South Korean Actor Lee Jong Suk Returns to Manila for a Fan Meeting, PH Sukkies were treated with Surprise Performances, Gifts, and Interactions

South Korean actor Lee Jong Suk returned to Manila for a fan meeting on April 16 at the PICC Plenary hall and was greeted by the warm support of his Pinoy fans.

P-Pop boy group BGYO opens the stage with Be Us, hyping the crowd for this exciting night. Lee Jong Suk entertained his fans by singing and sharing random trivia and facts about himself.

The last time the actor came to Manila was 5 years ago for his fan meeting at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. He kept his promise and finally reunited with his Filo Sukkies in a jam-packed fan meeting. “Hello guys, it’s been a long time. I am Lee Jong Suk,” the actor said as he introduced himself. “I can truly feel your energy,” he added, basking in the loud cheers of his Filipino fans.

The anticipation and waiting were all worth it as the program was filled with surprises, gifts from the actor, and lots of fanservice.

And the fans were not the only ones excited for this reunion. When asked about his first night in Manila from his flight, Lee Jong Suk said that he was able to rest well, and since he wanted to look suitable for his fan meeting, he also made sure to break a sweat and exercise. “Actually, I did not eat breakfast today and just exercised. I am excited to see you all… I’m sorry for my Filipino fans who have waited for me for five years,” he said.

When asked how he would describe himself in one word, he turned to the audience for answers. “Gwapo,” he repeated the Filipino word shouted by his fans, or good-looking in Filipino.

During his free time, Lee Jong Suk said his hobby is watching Netflix. Some of his Korean dramas, such as Doctor Stranger (2014), W – Two Worlds Apart (2016), While You Were Sleeping (2017), and Romance is a Bonus Book (2019) are all available on this online platform. But when asked what he would do when given a day off, and money doesn’t matter, he said he will do nothing. “I just want to sleep and rest,” said the busy celebrity.

The actor said that what he misses the most in acting is being part of a project that his fans can look forward to. Recently, he met up with his castmates from the Kdrama I Can Hear Your Voice, which was aired ten years ago. He said that shooting this drama was one of his happiest memories. Some of his latest works include the suspense-filled Korean series Big Mouth and the movie Decibel. Meanwhile, his character Cha Eun-ho from Romance is a Bonus Book is the role he enjoyed playing the most.

The next segment was a Q&A, with questions coming from Lee Jong Suk’s fans. They picked three from the message board filled with sticky notes that the fans had written earlier at the lobby prior to entering the main venue. Some of the questions were, “Can I get a hug?” and “Can you say I love you to me?”. The lucky fans chose for this Q&A also had the chance to teach the actor basic Filipino words, playing as his Filipino Tutors. Some words taught to Lee Jong Suk were “Gustong gusto kitang makapiling”, “Mamahalin kita habang buhay”, and “Pangako, babalik ako”. They also received lots of hugs from the actor, and even a special gift that Lee Jong Suk prepared himself.

Mid-show, Lee Jong Suk went back on the stage with a performance of G.O.D’s Again. “He is talented, he can act, he can sing!” said the host Denise Laurel. The surprise didn’t stop there as Jong Suk brought his co-actor and friend Shin Jae Ha to spend time with him on stage as a special guest. “He is a lovable brother, a rising star in Korea; I brought him here so you can meet him,” he said.

Like a true friend, Lee Jong Suk stood up and checked the giant LED TV on the sides of the stage to see if his friend looked good on the screen! “What a good friend; he really guides him,” the host said about this supportive bromance. They’ve worked in several Kdramas together, including Pinocchio and While You Were Sleeping. Currently, we’ve seen the exemplary acting of Shin Jae Ha in Taxi Driver Season 2 and Crash Course in Romance.

“Actually, I am really happy to be here,” the guest actor said. “When Lee Jong Suk said that I will come with him to Manila, I was so nervous. But on the other hand, I am also happy to see you guys,” Shin Jae Ha said. “Before, we also travelled during our free time. So when his drama was finished, I told him we should visit the Philippines together,” Lee Jong Suk added.

Shin Jae Ha also talked about his “sexy villain” role in the drama Taxi Driver 2, and chose historical or period drama as the setting he would like to have for his next Kdrama. As for a solo fan meeting in Manila? Shin Jae Ha said that he is open if there will be opportunities given to him. Lee Jong Suk teased his friend that he should be invited to his future fan meets, too.

After the interview, the host said that in the Philippines, there is a thing called “Sample! Sample!” where you have to showcase your talent by either singing or dancing as your audience cheers for you. This was the actors’ cue as they surprised PICC with their coordinated dance moves, performing BTS Dynamite and NewJeans’ Hype Boy. It was definitely a fun watch! “It has been a long time since I last saw my Filipino fans, so I thought that it would be fun to do it. I am not sure if I did well,” he said, to which the audience responded with, “Thank you!”.

When asked what is the memorable thing his fans in the Philippines did for him, Lee Jong Suk said that it was his beautiful memories from the fan meeting five years ago that he has never forgotten.

In the next segment, called “Annyeong Merienda”, they asked Lee Jong Suk to put on a blindfold, try some Filipino foods, and guess which Korean foods are similar to them. He had pancit, which is similar to Korean’s japchae, choco pie, which we also have a local version of wrapped in silver foil, and espasol, which tastes like the Korean injeolmi. Before leaving the stage, Shin Jae Ha also gamely tried the local alcoholic drink gin bilog for Lee Jong Suk, which he said tasted similar to Korean soju.

To add to the night’s kilig, the next segment showed several scenes from Lee Jong Suk’s Korean dramas I Can Hear Your Voice and Romance is a Bonus Book, which he also reenacted on the spot. He did the iconic aegyo poses from the latter kdrama, to his fans’ delight.

The show ended with a fan project video from PH Sukkies, and a group photo. He sang Come To Me, an OST from his Kdrama While You Were Sleeping. “I will say goodbye. Thank you so much for coming. Today was so much fun. I’m grateful to have met everyone after a very long time. I always, always love you. Thank you so much!”

Hoping to see more of Lee Jong Suk in beautiful Korean dramas and movies and meet him again on stage–albeit the 5-year wait.

Buzzsetter extends gratitude to L’Officiel Philippines and RandomMinds for the invite to Lee Jong Suk Fanmeet in Manila. The event was covered by Ana Gonzales and Jacquelou Colitoy.