Become a Star

<Hanryang Doryeong’s true identity was Chae Woo-Jin>

Hanryang Doryeong defeated Snowflake Fairy (Na Yu-Ri) by a margin of 93 votes and ultimately attained his fifth victory. However, his decision to leave the show remained unchanged; Hanryang Doryeong took off his mask as planned and stepped down as the Masked King through his own volition. The viewers were so curious about his identity that the viewership ratings hit 42% at the moment he removed his mask.

When Hanryang Doryeong revealed his face after removing the mask, I’m certain that almost everybody was stumped by this turn of events. The person behind Hanryang Doryeong’s mask is none other than the young and handsome actor, Chae Woo-Jin. Instead of the middle-aged singer that everyone expected, Woo-Jin appeared and shattered their expectations and dealt a blow to public prejudice.

–– I had goosebumps all over just by watching it yesterday! Initially, I thought the production team and Hanryang Doryeong were pulling a prank on the viewers. If Chae Woo-Jin hadn’t sung after removing his mask, I wouldn’t have believed it was him. Goddamn, how can Hanryang Doryeong be Chae Woo-Jin!!

└ So what if Hanryang Doryeong is Chae Woo-Jin? Your words are kinda strange.

└ I apologize for causing any misunderstanding. I was just trying to say that I couldn’t believe it when I first saw him.

–– Honestly, I’m still in a state of shock. I never expected Hanryang Doryeong to be Chae Woo-Jin. Whenever I heard people talking about him, I thought that he was only a handsome actor so I wasn’t really interested in him. I just started watching City of Shadows recently and I regret not becoming his fan back then!

└ I started watching Chae Woo-Jin’s movies yesterday as well, and it’s time for me to startCity of Shadows. I also downloaded ‘The Wind That Blows From You’ and I’m looking for the edited version of ‘Shining Star’ with only his parts.

└ TM just released the original version of ‘Shining Star’ which was sung by Chae Woo-Jin earlier.

Hanryang Doryeong’s fans started showing love for Chae Woo-Jin and learned new things about Woo-Jin that they didn’t know before, and they also began to watch the previous productions that he acted in. The revelation that Hanryang Doryeong was Chae Woo-Jin was so well-received that the movies, dramas, and variety shows that he was casted in started trending on internet search engines and were at the top of the list.

–– Ah!! That’s why they delayed the release of ‘Shining Star’. I cussed at TM for using dirty tricks but it turns out they were being considerate. If they released it earlier, people would have realized that Hanryang Doryeong was Chae Woo-Jin.

└ I’m just speculating but I think DS was the one that stopped TM from releasing it. TM's not suicidal.

└ Ah I think you meant to say ‘considerate’? [1] But the word ‘suicidal’ fits this situation perfectly for some reason.

–– When the Blue Fit scandal broke out, I wasn’t interested in Blue Fit or Chae Woo-Jin so I didn’t think much about it… But now that it’s over, I’m getting mad about it. May Hanryang Doryeong’s future be smooth-sailing from now on!!

└ It might sound harsh but as Hanryang Doryeong’s fan, if Chae Woo-Jin was a member of Blue Fit, I might cuss at him. I’m really very happy that justice is on our side. My blood is also boiling just by thinking about Blue Fit, albeit belatedly.

–– Justice? Oh please! He intentionally went on the show so that he could beat Min Si-Hoo. In any case, it’s rather childish and petty of him to take revenge.

└ I don’t know what you’re talking about. Chae Woo-Jin clearly stated in the beginning that there was a scheduling conflict and that he would be able to go on the show after March, but he still appeared on the show because the PD insisted. It’s a fact that has been confirmed and acknowledged by the PD himself. Why are you making baseless accusations! And what’s wrong with taking revenge? I’m always in favor of seeking this kind of revenge.

–– The PD must have insisted on getting Chae Woo-Jin on the show because he wanted to stir some drama by pitting him against Min Si-Hoo, but he ended up shooting himself in the foot. Who’s going to watch The King of the Masked Singers now that Hanryang Doryeong is gone??

