Blackpink’s Lisa has a lookalike: 17-year-old Thai fried food seller thrust into limelight

Cooking up a storm: Lisa lookalike Yeehwa helps out with her mother's fried chicken stall. Photo: Facebook

• Secondary school student from central Thailand becomes online sensation thanks to her remarkable resemblance to K-pop star

A teenage fried chicken seller at a market in Thailand has been propelled into "stardom" because of her remarkable resemblance to K-pop rapper and dancer from the group Blackpink.

Kuilthida, 17, who is known as Yeehwa, is a fifth-year secondary school student at Taphanhin School in Thailand's Phichit province, about 300 kilometres north of the capital Bangkok.

During school breaks, she visits her 36-year-old mother Benyapa, known as Gig, and helps with her fried chicken stall at a market in Samut Prakan, south of Bangkok.

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People noticed that she looks remarkably like the Blackpink star Lalisa "Lisa" Manobal, 27, who is also from Thailand and posted her photos online making her an internet sensation.

The real Lisa has been thrust back into the public spotlight following the recent release of her new single, Rockstar, the first with her newly founded company LLOUD, on June 27.

The accompanying music video ranked number 3 on YouTube's trending for music list, amassing 66 million views in just five days. Five versions of the song all appear in the top 20 on the American iTunes chart within hours of the release, according to Forbes.

The new single has sparked a flurry of interest from fans old and new about the singer's style and outfit, and Bangkok's Chinatown, where she shot the accompanying music video.

Officials in the Thai capital have upped safety measures in the city's Chinatown as tourists flock there to experience the vibe.

Despite building up her career in South Korea since she was a teenager, Lisa has been keen to promote Thai culture.

Speaking as a member of Blackpink, she once said: "South Korea is our country and Thailand is my country".

Lisa has also inspired many young people from her home country, among them is lookalike Yeehwa.

Despite being a little embarrassed by her sudden online fame, the market girl told the Bangkok Post that she was interested in show business and would "willingly enter the entertainment industry if ever the chance arose".

"I am happy and excited to resemble an admired singer like Lisa," Yeehwa said.

Online observers were happy to see Yeehwa's interest in the entertainment industry.

"She is like a secondary school version of Lisa," one person said.

"I would like to see her and Lisa performing on the same stage," said another.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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