K-pop star Rain apologised to a fan on the social media app Threads on Jan 19 after a misunderstanding at his Taipei concert.
The fan, who goes by Chichi, took to Threads to share her experience at the Jan 17 show, where Rain had asked her to jump during an interaction segment.
She was standing in the mosh pit right by the stage.
In the video she posted which was taken by her companion, Rain could be seen asking the audience to jump up and down and noticed she wasn’t doing so. When Rain asked her why, Chichi could be seen pointing briefly at her ear but Rain didn’t seem to have noticed it.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to dance, it’s that I didn’t understand what Rain and the translator were saying at all. Because I have a hearing impairment, I need lip-reading or real-time subtitles to help me,” she said in the post.
She explained that she misunderstood what he was trying to say: “I thought he wanted me to sing ‘la la la,’ so I sang it really loudly the first time. He wasn’t satisfied and stomped his foot, then called me to do it again. I saw him make a ‘Up, up’ gesture and thought he wanted me to sing in a higher note. I even thought I didn’t sing high enough and said sorry to him!”
She added that she didn’t want the 43-year-old singer to think she’s a “disobedient fan”, and attached a photo with two friends who went to the concert with her, both of whom are also hearing-impaired.
They had gone to Rain’s concerts in Kaohsiung and Taipei Arena, even though they had trouble understanding him, because they love his dancing and humour.
Hoping Rain would see her post, Chichi tagged his account and added: “Today happens to be my birthday. Although being noticed by Rain is already the best birthday gift, my third wish is for him to see this post. I hope Rain knows my situation; I didn’t intentionally not dance. I don’t want him to misunderstand that fans in the mosh pit are lacklustre.”
On the same day, Rain responded in Chinese and apologised for what happened.
“I’m really sorry, I didn’t know you couldn’t hear. It’s my fault for not being considerate and thoughtful enough,” he said in the replies section.
“I wish you a happy birthday! Although this little incident happened, we’ve created a wonderful memory because of it.”
He said the experience has made him realise he needs to be “more careful” in all aspects of his performances in the future.
“Thank you so much for coming to the show, I’m very touched. Although we couldn’t hear each other’s voices or understand each other’s words on stage, I could see the warmth in your eyes and the sincerity in your gaze as you cheered me on. Love you guys, thank you.”
In response, Chichi expressed her joy at being his fan, thanking netizens who had helped to pass her message to him. She hopes he could provide real-time Chinese subtitles at future concerts so she could interact with him more.
With a laughing emoji, she added: “If I have the chance to be spotted by you again next time, I will definitely jump up with all my might.”
Rain, whose real name is Jung Ji-hoon, debuted in 1998 and is considered an icon in South Korean showbiz. Longtime K-drama fans may also know him from his lead role in Full House (2004) alongside Song Hye-kyo.
He is married to actress Kim Tae-hee and they have two daughters aged seven and nine.
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