Aside from his natural talent, charm, and charisma, ENHYPEN’s Heeseung also has another thing going for him, his secret Filipino side.
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Every member of ENYPEN has something to give. But for Heeseung in particular, the eldest member of the group stands out for the level of passion he brings into his performances. As early as his I-Land days, Heeseung has been dedicated to his work all while channeling whatever energy he needs to serve in that particular performance. It’s clear that he, just like the rest of his members, is a naturally talented performer and all around great guy. But aside from the level of skill and professionalism he brings to the stage, Heeseung also has another ace up his sleeve, his secret Filipino blood.
Not only does ENHYPEN have many Filipino fans, but Heeseung might actually be secretly Filipino. In case you don’t know, there’s a joke among the fandom, especially among Pinoy ENGENES, that the low-key birit king is part Filipino and he’s just hiding it. But honestly, looking at the clues we have, it might just be true. Let’s take a look at some of the moments where Heeseung’s inner Filipino jumped.
PIATTOS IN THE PROMO
In the lead up to the release of MANIFESTO: DAY 1, the group dropped teaser photos to hype us up. But when they released the solo photos for Heeseung, one detail caught the eye of many Filipino fans. Behind him were Piattos potato chips, the crowd favorite Filipino snack. We love they’re promoting local products. Is the inclusion though a clue that they’re coming to Manila for their upcoming world tour? Only time will tell.
HIS TAGALOG IS A LITTLE TOO GOOD
HEESEUNG’S “MAHAL KO KAYO”@ENHYPEN_members #ENHYPEN pic.twitter.com/Aqs95Fv4S1
— kiki (@jungwonhd) May 18, 2021
Filo ENGENEs who taught Heeseung how to speak Tagalog phrases, you’re doing the Lord’s work. Ever since their debut, Heeseung has picked up quite a few Tagalog words such as mahal ko kayo and mahal kita. He even knows what pogi in Tagalog means. (Fun fact: in Korean, pogi means to give up). And whenever he speaks Tagalog, it’s actually quite fluent. We see you Ethan Batumbakal. His surprising fluency in Tagalog has us thinking how he’s going to sound if ever ENHYPEN performs in the country.
MAHAL KO KAYO
@15sjylhs BAKA KABABAYAN NATIN YAN!!! 🇵🇭🤣 #heeseung #enhypen #manifestoinmanila ♬ ParadoXXX Invasion – ENHYPEN
Heeseung Batumbakal wouldn’t go all the way to Manila for a three-day concert without flexing his Tagalog now would he? During an interview with ABS-CBN, the boys were taught some Tagalog phrases and a lesson on saying maganda kayo quickly tuned into Heeseung saying mahal ko kayo like he was ready to do so. You see that smirk? Hee knew exactly what he was doing.
THE ICONIC AWIT LODS
@noebells24 Reply to @ethan_heeseung AWIT LODS THREE TIMES ♡ #enhypen #heeseung ♬ original sound – Noe⁷ ˚* ❀ ? – Noe ?
To quite a few Pinoy fans, Heeseung saying “awit lods” will be a moment etched in ENHYPEN history. In 2021, @noebells24 attended an ENHYPEN fansign and asked Heeseung to say the phrase. Not only did he do so, but it sounded shockingly good. His inner conyo boy came out at that moment and was even the basis for a popular fan edit. We’ll just be patiently waiting for a fan to ask Heeseung to say forda.
COUNTING NUMBERS IN TAGALOG
heeseung counting in tagalog!! pic.twitter.com/FYOmFWdutH
— heeseung archive (@hourlylhs) May 3, 2021
During ENHYPEN’s first appearance on hello82, the boys were tasked to speak different languages. And low and behold, Heeseung got Tagalog and said number one to ten. Low-key he sounded really good, like it’s not his first time saying those numbers.
TWO JOINTS PARANG MAFIA
heeseung two joints is back! ? pic.twitter.com/hkYAW4yNtH
— ً (@heefIix) July 5, 2022
We don’t know who or where Heeseung learned the two joints pose. But whichever way he learned it, Filo ENGENES stay winning. That’s not Lee Heeseung of ENHYPEN, that’s Ethan Batumbakal from Manila.
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