Karen Bordador on how she was asked to host Seo In Guk’s fan meet at the last minute: 'It was such a huge surprise'
Karen Bordador recounted the last-minute call she received to host Seo In Guk’s fan meet in Manila.
In a vlog entry uploaded on YouTube, Karen recalled the time her manager messaged her asking if she can host for Seo In Guk’s fan meet at the New Frontier Theater in Quezon City.
“I didn’t know I was gonna host it. It was such a huge surprise. As an Aries girl, I always accept challenges. But normally, if someone asks me to host a day before or on the day itself, I would say no. But for some reason, I don't know like my instincts said, 'Go for it,'" she said.
"Just the idea of having to work with a Korean team again would be so exciting," Karen, who previously hosted K-pop sensation Park Bom's concert, shared.
Having worked with Korean organizers in the past, Karen continued to talk about how "different" and "extremely detailed" they are when it comes to production. Aside from script reading the night before the event, she had to rehearse with her co-host and the artist six times on the day of the event. Only this time, she wasn't given much time to prepare as she was called at the last minute.
“To be a host to a huge event you have to consider a couple of things, firstly the outfit. You cannot host just using whatever outfit. I didn’t have a stylist, I didn’t have a makeup artist," Karen said. "I haven’t even seen the script.”
Karen continued to talk about her preparations that day, including the rehearsals where she got to meet the Korean and Filipino teams.
Without directly talking about the issue with the show's original host, actress Kristel Fulgar, Karen briefly said that something happened which led to her last-minute hosting.
"I don't really know what transpired earlier because that's none of my business. The point is they needed me that time. I just told myself my mind's gonna be 100 percent focused on this one," she said.
As Manila is the first Asian fan meet of Seo In Guk, Karen's main goal is to make it fun and make everyone enjoy the event. She felt confident that she can ace this event, thanks to her background as a DJ and talk show host.
"I don't wanna look like I just arrived as if I memorized everything. It's like pretending you know everything but you do not," she said.
In the end, Karen believes that she was able to make the event fun and successful. She is grateful to all the fans who have attended the fan meet and mentioned how genuine In Guk is.
"When they (fans) say they got closer to their star because I was able to facilitate it right, it makes me feel like aw it's so sweet. I am really really am grateful to all of your DMs," she said.
Prior to Karen, the fan meeting was supposed to be hosted by Kristel, a big fan of Seo In Guk. However, hours before the event the Korean technical director of HY Official said she won't be hosting anymore as they found her energy during the rehearsals to be "lacking."
The show's organizer, Epic Events, released a statement on Aug. 15, saying they tried to keep Kristel on the show.
"We exhausted all efforts to have her part of the program; even to just have one song number/duet with seo in guk for the fans but as mentioned in the vlog, the decision to have her no longer host was not from our end. We again would like to thank Kristel and her family for being the nicest people and showing nothing but love and respect even on what transpired," the statement read.