Korean boyband M.Pire takes the stage at KFest5

As the subculture of KPop grows, so do the conventions. Lately, the big events have been inviting KPop stars to perform and get closer to their fans. KFest Manila Events and Management invited Xander Eusebio in their 2013 year-ender event, and now it has invited not just one solo artist, but a group: M.Pire, a new boyband whose name is short for “Music Vampire.”

While fans, cosplayers, and cover groups battled it out inside the two Megatrade Halls, a small crowd of fans waited outside the Megatrade Conference Hall to catch a glimpse of their idols on the KFest stage. A few minutes later, six good-looking boys entered the hall to squeals from fans—a reception that surprised them.

Behind their managers they stood single file. M.Pire’s leader Tae-Hee greeted the media in a very soft-spoken manner, and the other members followed suit. Then the manager told us that the interview would start in an hour, and the group left the room to resume practicing.

While waiting, we got back to where the party was happening. Cut-out standees of Kim Soo-Hyun (the lead actor who plays Matteo Do in GMA’s Koreanovela “My Love from the Star”) could be spotted in different areas of the hall, with fans getting their pictures taken with it as if they were the Steffi (Cheon Song-Yi) to its Matteo.

An hour passed and we returned to the conference hall to finally interview the boys. The set-up was simple, with M.Pire seated opposite us along with two translators. Being youngest of the group, Jerry was full of energy. Beside him was Lumin, who shared the same aura as him.

When asked about the fans waiting for them outside, T.O replied: “The Filipinos’ reception of us was very unexpected. We were surprised that there are fans waiting for us, so we want to give our best performance to show our love to them.”

After hours of waiting for the boys—with the fans holding up posters and banners and loudly chanting their names—M.Pire finally got up on stage.

The group performed their first ballad of the afternoon, “On my mind.” The song was composed by one of Korea’s top Hallyu stars, Kim Jae-Joong of JYJ, who then gave it to the group as a gift. Upon hearing me say the name Kim Jae-Joong, the members' faces lit up. I asked them what kind of advice have their seniors, such as Kim Jae-Joong, given them: “It was the same advice to rookie groups, they tell us to continue to work hard.”

Halfway through the performance, a short aegyo (cute face) battle between Jerry and Haru delighted the fans, but before that, we were lucky enough to see the aegyos of not just the two, but all of them—plus a debut of Yoo-Seung’s aegyo he never knew he had.



During the raffle, fans got a chance to share a moment with M.Pire. Some took selfies with their phones, while others even got a hug from their idols.

When asked what makes them unique from the other rookie groups in KPop, M.Pire's answer was, “We are not any better than the other groups, but what we hope to be famous for is our creativity in our music.”

In the competitive arena of KPop, every group is trying to find their niche. What makes M.Pire unique is their humility and the gratitude they’ve shown not only to their fans, but to everyone in the conference hall.

After their encore performance, M.PIre returned on stage once again to sign autographs and have a 10-second moment with the audience members, building a solid empire in each fan's heart. — BM, GMA News