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All about CL, ‘the future of K-pop in America’ and one of Korea’s brightest stars

  • CL was born in South Korea, educated overseas and joined band 2NE1 in 2009
  • She has collaborated with G-Dragon, and recently with the Black Eyed Peas

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CL has moved beyond K-pop to become an international star.

Described by Time magazine in 2016 as “the future of K-pop in America”, CL remains one of the genre’s most prominent and successful voices, even as she challenges the very definition of what K-pop means.

Since entering the K-pop industry, CL has constantly broken boundaries. Born in Seoul, she was educated overseas, and similarly, has moved beyond K-pop to become an international act.

As a rapper overflowing with talent and with a considerable amount of international street cred in music and fashion, CL is one of South Korea’s brightest stars and looks poised for real fame, and not just as a K-pop star. Let’s take a look at her life so far.

Her early life

CL was born Lee Chae-rin in Seoul and remembers living with her grandmother in the southern Gangnam neighbourhood of Jagok-dong as a toddler. However, she spent the bulk of her younger years in Tsukuba, Japan, where her father studied and later taught as a university professor. Her life in Japan was idyllic and allowed the young CL to roam free.

CL was born in Seoul, but spent a lot of her childhood in Japan.
CL was born in Seoul, but spent a lot of her childhood in Japan.
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