It’s Kaprao Pongkorn Wongkrittiyarat’s first visit in the Philippines and the first thing that he did was to hold a mini fanmeeting for his fans who waited for that day to come.

An intimate fanmeet

An intimate gathering between Kaprao and his fans, “The Upside: Kaprao Pongkorn 1st Fanmeeting in Manila” held last October 7, 2023 at Ballare Events Studios in Pasig City is also The World of Thai Banteung’s first event.

Kaprao brightly entered the venue singing “ระหว่างเรา” (Between Us), one of the OSTs of 2Moons2: The Series. You can see the excitement of his fans through their loud cheers which filled the room in exchange of Kaprao’s playful cover of the song and a big smile.

The Villain

As game as his fans, Kaprao then introduced himself and greeted the fans. He was casted as Park in 2Moons2 The Series and was one of the most hated characters. When asked what does he felt when he knew that they hated his role as Park, he answered “If the fans hate my character, it’s effective”.

TMI

To challenge the fans if they really know Kaprao, WOTB prepared “This or That”, a game that’s also a bit of a TMI segment and here are the things that we learned from it:

• Kaprao loves going out than staying at home, prefers going to beaches rather than hiking in the mountains and likes night time.
• He chose tea, specifically matcha, over coffee, loves reading books than playing video games, and prefers watching shows with drama genre rather than fantasy.
• He likes it better to communicate through calls.
• He prefers having cats.
• He picks acting over singing.

Memories from TharnType: The Series

Wearing an outfit dressed as Khom, his character as Type’s friend in TharnType: The Series, singing “ไม่ยอม” (Be Mine), an OST from the series itself. Kaprao then showcased the Filipino words and phrases that he learned just for his Filipino fans like “Mahal Kita” (I love you) and “Salamat” (Thank you) and also said that he already tried eating “Adobo” on the plane.

In the next part of the show, he started reading fan’s messages for him. One of those is wishing him to have fun in his visit in the Philippines and he positively said that he is really enjoying the moment.

“Don’t just dream, do it” is his motto and advice to those who wants to pursue anything in life.

He also tried some of the TikTok dance challenges like the “Mini Miss U”, Rihanna’s “If it’s lovin’ that you want” and Nicki Minaj’ “Super Bass”, taught by his own fans.

Everyone knows that it’s rare to hear Kaprao sing because it’s not his forte but he came back on stage giving his fans his third song. His fans then presented a video message for him and he got a little bit emotional. Afterwards, he relayed his final message for his fans.

“I don’t have a script so I will speak from my heart. When I was a little boy, I was interested in media or in this industry. I told everyone that I will be an actor and everyone laughed at me. They don’t believe in me but I believe (in) myself. I just think that time, if I just walk to the camera as a guy in the movie or TV series, that’s enough for me. But now, I’m going so far than that. I can’t stand in here without you guys. As you all know, this is my 1st fan meeting abroad, I can’t believe that I am here (in front of) my international fans. If you guys say (that) I deserved it and I believe you and I promise that I will be your actor for the rest of my life.’

The fans cheered for him shouting that he really deserves everything and that they love him as he exits the stage. He came around once more wearing the traditional Barong Tagalog for the photo-op with his fans.

The Upside: Kaprao Pongkorn 1st Fanmeeting in Manila was made possible by World of Thai Banteung. #KapraoInManila2023 #KapraoPongkorn #TheUpsideKapraoPongkorn1stFMinManila

Article: Denisse Pascual
Photos: Mikhaela Javier