Under the Starry sky with CHA EUN-WOO: A fanmeeting to remember

Just One 10 minutes in Manila that became a space violet haven for Filipino K-fans!

  • By Claire A.

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Just as he promised, when Filipino K-fans spent a special day with him through the virtual Hallyu Hangouts last January 2022, CHA EUN-WOO is back again for another fan meeting! Only this time, it’s different. Thanks to Smart and Viu, fans got to finally see him live through the stage at the Araneta Coliseum last August 06, 2022. It was a surreal experience, that only months ago, we only got to watch him through the Smart GigaPlay App and months later, he’s finally in the Philippines, fresh from Seoul. The big dome was filled with K-fans, creating a space violet ocean for a starry night with everyone’s favorite, CHA EUN-WOO.

After serenading us with his first song, “First Love” and formally greeting fans after a long time, the next part of the fan meeting is a getting-to-know segment, Fact Check - Self Reported. CHA EUN-WOO and the host for the day — Sam Oh, got into talking about different scenarios where EUN-WOO answers with an O or X. The interactions with fans, EUN-WOO being puzzled by the questions in a cute way, was such a nice way to kick-off the fan meet. As the questions continued, not only did we get to know more about him, so did he about himself, he says. It shows how he really thinks deeply about a lot of things. Yet, his duality is astounding as he playfully declared to Filipino fans “You guys are super hot,” which made everyone in the crowd go wild. Crazy, sexy, cool (an Astro hit song, from his kpop group) somehow fits him, really.

For the next segment, we got to dive into his roles and learn more about “actor” CHA EUN-WOO with 5 minutes Straight. He personally introduced some of the drama projects in his roster. It was interesting to see the transition of the roles he’s had since his debut — from Do Kyung Soo in My ID is Gangnam Beauty, to period dramas like Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung. I feel like he really takes into consideration every role he gets, and every project he is in is always deemed a success. As a true fan service Prince, he indulged fans with reenactments of some of the lines from his dramas where he made our hearts flutter once more. He also did the famous aegyo (cute) scene from one of his dramas, True Beauty, making everyone sing along too. After the segment, he sang “Don’t Cry, My Love,” where he showed us his singing prowess that makes us doubt what he can’t do at this point.

Coming into the second half of the fan meet, CHA EUN-WOO and his team prepared a video where he showed his cooking skills and made camp-like foods such as canapes and latte, which was so adorable and fun to watch a new side to him. It was also nice to know the concept they had for this fan meeting is that CHA EUN-WOO wanted to go camping with his fans and “ride this caravan under the starry sky to meet my fans” he gushed, hence the Starry Caravan was born. After the video, he entered and sang us another one of his songs, “Focus on Me,” where we all literally focused on him the entire time (if he must know). The graphics behind him when he was singing enhanced the overall mood that it felt like he came out of a webtoon, truly.

The next part of the live meet had me bamboozled because it was the first for me to see a segment like that in a fan meeting, ever! Just as CHA EUN-WOO is like a human statue-esque to us all, (as we all know him to be a face genius, after all) he was challenged with creating a clay sculpture of himself with his own chosen photo. I didn’t know what the outcome was going to be, but seeing the process of him doing it, no matter how long it took, made me realize how dedicated he is to seeing something he started till the end. I feel an immense respect for him for turning this challenge around. This unique experience is something that I feel like I’ll always remember about CHA EUN-WOO, the budding artist, for a long time.

The overall experience was worth it and, in a way, made up for the lost time that he didn’t get to visit since the last in 2019. He showed a lot of what he was working on, whether it be singing, acting, variety, sports, dance, “face genius” or showcasing his piano skills beautifully to Shawn Mendes’ “When You’re Gone” — he truly is an all-rounder. I especially loved the encore stage, when he came back and handed out flowers and sang “Aloha,” which made everyone in the dome get up from their seats and screamed to their heart's content. Somehow, everyone that night was connected with the love they have for CHA EUN-WOO. Seeing your idol IRL and being together with other fans makes you electrified. It also makes one realize, at least for me, that experiences such as live shows like this, truly hits different. Nothing can beat the rush and the feeling that can only be encountered at that precise moment.

As much fun as everyone was having, the event had to end at some point. A video montage from fans was shown to CHA EUN-WOO just before he was about to take the group photo. I especially loved how he was so focused till the end of the fan video with such endearing eyes. For his epilogue, there was also a video message shown from CHA EUN-WOO to Arohas (official fan name), pouring his heart out to the fans after a really long time. “I won’t forget how I feel at this moment. I’ll be back to meet you again someday,” he said. It made me realize that, just as how fans were eager to see him, he was also feeling the same.

Through Smart’s new Power All and Giga K-Video promos, fans got an opportune shot at getting exclusive tickets to the live fan meet by just redeeming points via the GigaLife app. K-fans were able to score tickets to the CHA EUN-WOO Just One 10 Minute Fan meeting which gave the power for fans to enjoy K-life content how they want it. You can count on Smart & Viu to satisfy all of our K-life needs and deliver the K-life experience of a lifetime for us Filipino K-fans! I get the feeling that this is only the tip of the iceberg, and a lot more exclusive content & surprises are in store by Smart and Viu, powering up our K-life! Make sure to watch the exclusive CHA EUN-WOO Starry Caravan in Manila on the GigaPlay App. Download the GigaPlay App now: http://smrt.ph/gigaplay