After Tae-ha’s first-ever fan meeting ended,
reviews poured out across various SNS and online communities.
The first thing to capture people’s attention was AH Entertainment’s management style, which was unthinkable for a debut fan meeting.
The low ticket price, all the free Tae-ha merchandise, the staff strategically placed for a comfortable experience, and finally, the handwritten letter prepared by Tae-ha himself.
Tae-ha’s first fan meeting was overflowing with praiseworthy aspects in its operation.
This was especially true because many agencies often viewed fans merely as a source of income when running fan meetings.
AH Entertainment’s approach felt quite unfamiliar.
And it delivered a significant shock.
Most fans hadn’t known fan meetings could be run this way.
The shock was amplified because it contrasted sharply with the criticism AH Entertainment had initially received for preparing a 400-seat fan meeting that seemed mismatched with Tae-ha’s popularity.
On various SNS and community sites, discussions arose questioning whether operating a fan meeting like this would even result in a profit.
And then, in reality,
articles appeared with headlines like:
[Kang Tae-ha’s First Fan Meeting Was ‘Incredibly Generous’… Surprisingly, It Was Actually a ‘Loss’]
It was true. Tae-ha’s fan meeting had indeed operated at a loss.
Because of this, fans of Tae-ha and other actors and singers couldn’t help but be in an uproar.
While they were grateful for the excellent fan meeting, some voiced concerns, saying, “But isn’t running at a loss a bit much, no matter how you look at it?”
Some people, envious and jealous of how flawlessly Tae-ha’s fan meeting had gone, even raised malicious questions, suggesting the on-site staff might not have been paid properly.
But both Tae-ha and AH Entertainment remained composed.
And as the controversy grew, AH Entertainment released an official statement.
The statement explained that this fan meeting was a place to reciprocate the amazing love Tae-ha had received so far, and as such, they had focused not on profit but on delivering the best love possible as a result.
It also stated that to ensure this meaning wasn’t diminished, they had generously paid the employees who helped with the fan meeting industry-leading wages.
AH Entertainment promised they would continue to spare no effort in supporting their artists in the future.
Afterwards, someone who had worked as a security guard at Tae-ha’s fan meeting came forward to testify that they had indeed been paid top-tier wages, and the controversy subsided.
Simultaneously, praise poured in for Tae-ha and AH Entertainment’s unbelievable decision.
Especially for AH Entertainment, a small-to-medium-sized agency that had long been overlooked, its image improved significantly.
This was evidenced by the comments being posted about the incident:
-“AHH haha Seems like a better company than I thought haha- Maybe they didn’t just luck out in discovering Kang Tae-ha…”
-“Kang Tae-ha succeeded on his own kek What did AHH even do kek”
-“It’s actually a problem that they couldn’t promote a talent like â—‹â—‹ who can act and write.”
-“But in the end, didn’t Tae-ha succeed because AHH allowed his writing activities?”
-“Tae-ha was always a good actor. Don’t spread nonsense.”
-“Originally, it was an AHH employee who suggested Tae-ha try acting again after his agency went under and he left the industry.”
-“Oh, I saw an interview about that. Apparently, the manager was a childhood friend.”
-“It’s an undeniable fact that AHH was serious about discovering new talent haha”
-“The trap is that Kang Tae-ha is the only one who hit it big among them..”
-“I think AHH’s Im Geon-won and Han Ji-hee aren’t bad either ^^”
-“Setting everything else aside, it’s a fact that AHH ran this fan meeting well.”
-“Companies like this should do well.”
-“Ultimately, isn’t AHH showing it’s a company with potential by promoting Kang Tae-ha?”
-“They handled the fan meeting so well, actors might show interest?”
-“I saw an article that Han Woo-ri, who was the sub-male lead in ‘You Shine,’ is signing with AHH.”
-“I heard from a sister who works in the industry that a big-name free agent actor is considering transferring to AHH.”
-“Which big-name FA? Han Yun-seong? Lee Seok-hyun? Seon Min-gi?”
-“Ah kekkek If all three went to AHH, that would be hilarious.”
As mentioned in the comments, Han Woo-ri had indeed signed an exclusive contract with AH Entertainment this time.
Her choice was influenced not just by Tae-ha being with AH Entertainment, but significantly by the company’s positive care for its artists.
Because of this, many other actors besides Han Woo-ri were positively considering contracts with AH Entertainment.
In fact, the number of people contacting Tae-ha separately to ask what AH Entertainment was really like was gradually increasing.
In conclusion, from the perspective of achieving these results, this fan meeting couldn’t be seen as a pure loss for AH Entertainment.
In some ways, it could even be considered a profit.
***
Next, the thing that received the most attention was undoubtedly the three-part talk show featuring surprise guests Han Yun-seong, Lee Seok-hyun, and Seon Min-gi.
In particular, the part where Seok-hyun mentioned going to a sauna with Tae-ha, causing Yun-seong and Min-gi to step back during their pride battle, became a huge topic.
Also, the part where Yun-seong, Seok-hyun, and Min-gi started fighting again with absurd stories to trick Tae-ha and finally succeeded in their hidden camera prank became a major talking point.
