Poor SPM results not a barrier for K-pop group BlackPink's translator

Poor results in her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations was not a barrier for Siti Aishah Nor Azham.

Now 23, Aishah has turned her passion for Korean culture into a career as translator and interpreter for top stars like ultra-popular Korean girl group BlackPink, when they performed in Kuala Lumpur recently.

In fact, Shah, as she is better known as, said it was her inability to gain admission into a university that strengthened her resolve to become self-reliant and generate her own income.

“I suffered from acute migraines since I was 10 years old. So, I often missed class and it was hard for me to catch up,” said the Subang Jaya, Selangor native.

A fan of K-Pop and K-Drama, Shah turned her disappointment at failing to enter university into a motivation to teach herself the Korean language using books and resources on the internet.

“At that time, I knew K-Pop and K-Drama were hits and I thought ‘Why not learn Korean and try to enter that market?’” she told Malaysiakini when contacted.

Risking it all in South Korea

After six months of self-learning, she used up her entire savings to head to South Korea to immerse herself in the language and culture.

“At this point, I was six months into learning Korean and wanted to push myself further.

"So I dropped everything in Malaysia, took out the last RM700 of my savings and moved to Seoul alone. I stayed in the cheapest 16-people dormitory and ate bread for every meal.

"I was able to spend roughly 14 months in and out of (South) Korea and made many Korean friends.

"We would help each other learn languages and culture. My Korean language skills improved tremendously because Koreans don't use English at all," she shared on Twitter.

Her story received many positive reactions from other social media users.

“Your story inspires me to succeed in life and feel no regrets over failures I faced before,” said Twitter user Zafran Zainol.

Shah's break came when she received an offer from Malaysia as a Korean language translator and interpreter.

“One day, my Korean friend who lives in Malaysia called me and said that an event organiser is hiring a concert interpreter who can speak Korean, Malay, and English.

“So I took the challenge and went back to Malaysia.”

“From then on, many organisers contacted me to ask if I can work for them, especially for Korean events,” she said.

BlackPink concert

Her most unforgettable experience was being assigned to manage the BlackPink (above) concert on Feb 23 and 24. Some 14,000 fans attended the event.

“The BlackPink concert was a new challenge for me because the size of the event was much bigger than any concert I have done before.

“The equipments were also brought from Korea so it was difficult for the local employees, but they were professional in their jobs. I learned very fast on how the Koreans manage their jobs,” she said.

She said BlackPink was also very professional in terms of managing their time, never missing rehearsals or sound checks.

Even though she succeeded thus far without a degree, Shah hopes young people would not give up opportunities to gain a tertiary education.

“I was able to just leave everything because I had nothing to start with.

“But if you have an opportunity to pursue your studies and gain access to more career opportunities, then please choose that.

“Spend time to learn and also do something that can make you happy,” she said. - Mkini