Retired major champion reveals learning English from popular American sitcoms

Retired major champion Ryu So-yeon opened up about how she managed to learn English in her recent interview. The South Korean golfer announced her retirement from the sport last year and is having a time away from the greens.She has joined the LPGA Tour's Maybank Championship TV booth this week, and in an interview with Golfweek, she opened up about her life after retirement. She said that she had an "all-Aussie" staff around her.Her caddie, coach, and physio are all Australian, and when she learned English, she watched popular American sitcoms. She initially watched them with Korean subtitles but then switched to English subtitles. She said:"When I studied English, I watched "Friends," "Modern Family" and "Sex and the City." So when I watched that one first time, I just watched it with the Korean subtitles for like a couple of times, and then I switched it to like English subtitles a couple of times."And then when I get to understand a little bit, I just watch it without subtitles, and I'm just trying to understand. And I guess I just memorized the lines. Then, whenever I needed to speak in English, I just switched the words," she added.Ryu So-yeon won two major titles and six tournaments on the LPGA Tour before announcing her retirement from the sport. Born and raised in South Korea, she initially competed on the LPGA of Korea Tour before joining the LPGA Tour in 2012.Her last outing on the LPGA Tour came at the Chevron Championship in 2024, where she carded two rounds of 77 and 74. She missed the cut.Major champion Ryu So-yeon reflects on her plans after retirementMajor champion Ryu So-yeon’s last appearance on the LPGA Tour was in 2024, and she has been enjoying her time away from golf in 2025. In her interview with Golfweek, she also opened up about her post-retirement plans and revealed her interest in designing golf courses. She said:"To be honest, right after I retired, the first thing I really wanted to do is golf architecture. That's still, that's my biggest passion. But as you know, it's really, it's a rare opportunity to design to a golf course."So right now I'm still, whenever I have a chance to learn about it, I just go for it, and I just look around. And my good friend, Michael Clayton, he also gave me a lot of great advice. So these days when I'm playing golf, I'm seeing about the golf architecture more than my golf," she added.While away from the greens, the two-time major winner is also looking forward to her wedding. She got engaged in April and is planning to walk down the aisle in December.