Korean star Jung Hae-in, known for the dramas “D.P.,” “Something in the Rain” and “Snowdrop,” had a grand time–and became emotional and was in tears in the end–as he met Filipino fans last Aug. 6.
Jung Hae-in held his “The 10th Season” 2023 Fan Meeting in Manila at the New Frontier Theater to mark the 10 years of his career.
The star drew fans from young women, “titas,” moms and their daughters to grandmothers, and many of them came to see him in person for the first time.
Korean star Jung Hae-in at his "The 10th Season" Fan Meeting in Manila on Aug. 6 (Jonathan Hicap)
One of them was “Linda,” a 52-year-old teacher from Caloocan who went to the fan meeting alone. She said this was her first time attending a fan meeting and it was because of Jung Hae-in.
Amid the loud cheers from the audience, Jung Hae-in started the fan meeting by emerging on stage and singing “Crazy,” which is part of the original soundtrack (OST) for his critically-acclaimed Netflix series “D.P.”
“Magandang gabi. Ikinagagalak kong makita kayo muli. Na-miss ko kayo (Good evening. I’m glad to see you again. I missed you),” Jung Hae-in greeted the crowd.
It’s been nearly four years since he held “One Summer Night” Fan Meeting Tour in Manila in September 2019 in the same venue.
A year before, he held his “Smile” fan meeting in Manila in June 2018 also at the New Frontier Theater (formerly Kia Theatre).
“I’m here after four years and I’m feeling so nervous right now,” he said.
The fan meeting looked back at Jung Hae-in’s career in the past 10 years. He made his debut in 2013 when he appeared in the music video titled “Moya’ of K-pop group AOA’s subunit AOA Black. He made his acting debut in 2014.
Segments
The different segments of the fan meeting showcased Jung Hae-in dramas and movies, questions and letters from fans, and talks about his career.
In the “Curious Story” segment, Jung Hae-in picked questions from a board that were sent by fans.
He was asked “How old do you plan to marry?” He replied, “My answer is...marriage plan…not yet. Because I love more acting.”
When a fan asked him for a hug, he said, “If that’s the case, we will have this show for 10 hours. Though I think it’s kinda difficult to hug each and everyone of you, I’ll make sure that at the end of the show, I’ll be greeting each and everyone.”
He said he liked coming back to the Philippines, saying “I didn’t expect that the (venue) would be this full.”
On the possibility of shooting a film in the Philippines, he said, “If there is a good scenario, I can try it, why not?”
Korean star Jung Hae-in at his "The 10th Season" Fan Meeting in Manila on Aug. 6 (Jonathan Hicap)
Jung Hae-in is currently starring on Netflix’s “D.P.” season 2, reprising his role as Ahn Joonho, a member of the military police tasked to go after deserters in the military.
“I didn’t expect ‘D.P.’ would be loved by the Philippines so much because it’s actually a story about the military and since the Philippines is a country where military service is required,” he said.
In the “Memory Photo Studio” segment, photos of Jung Hae-in were shown and he described them and told stories behind each one.
If he could tell something to his younger self 10 years ago, Jung Hae-in said, “If it’s 10 years ago, I was still a newbie, a newbie who could never imagine this fan meeting as well. So the message I can give is you will get loved by a lot of people so please enjoy acting and do your best.”
Roles
In “Hae-in’s Museum,” props that he used in his dramas were presented including a black hat he used in “Snowdrop” and “Connect,” and military uniform from “D.P.”
“I think ‘D.P.’ is very meaningful to me because if you sum up seasons 1 and 2, I filmed it for more than a year. I think it’s a drama that covers my youth very well,” he said.
When season 3 was mentioned, he said, “I wanna try different things too. I’ll try different genres first then go to season 3.”
Jung Hae-in also showed bandages used in “Snowdrop,” which he gave to the audience.
He was asked what his favorite role is and he said, “I think it’s really hard to choose.”
“I think the most lovable or beloved role I took is also the latest project that I’ve done,” he said, referring to “D.P.” season 2. “So I hope you guys can cheer for the upcoming projects I will film.”
Jung Hae-in said the character that he studied the longest was Lim Soo-ho in “Snowdrop.”
“He is actually a spy agent and I had to go through a lot of thoughts to think why he has turned into this way,” he said.
On characters he found hard to detach himself, he said, “I have actually two options. One is ‘Something in the Rain.’ I had a hard time detaching myself from the role and second is ‘Veteran 2,’ which is a movie that will be released soon. ’
Best 5 Favorite Scenes
Fans were asked to vote for their favorite scenes among Jung Hae-in’s dramas and movies.
No. 8 was a scene from the 2016 drama “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” or “Goblin” in which he had a cameo followed by a crying scene by his character Captain Yoo Jeong-woo in “Prison Playbook.”
He said he feels embarrassed whenever he watches himself in dramatic and emotional scenes.
“I think it’s not important how I am filmed by the camera. I don’t mind how the camera is filming me. I will only concentrate on my role, environment or atmosphere around me. If you concentrate, I think that scene will come out,” he said.