└ I second that. The show was good, but it reached its peak because of Hanryang Doryeong. Since he has defeated Choi Hee-Jeong, Kwon Yeol, Cho Dong-Il, and Na Yu-Ri, I can’t help but lose interest in the show. It seems like for the time being, it'll be boring regardless of who goes on the show.

–– I feel so bad for Na Yu-Ri. She sang so well that I thought she was singing her favorite song, but she only received three votes. T_T

└ Didn’t she sing to the best of her abilities this time around? Since she has gotten the same number of votes as Min Si-Hoo, it’s obvious that she’s not that great.

└ What are you talking about?? As compared to when Hanryang Doryeong pitted against Min Si-Hoo, Hanryang Doryeong seemed to have taken Na Yu-Ri very seriously. You must be deaf or something. Nevertheless, Na Yu-Ri got three votes. Also, the three people that voted for Min Si-Hoo fessed up, saying they voted for him because they were fans of Blue Fit, but in fact, they wanted to vote for Hanryang Doryeong. The Blue Hole members self-evaluated it as votes from die-hard fans.

As promised, the day after Hanryang Doryeong was revealed to be Chae Woo-Jin, TM finally released ‘Shining Star’ after all the delays. People only understood why TM delayed the release after listening to ‘Shining Star’. It was sung with Chae Woo-Jin’s natural voice, which was different from his other singing voices that the public was familiar with. Even though he had not reached his peak back then and his voice was still unseasoned compared to his present skills, it was so full of emotions that it was in a different league compared to the original song sung by Min Si-Hoo.

As a result, it further exonerated Seol Moon-Young. People understood that it would have been difficult for anybody to let Chae Woo-Jin’s voice go to waste. Now that Hanryang Doryeong had been revealed to be Chae Woo-Jin, Seol Moon-Young’s side of the story gained even more sympathy from the public.

Back then, there were people who fell in love with the masterpiece, ‘Shining Star’, and became fans of Blue Fit. There were also people who fell in love with Hanryang Doryeong after witnessing his skills. It was only natural for these two groups of people to become new fans of Chae Woo-Jin. Thus, in just one day, the influx of new members in Chae Woo-Jin’s Fancafe grew exponentially.

<I’ve been looking at the increase in the number of Fancafe members, as well as the registration posts in real-time since yesterday, and I’m floored. Even though I already knew the true identity of Hanryang Doryeong, I couldn’t help but feel thrilled yesterday. But when exactly did our dear Genie learn traditional dance and music? I know someone in that field, and I heard that they’re getting all riled up over there too.

While a lot of authoritative figures in the traditional culture field do not really welcome the idea of showcasing traditional culture on variety shows, some people argue that they can’t go against the current trends and that they have to make changes in order to stay relevant. So it seems like they are having an internal conflict.

Hence, when Hanryang Doryeong appeared, it was believed that he would be the successor to Korean traditional culture even though he was a singer. Thus, while some people dislike the idea of it because they think it’s undignified and frivolous, there are many people that welcomed it, saying that it was in line with the times and that Hanryang Doryeong was a newcomer that appealed to the masses.

So, when Hanryang Doryeong’s identity was revealed, I expected it to shake up the traditional culture world, but in reality… ;;[2] I guess there were some powerful figures who were relieved to hear it, and others who drank their disappointment away last night. Furthermore, Genie’s geonmu wasn’t just a simple dance. I looked into it back when he shot the commercial for the telecommunications company, but the way he wields the sword is extraordinary. After seeing his geonmu, the people who were critical towards Hanryang Doryeong ended up falling in love with him. An acquaintance of mine also drank till morning and called me to complain after remembering that I’m Genie’s fan.>

–– Who wouldn’t want Genie? I heard that the people who are preparing for a historical film are going crazy. Originally, they wanted to cast Chae Woo-Jin, but I guess some people were concerned because they felt that he was too modernized for the role. But after yesterday’s episode, they realized that they had all been worried for nothing.

└ Genie has monolids; he has a face that’s perfect for historical dramas and films, so what’s there to worry about? Man! Everything about him looks handsome, from his face to his body structure. His posture is so straight and great. Hmph.

