Exclusive! Pagaehun Shares Story of Busking in Jakarta and Viral ‘Play With Me’

Jakarta – His name is Pagaehun, but you may know him as the ‘TikTok viral singer of the do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do song’. This 19-year-old guy is a new face in the Korean pop music scene, skyrocketing his name in Indonesia before his home country. ‘I never expected to go viral in Indonesia,’ said Park Tae Hoon in an exclusive interview with detikpop in Transmedia area, South Jakarta, not long ago.
Indonesian netizens just can’t get enough of TikTok. Quoting data from TikTok Ads from Data Reportal, TikTok users aged 18+ in Indonesia reach more than 100 million. FYI, the total population of Indonesia currently (according to BPS data) is 284 million people.
This is the main reason why the song titled ‘Play With Me’ went viral in the country. Every popular video using the song can be viewed hundreds of thousands to millions of times. Even those who never intended to find out about the song will be exposed to the Play With Me challenge.
The singer from South Korea, Pagaehun, when visiting the Transmedia area in Mampang Prapatan, South Jakarta. Pagaehun went viral in Indonesia thanks to the song Play With Me (2024). Photo: Atmi Ahsani Yusron/detikcom. The viral success of Play With Me came about five months after Pagaehun’s debut with the single OXO (2023). Being known to the Indonesian public overnight, he quickly decided to visit the country at that time.
‘When it went viral, I was really surprised, and that’s why I thought, I have to go to Indonesia. I had never been to Indonesia before, so I didn’t know anyone here. But I didn’t want to think twice to meet my fans, so I immediately did busking,’ reminisced Pagaehun, who came in a white t-shirt paired with a beige outer and dark denim.
Born on September 29, 2006, he only made a brief announcement on his social media. He wanted to meet fans at a mall and sing a few songs. Basically, it was an impromptu performance. In the boy’s mind, he would be happy if just 10 fans showed up. He even prepared 10 gifts because he thought only a handful of people would watch the busking.
Pagaehun was wrong. ‘When I got there, so many people came! I’m not sure how many, but the event was stopped (by the mall security). I couldn’t do anything because I didn’t have permission, so it was okay,’ he recalled the incident from July 2024. His intention to meet fans was not fulfilled that time, so Pagaehun returned with a more mature strategy and proper permits. Several months later, he performed again, and this time, he could truly interact with fans as he intended in July.
The rest is history. Pagaehun began forming his fan community in the country. Every time he visits Indonesia, there are always loyal fans who come to watch and support him. ‘It’s all because Play With Me entered the viral charts in Indonesia, allowing me to come to Indonesia every year. Thank you so much,’ said Pagaehun. Pagaehun now has over 87 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify. Play With Me is his most streamed song on the platform with a total of 9.6 million streams as of Monday (3/10/2025).
During his conversation with detikpop, Pagaehun also talked about his dream of collaborating with Indonesian singers. He even wants to release a song in Indonesian! Additionally, Pagaehun explained the behind-the-scenes story of how his stage name was created. Watch the video below to find out more about it. Pagaehun recently made a comeback with a new single titled Valentine. Have you listened to it yet?