At No. 6 is a running scene in the movie “Tune in for Love,” which he said was harder than “D.P.”
“Because it was actually a long take and when I was running, the director did not give the ‘cut’ sign so I kept running,” he said.
No. 5 is a scene in “One Spring Night” where he was kneeling down and apologizing to Han Ji-min.
At No. 4 is the opening scene in “D.P.” where he was looking at the camera as he was lining up during his character’s military enlistment.
“Every man in Korea is required to go to the military service and the audience, especially the male audience, when they were watching the show, since they have already been discharged from the military. When they watch the scene, from the intro, they feel the scene very well,” he said.
At No. 3 is a scene from “While You Were Sleeping” wherein Jung Hae-in took off his shirt, revealing his well-toned body.
“To film that scene, I was not able to eat a single thing the whole day. I actually did a lot of pushups in the waiting room,” he said.
At No. 2 is the death scene in “Snowdrop.” He revealed that “after I filmed the very last scene, remember that I cried a lot after the scene. That was one of the hardest. When were almost at the end of the project, there was also a very sad news as well. That also kind of made me emotional.”
At No. 1 is the bicycle scene between Jung Hae-in and Son Ye-jin in “Something in the Rain.”
“I thought this would only be applicable to fans in Korea but it’s the same way in the Philippines too. Because I keep my promises so please wait for me. This project is already five years. Nevertheless, thank you so much for loving the project,” he said.
When Jung Hae-in was asked to name his personal No. 1 favorite scene, he said it’s “D.P.”
Jung Hae-in also sang “Memories More Than Love,” an OST from “Snowdrop” and explained that “this track is actually my favorite track when I was filming ‘Snowdrop.’”
He revealed that he recently became interested in playing golf, saying, “I actually try hard to actually get used to it.”
In the segment, Jung Hae-in putted and every time he successfully put the ball in the hole, he had a photo time with the audience using props such as headbands and eyeglasses.
Korean star Jung Hae-in at his "The 10th Season" Fan Meeting in Manila on Aug. 6 (Jonathan Hicap)
Personal stories by fans
During the “Your Season” segment, fans wrote their personal stories that happened during the last 10 years.
The three letter senders received gifts from Jung Hae-in: a signed photo, a black hat and a “One Spring Night” Blu-ray.
One letter-sender from Pampanga studied Communication Arts instead of medicine. She felt like her parents were not proud of her despite her efforts including becoming a President’s Lister. She said her parents wanted her to be a doctor.
Jung Hae-in said, “To be honest, I was also not destined to be an actor. When I was in middle school, I was dreaming of a different career. I suddenly changed my path when I was in college. Also my parents didn’t cheer for me as well because the job of an actor is very unstable and is very hard to be successful. But I was pretty confident. Though I was lonely, I had the confidence that I would be successful. And at this point, my parents, of course, support me a lot. Of course there were times that I had to prove myself and had difficult times. And because it says Sky, you were able to receive the courage to actually choose the course because of me, I hope that the power and energy that I have will be forwarded to you pretty well so that you can finish your studies and prove yourself pretty well.”
The three letter-senders were called to the stage and received gifts from Jung Hae-in, had a selfie with him and he also gave them a hug.
Jung Hae-in also gave his advice on love. He said, “I guess I could say to you that if you are going to love somebody, please love them with your own might to the point that you will have no regret because at some point, you will have regret in your life if you have not done everything that you could. So please try to love the person with all the things that you have so that you will have no regrets.”
There was also a raffle draw wherein lucky fans whose seat numbers were called received gifts from Jung Hae-in. They also had a selfie with him and got to hug him.
One of the winners was 78-year-old Mommy Ofelia who was happy to meet Jung Hae-in up close.
After the segment, Jung Hae-in serenaded the audience again with “Hidden Road,” a song that was used in the hit drama “Reply 1988.”
‘We love you, Hae In’
As the fan meeting was wrapping up, Jung Hae-in was overwhelmed with emotions and cried when a fan video, presented by Jung Hae In Philippines, was shown containing messages from Filipino fans.
"Always remember that seasons may change but our love for you will always be the same. We love you, our Hae In,” the message in the video read.
Jung Hae-in commented, “Philippine Haeiness is the best. You know I didn’t expect this but thank you so much. You guys, Philippine Haeiness, are the ones who can actually give me the passion and also a touching moment for me. Mahal na mahal kita (I love you so much).”
In his parting message, he told fans, ““For all the Philippine Haeiness who attended my fan meeting today, I’ll make sure I will cherish each and everyone of you in my heart. It’s been four years since I had a fan meeting here and with your loud voices to the point that to all your voices that cheered me, it will also energize me a lot. I will never forget the eyes of every Haeiness in this place and when I go back to Korea, I’ll do my best for my acting career so I could give more comfort and joy to you guys.”
He ended the fan meeting with the song “I Choose to Love You.”
“I respect and love you,” said Jung Hae-in as he bowed to the audience.
The Jung Hae-in (정해인) “The 10th Season” 2023 Fan Meeting in Manila was presented by Viu Scream Dates and CDM Entertainment.