SHOWBIZ BEAT MEDIA

Enhypen, a K-pop guy group based in South Korea, had their fan meet last December 3 at 6 o’clock in the evening at the Araneta Coliseum. This event was made possible by the cosmetics brand BYS, who celebrates their 10th anniversary.

As early as 12 o’clock in the afternoon, which is 6 hours before the fan meet proper, “Filo Engenes” (Filipino fans of the Kpop group meaning Enhypen’s gene) were already lining up at the venue to make sure they get the best seats in the house.

It is a trademark of productions showcasing Korean artists to start promptly, and this one did. There were three well-loved Filipino artists who did the opening act: Viva Entertainment’s male P-pop group VXON, their female P-pop group G22 (minus one member who was not feeling well), and “Asia’s Pop Heartthrob Darren Espanto”, who did a solo dance routine a la Michael Jackson towards the end of his number. 

As for the main part of the event, it started off by the announcement of the Enhypen members as BYS’ newest brand ambassadors: Jay, Sunoo, Jungwon, Ni-ki, Sunghoon, Jake, and Heeseung. Host Sam Oh then asked the 7 boys trivia questions like their experience coming to Manila, the story behind the name Enhypen, and even what they would bring  with them to a deserted island. The reception in the performance venue was nothing short of thunderous when Sunoo said: “I want to come to Manila to meet and hug my Filipino Engenes.”

The “Enhy-pens” segment involved them writing down their answers on the white board regarding slumbook type of questions like their favorite color, dessert, hobby, hidden talent, motto in life, etc. Jay’s motto is: “Be a better man than yesterday”. They were also asked which animal they’d rather be. Here are their picks: Wolf (Jake), eagle (Jay), deer (Heeseung), cow (Jungwon), dog (Sunghoon), lion (Ni-ki), and fox (Sunoo).

The next portion was “Enhy-pick” which is kind of a “fast talk” like what Boy Abunda’s known for, but instead of saying their pick out loud, they just have to raise their left or right hands to indicate their choices. They got asked regarding whether they’d rather fly via parachute and nap all day or eat all day. Heeseung is the sole individual whose choice is to eat all day, and there are lots of fodd that he wants to try. “But look at his physique naman, parang hindi naman siya pang-eat all day,” exclaimed Oh.

They were also asked to choose between having no wi-fi signal or just 1% phone battery, as well as whether they want to spend a day on the beach or go hiking in the mountains instead, among other things. Jay shared that he wants to visit Boracay.

Random video clips of the boys highlighting their career were shown, and they reacted to it. The most adorable clip was definitely the one showing Jungwon and Sunghoon cuddling kittens.

The “En-hy-pens” segment featured a series of questions aimed at revealing more about their bonding as a group, as well as their branding. Questions included were about their most memorable experience regarding their time in the countryside, the uniqueness of their latest music video ‘Future Perfect (Pass the Mic)’, etc.

“En-hy-play” got the audience members checking the bottom of their seats for star stickers, with the fortunate ones getting to partner with Enhypen members in playing charades. The lucky audience members made guesses while the Enhypen boys cutely utilized all parts of their bodies to give them the clues the best they can.

The most fun segment is “Enhy-Pinoy”, where random audience members got picked as participants via a huge beach ball being passed around. There were Filipino phrases shown onscreen, and each Enhypen member got the chance to improve or show off their respective Filipino accent, with their audience member partner guiding them along. The easiest phrase of the lot, which was “Magandang gabi”, went to Sunghoon. Ni-ki got “Mahal kita”, but his audience partner made him say “Mahal ko kayo Engene” instead.

The longest phrase was “Kumain ka nang maayos at matulog nang mahimbing”, which went to Jay, but he was able to pull it off. A fitting phrase to end the segment was “Maraming salamat, Pilipinas” which Jake got.

The boys also sang a few lines from their popular track ‘Polaroid Love’, and Sunki (Sunoo + Niki) did the “aegyo”, which is a defined in Wikipedia as Korean “display of  affection often expressed through a cute voice, changes to speech, facial expressions, or gestures”.

Wilbros Live is the promotional partner of the ‘BYS Enhypen Fun Meet in Manila’ event.

*Cover Photo/Thumbnail Photo from Showbiz Beat Media