–– We have a lot to teach the new members. Should I open a crash course on the bulletin board?

└ That’s a good idea. After all, we’re a Fancafe with history and tradition.

–– After hearing ‘Shining Star’ that was released today, I realized that 20 year old Genie was a beast as well. I can fully comprehend why Seol Moon-Young wanted to use his voice.

└ In a nutshell, TM did something stupid. I bet you a hundred won that CEO Kim is downing bottles of alcohol by now.

└ He should be doing that for the rest of his life.

–– That man kicked Genie out when he was having a hard time instead of taking care of him. It’s obvious what the future of that person is going to be.

– There’s a Fool Hole fan who attends the same hagwon [3] as me. She was totally in low spirits today. Just a few days ago, even though those fools messed up, she claimed that Min Si-Hoo was better than Genie at singing and chose to die on that hill. She couldn’t even look me in the eyes today.

└ They still have fans? The people around me said that it was crazy and that they left the fan club because they were disappointed ??

└ There are still a lot of them left. They lied to the fans abroad and cussed at Genie. I had to explain the truth to them again.

└ If they’re fans from abroad, that means you explained in a foreign language? You’re so talented!

The barags used to refer to Blue Fit as ‘the blue people’. But after TM's official press conference, they started to call them the Fools. The nicknames were becoming more and more intense.

The members of Wish Baragi had already expected Hanryang Doryeong to be Chae Woo-Jin. They had been waiting for this moment and when it came, they simply enjoyed it. They had truly felt like they were at war for the past two months. The barags had hated TM and Blue Fit for a very long time, but they didn’t exactly have a reason to do so. They simply didn’t like Blue Fit because Chae Woo-Jin wasn’t part of the group, and they hated TM for letting him go.

After learning the truth, they realized how great their intuition was, and it was heartbreaking for them to know that there was a clear basis for their hatred. It was a lot easier for them to hate Blue Fit and TM out of pettiness. Even after TM's official press conference, the process of searching for defamation comments and posts written by Blue Hole members, fighting them and eventually emerging victorious was a tearful journey. It might have been even more arduous if they weren’t comforted by Hanryang Doryeong’s performances, as well as Woo-Jin’s commercial.

Meanwhile, some of the barags went on a mission to catch the people who stole the life-sized cutouts from the telecommunication company’s stores. There were others who toured around the library that Chae Woo-Jin was reportedly seen at. Additionally, Jin-Hee’s Mother uploaded photos of Chae Woo-Jin in his everyday life every now and then. She became the new rising star amongst the barags.

<I’ll be posting a photo that I received from Genie’s mother today. When I told Genie’s mother that the previous photo was very well-received by you guys, she was very happy, So, she sent me this, asking if it was good enough to be posted.>

Park Eun-Soo took a photo of her son while she was watching The King of the Masked Singers with her family yesterday, and posted it on Wish Baragi. Initially, she felt awkward to pretend like she was an acquaintance of Chae Woo-Jin, while hiding the fact that she was actually his mother. But after doing it a couple of times, the lies piled up and she became increasingly brazen.

Woo-Jin hadn’t cut his hair in a while ahead of the bar exam, saying he didn’t want to jinx it. Seeing him do something he hasn’t done for his CSAT [4], Park Eun-Soo could felt that he genuinely wanted to pass. Hence, Woo-Jin would pin his bangs back when he was at home because they were annoying. Park Eun-Soo took a photo of Woo-Jin eating an apple with his bangs pinned to the back when he looked at her, with Hanryang Doryeong dancing on the TV behind him. When Park Eun-Soo asked when Woo-Jin learned how to dance like that, her son laughed mischievously and said it was top secret.

1. The previous commenter used the word ‘자살’ which means to commit suicide, while ‘자상' means considerate. ☜

2. The double ; was left as it was in the raw ☜

3. Hagwons (학원) are after-school academies/private institutions/cram school in Korea ☜

4. College Scholastic Ability Test or CSAT, also abbreviated Suneung, is a standardized test which is recognized by South Korean universities. ☜