that there was a difference between “hyung” (used by males to address older male friends/brothers) and “oppa” (used by females to address older male friends/brothers/boyfriends).