Watching him on the popular variety TV show, Running Man, you can't helped yourself from laughing at his 'crazy' characteristic especially when he sometimes betrayed his team members to win the race. Known as 'betrayer' or 'traitor' in this show, have you ever wondered how this man can switch his 'crazy' characteristics to a cool reggae artist? Ha Dong Hoon or famously known as HaHa, together with his duo partner, Skull recently in Kuala Lumpur for their very first 'Skull & Haha First Malaysia Showcase'. Held in Renaissance Hotel Kuala Lumpur, this reggae duo graced the members of the media last Friday and shared their love and passion over this 'Jamaican-born' music.

[1] On their first visit to Malaysia and their impression

Not long after landed in the Malaysian soil, the duo happily and cheerfully met the Malaysian press and when they were asked on their feeling to be in Malaysia, Haha firstly apologized that he was scheduled to meet the fans with other Running Man casts and he truly sorry towards the fans but now he was in Kuala Lumpur with his partner, Skull, he can't expressed his joy and happiness that he finally got to be here. He stated that 'I've been to Malaysia so many times in monopoly game but to finally step my foot in Malaysia, I felt really happy and Malaysia is a country that I really want to visit; hence to come here with Skull, I hope we will have lots of fun'. He also stated that, other things about Malaysia are beautiful even though it was raining, and he was expecting a super sunny day during the showcase. Skull also agreed on the weather but continued to add everything was beautiful about Malaysia and the people are kind and warm.

 [2] On Discovering Reggae Music

In the middle of over flooding Kpop music and K-idols culture within the Korean music scene, it is very rare to hear reggae music taking the place in the industry. Made known by Bob Marley, the duo was asked upon their history of discovering this unique music genre. Skull, being the trend setter for reggae in Korea confessed that back when he was in High School, he first listened to 'No Woman No Cry' by Bob Marley and he truly loved it. He stated that he felt like it was 'love at first sight', and when he thought about it, it felt like it was his destiny. He also added that 'Not many people are interested in reggae music. I didn't expect to be a reggae singer either, but the fact that I am now, I'm (we) very proud of it and I'm (we) very proud to spread this genre music in Korea and to finally shared our passion to Malaysian fans, I'm (we) really appreciated it.

On the other hand, before meeting Skull, Haha admitted that he was not into reggae. He just loved the reggae style and to be specific, the hairstyle. Due to this uniqueness of fashion, he started to learn more about reggae. He also mentioned that back then, there're not many people around him who were interested in reggae and no one could inspired him, but when he met Skull, it's like a dream come true and Skull was truly an inspiration for him.

When they were asked how reggae music influenced their lifestyle and their music, Haha answered that 'When you looked at Skull, he was the icon for reggae in Korea. From head to toe, everything about him is reggae. My first impression of him...I thought he was crazy. However, as I fell in love with this music style, I even started to wear reggae underwear fashion too.' His answered brought the audience to laughter and Haha even showed off his Bob Marley t-shirt too. Added to Haha's comments, Skull stated that people known Haha for being an entertainer but his love for reggae was definitely beyond ones' imagination. Skull loved reggae and he do collected some items related to reggae but Haha defeated him with 10 times more collectible items.

[3] On self-composition in their album and future collaboration with other artists

Haha stated that reggae music was not really a popular genre in Korea and when they were first started, a lot of people doubted if they can last as a group. However, with their determination, they believed in what they were doing and today, there were other groups who wants to collaborate with them, either to make songs with a reggae flavor or to hold stage collaboration with a mixture of reggae in their performances. He further added for this Christmas, the duo will be collaborating with Lessang and in 2014, there will be more collaboration and performances with other artists.

Upon answering the self-composition contribution for their album, Skull answered that the inspiration always came while observing his partner, Haha drinking. He felt inspired! He stated that the music that they carried was 100% full of honesty and they were truly proud of it. It was their story that they shared and told.

[4] On Running Man's popularity and Haha as one of the cast members

                It can't be denied the popularity of Running Man TV show in Malaysia and with Kim Jong Kook visits couple months ago, followed by Leesang and Lee Kwangsoo soon, the popularity of each one of the casts were booming. The duo was then asked on how they would rate the Running Man casts popularity and Haha answered that in the Running Man show itself, in one of the episode, they were ranked and he was at the bottom and to his shocked too, he was ranked lower than the person he was expected to be at the bottom. However he stated that it was not about the ranking that made the show popular. Every single casts have different roles to make the show successful and everyone was equally important indeed. To add, he was married. So fame was not something that he was looking for. While Skull agreed that Haha being ranked at the bottom, he continued to emphasize that Haha was a hardworking man in whatever that he was doing. 'Even when he have a tight schedule, he really cared about his people, his peers and people surrounding him and because of this, I truly respect Haha and I'm so proud of him. Regardless of what he did, I will support him; for his show or for the music. I'm proud of Haha'. Not only that, Skull & Haha have different flavor in comparison with others. Lessang have their own too. We were different in that sense and we do hope to show more variety, uniqueness and more colours to the audience in the near future.

When Skull was further asked on whether he will be on Running Man in the future, Haha answered that he was on the show before but it was only for a short period of time. However, he will make an appearance once his album is released. Jokingly, Haha stated that Skull won't be able to participate because his 'Marley' styled hair was going to be uncomfortable for him to be on the show. Perhaps he has to get a new hairstyle before he guested on the show?

[5] On Haha as a family man

                Married and having a newborn son, Haha admitted that it was such a graceful moment to see his newborn son for the first time hence he named the lil son, Dream. When he was asked whether he has any plan to add another one to his family, he stated that he would love to have more kids but he wanted to pour as much love to his first newborn before adding a new one; maybe in 2 years' time we could expect another Haha Jr.

                As for Skull, he further mentioned that he sometimes envied looking at Haha and his family. 'Haha always showed his son's picture everyday and he truly loved his family. To ease my envies, I went to club and enjoyed there by myself. When I'm enjoying myself, I totally forgot about everything.' He jokingly inviting the members of the audience to the club 'Shall we go to club later? Ok, how about tomorrow?'

[6] Activities to release stress

                Being in the industry, there were times that the duo would feel stress due to tight schedule. Hence, for Haha, to overcome this stress-ness, he assured everyone that nothing can beat 'EATING' to overcome the stress and tiredness. While taking out his handphone, he stated three famous Malaysian delicacies, satay, nasi lemak and roti canai and he added there were so many exotic and delicious foods in Malaysia, and even before heading to Kuala Lumpur, the duo has been discussing on what to eat.

Seems like the duo has prepared quite a lot prior to their visit and we hope to have an enjoyable time with the duo for the showcase. They ended the press conference with 'MALAYSIA BOLEH' (Malaysia Fighting)

Writer: Amalina A | Photo Credit: Rozy Mohd | Special Thanks : LEAP IMS