MANILA, Philippines — Rising K-pop group AHOF is set to hold its first fan concert in the Philippines, with Filipino member JL calling the milestone a personal dream fulfilled.
The nine-member boy group — composed of Steven, Seo Jeongwoo, Cha Woongki, Zhang Shuaibo, Park Han, JL, Park Juwon, Chih En, and Daisuke — will meet Filipino fans for the first time at their “1st Philippine FanCon Rendezvous in Manila” today, at 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
In a media conference on Friday ahead of the sold-out show, JL said, “This is a dream come true. I always say that I come home here alone. I see comments from fans hoping that next time I’ll be with the members. Now, we’re all finally here together. It wasn’t easy, especially knowing how supportive Filipinos are… but the kind of support and love we’re receiving makes us very happy and more passionate about doing our activities here.”
Their FanCon sold out in just 30 minutes, an achievement that even surprised the members themselves.
“JL showed us how big Araneta Coliseum is, and we wondered if we could fill it. But we were shocked because it sold out. We can’t believe it. We’re super excited to perform in JL’s hometown,” said Cha Woongki.
Formed through SBS’s global survival program “Universe League” in 2024, AHOF — short for All-time Hall Of Famer — debuted in January with their mini album Who We Are and lead single “Rendezvous.” The group quickly earned rookie awards, including the ENA Rising Star Award and the K-World Dream Super Rookie Award, and set a record of 360,985 first-week album sales, ranking among the top five K-pop boy group debuts of all time. Under F&F Entertainment, they are also called “monster rookies” for having already won fans worldwide with their performances and charm.
For JL, being able to share his homecoming with the group makes the moment even more special.
His bandmates credited him for introducing them to Filipino culture.
“When it comes to words, he taught us mahal kita (I love you) and maraming salamat po (thank you very much). For food, he made us try pancit canton, which is really delicious. He also showed us lots of memes and poses,” said Jeongwoo.
“He taught us to use po. He said every sentence should end with po. Because he taught me that, I sometimes add po even to Korean or Japanese words,” added Daisuke.
“JL said the fast food here in the Philippines is really good. But the first thing I tried was the sweet yellow mangoes,” Woongki shared.
Looking ahead, the group said they were still exploring their identity through different genres and concepts, but JL emphasized that they want to keep their connection with fans authentic.
“One of the things we hold on to as a group is that, as much as possible, everything we do, we want it to be natural because that way, we can connect with our fans not only through music,” JL said.
AHOF will also hold a fan-signing event on Aug. 31, 4 p.m., at the Main Atrium of Robinsons Galleria, extending their first Philippine visit into a three-day celebration with their supporters.
