On July 25, 2026, Kang Haneul successfully held his fifth fan meeting, “ALWAYS Season 3.”
Both Haneul and MC ORI mentioned that Haneul had spent a great deal of time redesigning the program. He wanted to create as many opportunities as possible to interact directly with fans, so he kept revising the schedule over and over until he was satisfied.
One of those interaction segments was “Haneul’s Advice Corner.”
It was filled with thoughtful, heartfelt answers, so I’d like to share what I remember.
(Recording was not allowed, so these are based on my memory.)
Questions from Fans
①How can I smile all the time like you?
②How can I learn to enjoy spicy food?🌶← Today’s Topic 💙
③Final consonants (batchim) are so difficult when learning Korean.
④I’m this cute, so why don’t I have a boyfriend?
⑤I have a boyfriend, but I still want to marry you. How can I make my boyfriend my number one?
⑦Should I pursue the job I love or choose an ordinary career?
⑧Do you have any travel memories? (Asked in English by a fan from Germany.)
➉I came with my older sister, but we don’t get along. She stole my Kang Haneul hand fan!
Fan Question #2“How can I learn to eat spicy food?”
Haneul’s first answer was surprisingly simple.
불닭볶음면을 200번 먹으면 돼요.
“Just eat Buldak Bokkeum Myeon 200 times.”
A very Haneul-style answer. 😂
(For those unfamiliar with it, Buldak Bokkeum Myeon is famously one of Korea’s spiciest instant noodles.）
The fan who asked the question explained that she was about to study abroad in Korea.
Since she couldn’t handle spicy food, she asked Haneul to recommend some delicious restaurants with non-spicy dishes.
Haneul paused to think.
아~~어~~~어~~~…
“Ah… um… uh…”
He looked like he couldn’t think of a place right away.
Then someone in the audience came to the rescue.
Say “Jinokhwa in Dongdaemun! (The restaurant you talked about earlier!)”
Following the audience’s suggestion, Haneul replied,
어~~ 동대문 진옥화요. ㅋ
“Uh… Jinokhwa in Dongdaemun lol.”
But then, in true Haneul fashion, his train of thought suddenly took an unexpected turn.
아, 근데 매운 것을 먹을 수 있게 되려면 불닭볶음면을 몇 번 먹으면 돼요!
“Oh—but if you want to be able to eat spicy food, you should just eat Buldak Bokkeum Myeon a few times!”
“I actually tried that already… but it didn’t work. What should I do?”
Without missing a beat, Haneul replied,
아 그러면 불닭볶음면을 200번 먹으면 될 거예요. ㅋㅋㅋ
“Then… just eat it 200 times! 😂😂”
That’s Haneul’s wonderfully unconventional way of thinking.
His advice wasn’t really about spicy food—it reflected the positive, optimistic mindset that seems to come naturally to him.
Rather than dwelling on difficulties, he instinctively turns them into something humorous and encouraging.
Clementine’s Note 🍊
One of Haneul’s greatest charms is the way he thinks outside the box.
Just listening to his unexpected answers somehow makes your own thinking feel a little more flexible.
At first, comments like these may sound like nothing more than playful jokes. But they also reveal something about the way he approaches life every day.
He has a habit of flipping negative situations into positive ones.
His optimism feels genuine—not forced—and it naturally comes through in the way he speaks.
Whenever I listen to him, I find myself wanting to catch every little word, because there’s always something bright, encouraging, and quietly comforting hidden inside.
Korean Language Note 💙Why did Haneul say “동대문 진옥화” instead of “동대문의 진옥화”?
During the conversation, Haneul said:
동대문 진옥화요.
When you’re thinking in English, you might expect 동대문의 진옥화 (“Jinokhwa IN Dongdaemun”).
However, in Korean, it’s very common to leave out 의 (“of / in”).
Why?
There are two main reasons.
① Korean naturally links nouns together.
Korean often combines nouns directly to form one natural name or expression.
In this case, 동대문 진옥화 is understood almost like a single proper name referring to the well-known restaurant.
Adding 의 places extra emphasis on the location (“the Jinokhwa that is in Dongdaemun”), making it sound a little more explanatory than necessary.
② In everyday conversation, 의 is often omitted.
Native speakers frequently connect nouns without using 의.
For example:
- 우리 엄마 — my mom (not 우리의 엄마)
- 친구 집 — a friend’s house (rather than 친구의 집 in casual speech)
- 아이 옷 — children’s clothes (rather than 아이의 옷)
Unlike English, Korean often uses noun + noun without any possessive marker.
So when is 의 used?
It commonly appears in formal writing or more abstract expressions, such as:
- 사랑의 힘 — the power of love
- 기적의 순간 — a moment of miracle
- 역사의 흐름 — the course of history
- 대한민국 정부의 입장 — the position of the Government of the Republic of Korea
💡 Takeaway
To express the same idea in English, we’d normally say “Jinokhwa in Dongdaemun,” using the preposition in.
Korean, however, often omits 의, especially in everyday conversation.
Getting used to the simple noun + noun pattern will help your Korean sound much more natural—and a little closer to the way Haneul speaks.
Source & Context
Official title: KANG HA NEUL FAN MEETING in JAPAN 2026 “ALWAYS Season 3”
Date: July 25, 2026
Venue: KT Zepp Yokohama, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
