San Francisco, CA – October 1, 2020 - Drops, the game-based language learning platform, today announces its first-ever celebrity partnership with K-Pop artist, Amber Liu from the legendary K-Pop supergroup f(x), to offer a unique Korean language learning experience through its app.
“Study with Amber” is a limited-edition category in the Drops app that helps K-Pop fans and Korean language enthusiasts learn Korean vocabulary and dive into Korean culture. Amber voices Drops’ signature fun, visual-based word games, across 40 topics personally curated by her that highlight Korean culture, including K-Pop, Korean dishes, Korean food, music, traveling, K-drama, and more. Millions of Drops users around the world can now learn Korean words for places like Seongsan Sunrise Peak, culturally-specific phrases like accepting things with two hands, traditional food like Kimchi, and more, with the help of Amber.
As a native English speaker, Amber had to master the Korean language and culture on her journey to K-Pop fame. Moving from Los Angeles to South Korea in 2008 to join f(x), Amber had an intensive Korean-language course to learn as much as possible in only three-months so she could perform, conduct interviews, and connect with her fanbase in Korean.
Now fluent in Korean, the trilingual music artist performs and releases music in English, Korean and Chinese. She continues to communicate with her diverse fanbase across the globe in all three languages.
K-Pop has become a global cultural phenomenon that connects people across borders and unites fans through music and the Korean language. As Drops’ number one most-practiced language across its suite of apps, the partnership with Amber will make the Korean language even more accessible to a wider range of language learners and K-Pop fans.
The Korean language is considered one of the most difficult languages to master*, but it hasn’t stopped K-Pop fans from taking up the language to feel more connected to their idols and create more enriching experiences with the music.
Through this partnership with Amber, Drops aims to bring its fun and effective language learning techniques to this enthusiastic and passionate audience to encourage more people to forge new connections and skills through language.
“Learning a language is like running a marathon. You just got to keep at it. I struggled a lot learningKorean growing up and I still am learning new things today but the connection I’ve made with so many people wouldn’t be possible without my knowledge of Korean. I’m excited to help people allover the world learn Korean in a fun and easy way with the Drops app,” said Amber Liu.
“We appreciate the different ways that people connect and communicate across cultures and borders, “ said Daniel Farkas, co-founder and CEO, Drops.
“We believe music is a universal language and by joining forces with Amber Liu, we aim to inspire people to connect through their love for music to learn a new language. Amber’s language learning journey is an inspiration to us. This is the first time we’re able to offer a celebrity collaboration for our community, so now through the Drops app everyone can start to learn Korean, guided by Amber.”
Drops teaches the essentials of language – alphabets and vocabulary – by combining engaging word puzzles with visual association. With 42 languages and 25M users and counting, Drops is one of the fastest-growing language platforms in the world.
The app’s 5-minute sessions of swipe-based word games are fast, fun, and effective and quickly become as second nature as an Instagram scroll. Drops’ companion apps Scripts teaches learners how to read and write (and in the case of ASL, sign) 4 alphabets and 4 character-based writing systems, and Droplets is designed specifically to teach foreign languages to kids aged 8-17. In 2018, Google named Drops the best app of the year, and in 2019 Fast Company named Drops as one of the top 10 most innovative education companies in the world.
The Drops suite of apps – Drops, Scripts and Droplets are available for free on iOS and Android.
A California native, Amber Liu was discovered at the age of 15 at SM Entertainment’s global auditions in Los Angeles. Following a move to South Korea, she debuted in 2009 as a member of the female group f(x). The record-breaking electro-pop-based K-pop group quickly became one of the industry’s most popular and award-winning. In 2013, the group became the first K-pop act to perform at SXSW, with the New York Times’ Jon Pareles calling their performance “impeccable.” f(x)’s 2013 album ‘Pink Tape’ was called “one of the best Asian pop albums of all-time,” by Pitchfork and charted #1 on Billboards K-Pop Hot 100 and World Album charts. In 2015, Amber’s first solo release, the critically acclaimed album “Beautiful”, debuted at #2 on Billboard’s World Albums chart, with the title track’s music video, released the same day, garnering more than 1 million YouTube views in its first day of release. She has also made a career on television and film hosting travel and variety shows in South Korea and starring in the American indie film The Eagle and the Albatross. Amber’s presence on social media continues to grow globally with more than 12 million followers across her Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and more.
