EXO’s Baekhyun says ‘Hello, Manila’

Nothing can truly prepare anyone for a meeting with Baekhyun. He is, after all, a K-pop legend. He helped shape K-pop into what it is today, setting the standard for what it means to be a well-rounded idol. He debuted 13 years ago as part of EXO and continues to set records as a soloist. His latest album, “Hello, World,” has sold over 1.2 million copies, making him the first Korean solo artist in 23 years to have multiple albums surpass the 1-million sales mark.
Over the weekend, he was in Manila for the fan meeting “The Best Day with Bench” at the Mall of Asia Arena. Baekhyun is one of the latest celebrities to join as Global Benchsetter, the Filipino lifestyle brand’s lineup of ambassadors.
Lifestyle interviewed Baekhyun at Lanson Place, Mall of Asia. He had gone to the hotel straight from a stop in Guadalupe, Makati, where he checked out his multiple Bench billboards. He would later post this on Instagram. He wore a black jacket over a white Bench tee and khaki pants.

Baekhyun’s skin was smooth and clear, and his face seemed smaller than the palm of this writer’s hand. His curly hair tumbled wildly over his forehead, making him look like a puppy. His fingers were long and thin, and I thought that perhaps this was why he played the piano so well.
He had a habit of tucking his hands under his thighs when answering questions, which made him seem shy. The more he became comfortable, the lesser he did this.
Typically, I start the interview right away to maximize my time. But for the first time, I couldn’t—because, to my immense horror, my mouth just blurted out what I was thinking: “You are so cute!”

Baekhyun gave a small smile in response, perhaps not knowing how to react. I wasn’t trying to win brownie points—it was simply an honest observation. I had to take a deep breath and fan myself before I could proceed.
Baekhyun is his own man. There was no question he skipped. The only time he hesitated was when I pressed him for spoilers—but he answered anyway. He is the king of spoilers, after all. He even pointed out a question that he likes.
“I like this question, I will answer this question, I will do it,” he said. Baehhyun is undoubtedly talented. He is tall, pogi, and fits the ideal man. But you have to give him props for his sincerity, honesty, and wit as well.

