"Boys Over Flowers" star in Cebu for 'vacation'

CEBU, Philippines - Korean star Kim Hyun Joong (also known as Ji Hoo of “Boys Over Flowers” fame) is reportedly in Cebu for a vacation. He arrived in Cebu via the Cebu Pacific 5J 581 flight that left early afternoon from Manila last Sunday.

Kim Hyun Joong was accompanied by bodyguards, was friendly to passengers, responded to fans’ greetings, but didn’t accommodate requests for photographs, Carleizle Gonzaga, one of the Cebu Pacific flight attendants on-duty, told The FREEMAN.

She said that Korean tourists, who were on the same flight, were the ones who immediately recognized the South Korean idol.

Kim Hyun Joong was in Manila over the weekend as the special guest of the popular Korean Pop group Beast, which had a successful concert at the Araneta Coliseum last Saturday.   

When asked if the “Boys Over Flowers” star was a hotel guest at the Korean-owned, five-star Imperial Palace Resort in Mactan, a source told The FREEMAN, “Yeah, he was supposed to arrive yesterday (Sunday), but he has not checked into (Imperial) yet.” As far as the source knows, the singer-actor is here in Cebu for vacation and not for work.

Imperial Palace has been the home of visiting Korean stars, becoming the set location of TV programs for the Korean channel KBS and videos of KPop stars like F.T. Island, 4Men, supermodel Jessica Gomes, among others.

Apart from Imperial Palace, Shangri-La Resort Mactan is also a choice hotel of Korean celebs, where KPop superstar Rain held the first fashion shoot for his clothing label and where the entire cast of the TV series “Jumong,” which was also aired in the Philippines, had their victory party-cum-vacation. (NMT)