By Josh Bustamante
As a celebration of their 10th-year anniversary in the cosmetics industry, BYS Cosmetics held a Fun Meet with South Korean boy group ENHYPEN at the Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, Dec. 3, making it the group’s very first visit to the country.
The fun meet was part of the You Be You campaign and was announced on Oct. 10, shortly after ENHYPEN was revealed as brand ambassadors.
ENGENEs, the official fanbase of ENHYPEN, came from all parts of the Philippines to attend the fun meet with some even coming from other countries such as Japan.
When ENHYPEN members Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki entered the stage, they were warmly greeted by their Filipino ENGENEs, noting that they did not expect to receive this kind of love from their fans.
ENHYPEN leader Jungwon mentioned that as a way to give back the love and cheers that they received from their Filipino fans; they will do their best to give this back by doing even better performances in the future.
Meanwhile, Ni-ki said that he is thankful to have been given the opportunity to meet their fans from all over the world since their debut in 2020.
The group officially debuted on Nov. 30, 2020, a few months after they were formed through the reality television show I-LAND.
An ENHY-fun interaction
Both ENHYPEN and ENGENEs did not fall short of their interaction with each other through games, messages, and laughs exchanged throughout the meet.
The ENHYPEN members were each asked a question submitted by fans during the introductory segment.
When Jake was asked what ENHYPEN means, he said that their name came from the word ‘hyphen’ and this indicates their connection to fans around the world.
Heeseung was asked what kind of music he was into and said that he likes K-Pop but would want to venture to other genres of music.
Meanwhile, Jungwon was asked what his plans were for the year 2023 and said that he hopes to meet more Filipino ENGENEs given that this was his first time to visit the Philippines.
Ni-ki was asked how it was working as a group and he responded that because of their hard work as a team, they are now able to do global tours.
When Sunghoon was asked what advice he would give to his younger self, he would say to live life to the fullest and do your best in figure skating. Sunghoon used to be a figure skater before he joined ENHYPEN.
Sunoo was asked what was the most important lesson he learned this year and he shared that it was to stay healthy. He also added that he wishes for ENGENEs to stay healthy.
Jay was asked a different question. If he were to get stuck on a deserted island, he would bring corn, his favorite food, and Jungwon as company.
Beach or Hiking?
During the ENHY-PICK segment, members were asked to choose whether they would spend their weekend on a beach or hiking a mountain. Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, and Jungwon would rather spend their weekends on a beach while Sunoo and Ni-ki prefer to hike mountains.
Jake added that since he would want to spend his weekend on a beach, he will spend it in Boracay Island if he were given a chance.
Filipinizing ENHYPEN
The ENHY-PINOY segment brought out the Filipino in ENHYPEN members by way of learning basic phrases such as “Magandang Gabi” (good evening), “Mahal ko kayo, ENGENE” (I love you, ENGENE), “Ngiti naman diyan” (crack a smile), “Na-miss niyo ba kami” (did you miss us), “Masaya ako kasama ang ENGENEs ngayon” (I am happy to be with ENGENEs today), “Kumain ka nang maayos at matulog nang mahimbing” (Eet well and sleep well), and “Maraming salamat, Pilipinas” (Thank you very much, Philippines).
Seven ENGENEs from the crowd were randomly selected as language coaches to teach each of the members.
After ENHYPEN’s short Filipino lesson, they were serenaded by fans with a tribute video prepared for their Second EN-niversary (anniversary). Shortly after, fans greeted Sunghoon and Ni-ki a happy birthday. Sunghoon celebrates his birthday on December 8 while Ni-ki on Dec. 9.
ENHYPEN capped the night off with a performance of ‘Future Perfect (Pass the MIC)’, their title track from their album MANIFESTO: DAY 1.
The members also thanked ENGENEs at the end of the fun meet and promised to return to the country soon for their MANIFESTO WORLD TOUR at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Feb. 4 and 5, 2023.