[Exclusive] 22-Year-Old Trot Rookie Haru Opens Up: “The Last Song I Sang for My Mom… She Helped Me Win the Grand Final”

Just about a year after becoming a trot singer, 22-year-old rookie Haru (real name Kim Han-gyeol) has claimed the title of the youngest winner at the KBS1 ‘AM Plaza – Challenge Dream Stage Grand Final.’ Behind his victory was his mother, who is now watching over him from heaven.

During an exclusive interview on May 4th at the MHN Sports office in Jung-gu, Seoul, Haru opened up, saying, “My mother passed away after battling rectal cancer for two years when I was a high school senior.” He shared, “Two weeks before she passed, I recorded Sung Si-kyung’s ‘Heejae’ and played it for her for the first and last time.”

‘Heejae,’ the first and last song for his mother

“I went to a karaoke room alone and recorded it on my phone. My mother was very ill and bedridden, so I played it for her by her side. She cried a lot and told me, ‘I’m sorry I can’t be there to support my son’s singing.’ She passed away two weeks later.”

Haru’s mother, who raised him alone, always had many worries. Rather than singing, she hoped he would enter the workforce or learn a technical skill. She encouraged her son, who had only thought about music and played the piano since he was young, to pursue different dreams.

“I wasn’t recognized by my mother for my singing. That’s why I felt very shy and scared to let her hear it. But I think I had an intuition then, thinking, ‘If not now…'”. ‘Heejae’ became a song of immense meaning to Haru. “For about a year and a half after my mother passed, I couldn’t sing a single bar. I kept thinking of her. I can sing it a little now, but back then…”

“I thought ‘Mom helped me’ every time I won”

From April 9 to May 14, 2025, Haru won five consecutive weeks on KBS1’s ‘AM Plaza – Challenge Dream Stage,’ becoming the youngest participant ever to achieve a five-win streak. Then, on December 9, he secured the final victory in the Grand Final.

“Since it was my first time challenging myself with something, I had a great fear of appearing on the broadcast and letting people hear my songs while thinking of my mother. When I got my first win, I thought, ‘My mother really helped me with this.’ Then I wondered if I could get a second win, and I felt, ‘Mom helped me again.’ I think I kept going up to five wins feeling that way.”

He mentioned that rather than feeling difficulty, he truly felt like someone was helping him. He sang every stage while thinking of his mother.

“Whether it’s an upbeat song or a sad one, I always think of my mother when I sing. It hasn’t been long since I sent her away, and personally, I haven’t had time to compose my heart. I’ve been working constantly and suddenly became a singer, so I never had time to rest. The only time I can honestly express my feelings is when I’m singing.”

‘Sincerity’ that overturned the fandom gap

Some evaluated that he was at an absolute disadvantage in terms of objective recognition and fandom size. However, Haru marched toward victory with overwhelming support, receiving approximately 50,000 votes per episode.

“I’ve never gone on stage with the mindset of ‘I must win today.’ My goal was simply to show what I had prepared, and that preparation was always thinking of my mother.” He sang both happy and sad songs while recalling her. “I thought, ‘Mom would love this,’ ‘I should especially let my mother hear this song,’ or ‘I should sing this happily for Mom.’ I think those thoughts were the biggest drivers.”

Interestingly, while his mother never appeared in his dreams during his five-win streak on ‘AM Plaza,’ she appeared right before the Grand Final. “She appeared in my dream for the first time, and it felt like she was cheering me on to stay strong.” He added, “My mother is the biggest muse of my artistic activities.”

Throughout the interview, Haru’s voice trembled whenever he spoke about his mother. His parents divorced a few months after he was born, and he grew up under his mother’s care without knowing his father’s face. He lived with his maternal grandmother and mother, and from age 5, he lived alone with his mother. “I’ve lived only with my mother since I was young. My memories of my father are things I heard from her. I have so many memories with her.” When asked who his biggest muse is for his current artistic activities, he answered without hesitation, “My mother.”

The title track of his first solo album, ‘Sutdeongi,’ was praised for containing deep emotions of parting that belied his age of 21. “I think I applied my own situations and experiences to every single lyric. Because I’ve had many experiences that most of my peers don’t have from a young age, that helps a lot when I sing.”

“My mother really liked Sung Si-kyung”

His mother truly loved Sung Si-kyung, which is why Haru chose ‘Heejae’ for those final moments. “I liked it from the start, and every time I hear it, I think of my mom.” When asked if there is a song he would want to sing for her if she were alive today, Haru was unable to finish his sentence, saying, “Since she liked Sung Si-kyung’s songs so much, if I could sing even one song for her directly…”

Having debuted as a solo trot singer in October 2024, Haru claimed the title of the youngest Grand Final winner of ‘AM Plaza’ in just over a year. Though he has run breathlessly during that short time, his mother was always in a corner of his heart.

“She must have seen me win from heaven, and I think she would have been the happiest, saying, ‘My son did a great job.'”

With the final of ‘Mumeong Jeonseol’ airing on the 13th, Haru will once again stand on stage while thinking of his mother.