Baekhyun as a person is as fascinating as the artist.
Here’s our conversation:
You’ve been doing plenty of Weverse Live sessions lately, and a lot of them end up going viral. Have any of your neighbors knocked on your door to complain about the noise you’ve been making?
My house has a very good soundproofing system (laughs). Whenever I move houses, I check the soundproofing system. And there may be instances that other people would have heard me, but maybe they have a big heart to understand that it’s Baekhyun.
So nobody knocks on your door and screams, (stated in Korean) “Yah, Baekhyunah, quiet, please?”
(He laughs, repeats the word “quiet” and shakes his head to say “no.”) Never happened.
It’s been 13 years since you debuted. You’ve achieved so much as an artist as part of EXO, SuperM, and as a soloist. I want to ask if there’s still anything about this business that surprises you. If yes, what are those?
First of all, I have to get used to more social media platforms that have been created. It’s constantly changing at a very fast pace. It feels like the music style, too, and everything else is changing very quickly, so I think it’s always new for me and I need to get used to it. In fact, even if I go to a music show, the atmosphere is different every year. What I have to do is different each time, so even when I’m making a comeback (new album), I feel like I’m making a debut stage, (again) too.
My next question is connected to that. You mentioned social media, but can you specify the changes that you had to adapt to, like on TikTok, Instagram, and X?
During my time, the style of Instagram was posting hashtags. That was the system. But now there are two things: Rather than writing a long caption, it’s more on emojis.
For photos, selfies were preferred before, but now someone else takes the shot for you. That’s the thing that has changed the most and it was hard for me to get used to it, so I kind of paused my Instagram activities. But with the help of the staff of the new company, I am really challenging myself to get used to this Instagram platform. I am doing it little by little.
For TikTok, it may seem like I don’t practice for the dance moves but I practice a lot. Actually, I was practicing yesterday as well. I had some time to film TikTok. I think I filmed it about 25 times. I had to stop halfway during the shoot to practice the steps again.
What TikTok challenge is that?
It has a lot of steps. It will be up very, very soon. So please look forward to it.
Is it your song?
(Baekhyun gives a small smile and looks at the staff behind this writer.) No, no.
With another group?
Yep!
Now, I’m very curious what that song might be. Do you know about the Gen Z blur? Like now you can take pictures and it’s blurred and that’s okay. Before on Instagram, we had filters that had to look really good. But now it’s more relaxed.
Yes, I know. It was amazing. I was really surprised.
In the past, people liked pictures with a lot of (idol’s) faces. But now, just in the case of blurred pictures, even if the post doesn’t have my face, they like the mood of the picture. I think they like to zoom in on my accessories and see my hands. I think the standard of appreciating posts has elevated. I think people are looking at the picture more than just looking at the face.
You’ve always been a trendsetter.
No, I’m not. I’m not.
You are, you are, you are.
(Baekhyun shakes his head “no.”)
But all the things that you do go viral. I think, just last month, you commented on the post of a fan of another group and said, “Hello … it’s me.” It’s so funny and you wrote it in English! I guess I want to know how much time do you spend online and how do you choose the people that you’re going to comment to? What usually prompts you to reply?
I don’t spend a lot of time online on social media, but I’m always on my phone. I watch YouTube a lot. But when I have a schedule, I go to the place where my fans are playing. I feel good when I go to that place where I see how they’re playing, I check what EXO-Ls want and how they’re feeling. Once I realize that nothing special happened that day, I feel more comfortable going back to work. That’s what I’ve been doing.
I recently found platform X and it was very funny. There was a person who bought an album from a different group but my photo card came out. And that person commented, “Who’s this?” Of course, I debuted a long time ago and I thought I should let them know who I am, make them feel my presence and that I’m still alive. So I wrote, “Hello … it’s me.”
Can you name something that you’ve accomplished that you’re immensely proud of?
I’m proud of the fact that I was able to successfully finish my solo concert last year. This is one of the biggest achievements I’ve made so far. I put a lot of pressure on myself. There were a lot of concerns initially because the venues were really big when I went to meet all the fans from all over the world. I thought, can I fulfill the set list of 20 songs by myself? Can I fill the stage with my presence? But a lot of people liked it and said it was really cool.
I think a lot of people said that they want to come again next time. I’m proud of myself because I think I did a good job.
Wasn’t it tiring though, being on your own?
Yes, it was very tiring. But after the concert, I felt relieved. It was tiring, but it was also rewarding.
Because you’re a seasoned artist and you’re no stranger to immense love and support from fans, but also the criticism and negativity from antis, how do you handle these challenges and how do you keep yourself mentally healthy?
I think that’s also a form of feedback. If the feedback doesn’t really make any sense I don’t really listen to it. So it doesn’t affect me mentally at all. As you can see, I’m always in good health. I have a very healthy state of mind because of the tremendous amount of love that I receive from my fans.
I really enjoyed listening to “Hello, World” and I thought that your vocals really fit the R&B ballad genre.
Thank you.
How do you choose the songs for your album? As a genius idol and an ace at that, is there a genre that you want to try that you feel that even your fans would also be surprised with?
I’m a person who values the first 15 to 20 seconds of the song intro. If I can’t capture that moment, I don’t think other people can either. So I choose songs that capture my heart. When I’m on stage or when I’m filming a music video, the most important thing is whether I can capture that moment or not. It really has to be pictured out and expressed in music videos.
When I was in the military, I thought about the kind of songs I should sing next time. What kind of trendy songs people listen to these days? So I was trying to analyze what many people would prefer. But I failed and I kept failing. So it was then that I decided to show my favorite songs to EXO-L and the public. I think that’s when I got better.
Do you have any spoilers for us?
I have none, yet. (smiles)