Yoonchae of KATSEYE says she was so excited to meet BTS at an ARIRANG concert in Las Vegas that she forgot she can speak Korean.
While speaking in a video with fellow KATSEYE member Sophia, Yoonchae reflected on her experience at a recent BTS concerts in support of their latest studio album.
“I started crying because we did a meet and greet with them, and after that, my brain went blank,” Yoonchae said around the three-minute, 46-second mark in the clip.
She then reenacted how she was nervous the entire time.
“We got to meet all of the members, and they were all so down to earth and so kind,” Sophia added. “I looked to my right, and Yoonchae wasn’t speaking.”
After Sophia claimed that she tried to get Yoonchae to speak Korean, Yoonchae laughed and admitted that the excitement of the moment made her forget she could speak her native language.
“I was like, I forgot Korean again,” Yoonchae reflected. “When I get nervous, I forget Korean.
KATSEYE’s love for BTS is real. At the American Music Awards on Monday (May 25), the group used their winning moment to give the K-pop superstars a shoutout.
“We want to give a special shout-out to BTS tonight for inspiring us to represent our culture at a global scale,” Sophia said.
KATSEYE took home the award for New Artist of the Year, beating a superstar lineup including Leon Thomas and Olivia Dean.
While Yoonchae may sometimes forget she speaks Korean, her fellow group members recently revealed the one English phrase that the 18-year-old can’t stop saying.
In an interview with Australian radio station Triple J, Sophia answered for Yoonchae when she was asked if there was a phrase that she’d picked up from the other members that she liked to use.
“She says, ‘It's not that deep,’ a lot more than we thought she ever would,” Sophia said.
Yoonchae was surprised. “Do I? I don’t think so,” she said.
Fellow member Lara then hopped in and claimed that Yoonchae said it “like four times yesterday.”
Another member, Daniela, later shared Korean phrases that she learned from Yonchae, such as "neomo mongmalla" ("I'm thirsty"), "neomu baegopa" ("I'm hungry"), "mwo meok-ji" ("What should I eat?"), and "saranghaeyo" ("I love you").
