Singer Ahn Chi Hwan revealed that he was once eliminated from a college song festival for the most mundane of reasons: he mixed up the date.
Ahn appeared on the October 17 broadcast of MBN’s “Kim Joo-ha’s Day & Night,” where he looked back on his early years as he marks his 40th debut anniversary. Host Kim Joo-ha asked him about his college song festival appearance, and the veteran singer recounted a story he had rarely told in detail.
After entering university, Ahn wanted to test his singing chops and dreamed of competing in a college song festival. At the time, though, singing mainstream pop rather than resistance songs drew sharp criticism from the senior band members holding auditions, he said. Undeterred, he entered anyway and passed the first preliminary round, preparing even more carefully for the second.
But in an era before mobile phones, when he had to manage everything alone, he misremembered the date and never showed up for the second preliminary at all. When panelist Moon Se-yoon asked whether he might have taken the gold prize, given that Yoo Yeol won the grand prize that year, Ahn could only laugh.
Ahn said he has since told Yoo Yeol directly, “The results might have been different,” adding that Yoo Yeol’s good character meant the joke rolled right off. No official statement was involved; the story was shared on air.
Ahn continues to celebrate his 40th anniversary year with broadcasts and performances.
