Boy band Riize’s Japanese member Shotaro has been selected as the K-pop artist fans would want most as their foreign language teacher, according to K-pop voting platform Picnic.

In the poll, which ran from April 27 through May 1, Shotaro came in first with 134,395 votes. Girl group BabyMonster’s Thai member Chiquita placed second with 107,611 votes, closely followed by NCT member Sakuya, who received 105,661 votes.


According to the platform, Shotaro is widely recognized for his natural pronunciation and expressive use of the language. The Japanese artist has demonstrated his Korean proficiency through broadcasts and fan communication content.

Picnic noted that the results reflect growing global interest in the Korean language alongside the continued spread of Korean culture worldwide.

In collaboration with the Korea JoongAng Daily, Picnic hosts weekly polls on a wide range of topics related to K-pop artists.



BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]