-“A sauna? kekekkek Why are they both jealous? kekekkek”
-“Why are you asking if it was good? kekekkek Seriously kek”
-“Yun-seong’s eyes going wide like a rabbit’s, so cute ã… ã… ”
-“Min-gi oppa pretending not to care but still being jealous is even cuter ã… ã… ”
-“No, kekekkek Why does Kang Tae-ha look like he’s listening to someone else’s story in the middle of all that? kekekkek”
-“Does Kang Tae-ha have some kind of older brother magnet or something? Why does everyone like him so much?”
-“Someone asked Seon Min-gi before, and he said there’s something strangely appealing about Kang Tae-ha. Like he’s a younger brother, an older brother, and a friend all at once or something.”
-“Definitely, looking at Kang Tae-ha, he gives off a different vibe from other actors his age.”
-“Well, first of all, he’s handsome… to a crazy degree.”
-“He must seem handsome to other actors too, right? Kang Tae-ha?”
-“Obviously, kekekkek”
-“Anyway, I didn’t know all three would appear as guests at the fan meeting;;”
-“The fact that they crammed all three into the talk show is even more shocking.”
-“It feels like Kang Tae-ha kek gave up halfway on stopping them from fighting and just watched. Is it just me?”
-“Agreed. He seemed to have given up on stopping them to some extent.”
-“But then they fought so much he couldn’t even give up later, it seems.”
-“Right kekekkek He looked flustered but also like he couldn’t understand why they were fighting over this kekekkek”
-“I think it’s the first time I’ve seen Kang Tae-ha genuinely flustered like that?”
-“Maybe because of his image of being good at everything, I feel like I’ve never seen him flustered.”
-“I heard Tae-ha’s fans actually asked the three to fight over something weird on purpose haha They thought if it was too logical, Kang Tae-ha wouldn’t fall for it haha”
-“Of course he couldn’t suspect it when they went all out like that kekekkek”
-“It’s been a while… a celebrity who genuinely falls for a hidden camera prank at a fan meeting..”
-“Tae-ha’s crying ã… ã… He seems truly moved?”
-“The fact that he realized he’s someone worthy of receiving love is so touching ã… ã… ”
-“Ah! Tae-ha! You are definitely someone worthy of love!”
-“Tae-ha ã… ã… We love you ã… ã… ”
Incidentally, an unusually large number of high-quality fancams of Tae-ha’s fan meeting were released.
The reason was none other than AH Entertainment not imposing any restrictions on fancam recording.
Of course, that didn’t mean they allowed recording to the point of disturbing other fans’ viewing.
However, they did not restrict fans at all from using their own cameras or phones to record, as long as they stayed in their seats and didn’t disturb others.
Tae-ha and AH Entertainment’s stance was, how could they prevent fans who legitimately purchased tickets and attended the fan meeting from recording to preserve their memories?
Because of this, more high-quality fancam videos than usual were released from Tae-ha’s fan meeting, maximizing the immersion for those watching them.
This was also why the scene of Tae-ha shedding tears, moved by the hidden camera video prepared by his fans, stirred the emotions of so many people.
So many people cried along that reading the comments could make you feel like you were at a funeral hall.
***
However, there was something that received even more attention at Tae-ha’s fan meeting than these surprise guest appearances.
That was the performance Tae-ha prepared.
True to the fan meeting’s lack of recording restrictions, a vast number of videos of Tae-ha’s performance were released.
He sang almost as many songs as a typical singer’s fan meeting, so it was inevitable that many videos would surface.
And people who checked out Tae-ha’s performance videos couldn’t hide their surprise.
They couldn’t help it, because Tae-ha’s live singing skills were beyond imagination.
For this fan meeting performance, Tae-ha sang every single song live.
Even when dancing, he sang directly without using any backing track (AR).
It wasn’t because he was particularly confident in his singing skills.
It was because he wanted to let his fans hear his voice as it was, whether it sounded good or not.
And this, unexpectedly, became an opportunity to confirm Tae-ha’s live singing ability.
Everyone who witnessed Tae-ha’s live skills was amazed.
Because he displayed a talent that didn’t lag behind singers famous for their live performances.
In fact, after “Rebel Anthem” topped the music charts, many fans of singers had doubted Tae-ha’s live ability.
Usually, when an OST tops the charts, the singer appears on music shows to perform it, but Tae-ha did none of that, which fueled the doubts.
Some people even concluded that his skill was all due to autotune.
But Tae-ha’s performance videos completely shattered that notion.
There were even opinions that watching his live performance was even more spine-tingling.
That’s how incredible Tae-ha’s live skills were.
Some people even became new fans after watching the performance videos.
But there was something even more shocking than these live performance videos, and that was, of course, the debut stage of Prequel.
The fact that Tae-ha reunited with his former Freesia bandmates to start Prequel, a workplace band, was unimaginable.
And their skills were also incredible.
This was proven by the amazing view counts on the separately edited videos of “Tom Boy” and “Twenty-Five, Twenty-One” uploaded by one of Tae-ha’s fans.
However, the video that undoubtedly recorded even more views than these two combined was the one for “We’re Getting Closer.”
In fact, among all the freely recorded fan meeting videos, the “We’re Getting Closer” video had the highest view count.
It couldn’t be helped.
Because the narrative behind the birth of the song “We’re Getting Closer,”
the completeness of the song “We’re Getting Closer,”
and the skill of the people singing and performing “We’re Getting Closer” live—
all three elements were perfect.
As evidence, “We’re Getting Closer,” released the day after the fan meeting, topped the music charts in just one day.
It was a stunning result no one had anticipated.