MALAYSIA: A Malaysian K-pop trainee, Lingling (who also goes by 링링), has been making waves! It was reported that she showed up on this idol competition show called “I-LAND 2 (아이랜드 2),” and people have been taking notice, according to Hype Malaysia. Despite not debuting in izna (이즈나), she will make her long-awaited debut in another group later this year.
According to the Malay Mail, Alicia Wong Lingling—or Lingling, as everyone knows her— isn’t just a trainee getting attention. Lingling is the first Malaysian to officially debut in a K-pop girl group.
Capturing attention
Lingling, 19, is from Klang, Selangor. She did well on the Mnet survival show, “I-LAND 2 (아이랜드 2),” and everyone was impressed by how she could speak so many languages, how confident she was on stage, and just how likable she is. It sounds like she captured everyone’s attention!
She just launched her very own Instagram account, confirming she’s made that exciting jump from being a trainee to a real, official K-pop idol. Her account had new profile images, which sparked rumours that she would soon make her debut.
Exciting news
On Apr 18, 2025, South Korean entertainment company Lean Branding made a big announcement: Lingling is officially joining their first-ever international girl group, with a debut slated for late May. The agency is keeping things a little mysterious for now, promising more juicy details about the group and its members in the coming days.
It turns out that even though Lingling was super talented on “I-LAND 2 (아이랜드 2)“—her singing and dancing were apparently amazing!—she got eliminated from the show, finishing 16th overall. That meant she didn’t get to debut with that WakeOne group called izna. However, the good news is that she made a big impression on a lot of people! She built up a loyal fanbase, and it sounds as if everyone’s been eagerly waiting for her to finally debut. Well, it looks like their patience has paid off!
Time to shine
It appears that her fans are thrilled about this news. They’ve been waiting for her to get her chance, and now that she’s finally debuting in this new girl group, they feel it’s her time to shine and show everyone what she’s got. You can imagine the excitement and anticipation they must be feeling.
There were concerns about her agency, but they said they would support the Malaysian’s upcoming debut. In her Instagram post, Lingling also expressed her excitement for her official debut. She wrote in five languages that she longed for the stage and that she began again.
On another note, the first male Malaysian K-pop idol was Isaac Voo (also known as 아이젝), who debuted way back in 2017 with a boy group called Skye (they used to be known as IN2IT or 인투잇).
Making waves
It looks like Malaysia is becoming a bit of a K-pop hotspot! There’s another Malaysian trainee, Pan Ee Xiang (팡이썅), who’s also set to debut in a K-pop boy group called SEVENTOEIGHT later this year. He earned his spot in 6th place on a Korean-Taiwanese idol survival show called “SCOOL.” Seeing so many talented Malaysians making their mark in the K-pop world is exciting.
As reported by Korea JoongAng Daily, after placing second in I-LAND 2 (아이랜드 2)‘s preliminary voting, she has secured a spot in Lean Branding’s first global girl group, scheduled to debut in late May.
So far, the group’s name and official debut date are still a secret, but anticipation is already building, since the agency has confirmed Lingling’s inclusion. Lingling is known for being a polyglot and is fluent in Chinese, Malay, English, and Korean. Because she’s so good at multiple languages, fans even gave her cool nicknames like #PolyglotGenius and #WakeOneInterpreter on her profile.
Lingling’s final debut isn’t just a big moment for her; it’s also a significant step forward for Malaysia in the whole K-pop scene. It shows that Malaysian talent can break through in this incredibly competitive industry, and it opens doors for even more aspiring Malaysian idols in the future.