Imagine a world where Jung Hae-in gave up on his dream of becoming an actor. It doesn’t look good, does it? But this could have been the case if he followed his parents’ advice to not pursue acting.
“I felt lonely and there were difficult times, but I was confident I would be successful,” he said to a fan who asked advice from him through a letter.
The fan was disheartened because her parents were unsupportive of her chosen college major. He said that she should finish what she started and have faith that she made the right decision. The “10th Season” fan meeting is a celebration of the 10th anniversary of Jung Hae-in’s debut. It was held at the New Frontier Theater on Aug. 6.
Jung is one of the most beloved Korean actors in the country. This is his third fan meet, and yet there were hardly any empty seats. He came in 2018 and 2019 and was supposed to return in 2020 before COVID-19. He’s happy to be back after four years.
I can relax
He greeted the audience in Filipino after serenading them with “Crazy,” a song from the soundtrack from “D.P.,” his most recent drama.
He said, “Hello, Manila! Make some noise! Magandang gabi! Ikinagagalak ko na makita kayong muli. Na-miss ko kayo. (Good evening. I am happy to see you again because I missed you!)” He came onstage wearing a pastel-colored long-sleeved shirt, white pants, silver watch and bracelet. His accessories were sparse, but his smile shone brighter than all the lights in the venue.
The audience screamed in delight whenever he gifted them with it. “I feel nervous. My heart is beating so fast. Thank you for being here. I can relax,” Jung told host Sam Oh.
He shared how grateful he was that he doesn’t have to do the fan meeting by himself. The fan meeting ran for three hours. If Jung had his way, it would have been longer. Oh kept reminding him that he spent too much time in each segment of the show.
Playing
He went thoroughly through the Post-its containing questions from his fans. He wanted to hug everyone but realized it would take more than 10 hours. Jung begged Oh if he could play one last time in the golf putting segment because he wanted to score one more time. He did it at least four more times that Oh had to ask the production team to remove the props. He said, “If it weren’t for the host, I’d keep playing.” The audience laughed as he whined while his eyes followed the golf set being taken away.
He sang “Memories More Than Love” from the drama “Snowdrop” and “Hidden Road.” The latter is a song meant to comfort those going through challenging times. He talked about his “D.P.” castmates and how it was number 1 in Korea but only reached 10th place in the Philippines. Jung said,
“Philippine Haeiness (fandom), fighting!” He revealed that the running scene from “Tune in for Love” was more difficult than his scenes from “D.P.” because the director didn’t shout “cut” on the scene so he kept running for a long time.When the audience screamed Season 3 for “D.P.” he said,
Still popular
“I want to try other genres too, then I will do Season 3.” He also talked about his upcoming travel variety show with friend and fellow ’88 liner, singer-actor Im Si-wan. Jung also asked the audience to support his upcoming movie, “Veteran 2.”
When “Something in the Rain,” was voted by the audience as their favorite drama, It was the same in Korea.
“It has been five years already. Thank you for loving it. I am someone who keeps my promises, so please wait for me [to do another romance genre],” he said.
The actor had a ready answer why viewers liked it so much, he said, “I’m cute.”
Tightest embrace
A lot of fans won a close interaction with him, including a 78-year-old fan who walked on stage like a teenage girl after taking a selfie and receiving a gift and the tightest embrace from Jung. He got emotional upon reading a letter from one of his fans who thanked him for being the light that inspired her to overcome the dark period of her life.
Jung said that he has no immediate marriage plans because he wants to focus more on his acting career. But he did say, “If you were to love someone, love with all your heart, so there will be no regrets.”
When it was time to say goodbye, he said, “This is my problem whenever I have fan meetings. I know we have to end the show but I will prolong it.”
His boyish good looks captivates.
Best
“Philippine Haeiness are the best,” he said after watching the fan project. “Thank you for cheering for me. I will treasure each one of you. Maraming salamat po, mahal na mahal kita.”
He greeted everyone after, but he also gave them another surprise. He allowed them to use their mobile phones during the hi-bye session as long as no one attempts to do selfies. He wanted to look into their eyes as well. If he could go back and talk to himself from 10 years ago, he will tell his younger version that, “
You will be loved by many, so enjoy acting and always do your best.” The audience applauded, appreciative of the actor’s courage to follow his heart and share his gift to the world. Because what kind of world would it be if Jung Hae-in was not in it?
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