MANILA, Philippines — South Korean actor and idol Lee Junho melted the hearts of his Filipino supporters with sweet and sincere fan service during his first fan meeting in the country held recently at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena.
He awed the audience in various portions of the program, especially when he performed a Filipino cover of Magnus Haven’s Imahe, not just once but twice halfway through the show.
“I really tried hard and I actually did better in the rehearsal, but I hope I sincerely transferred (conveyed the message of the song) to you as well,” Junho told the attendees through an English translator. Well, the fans felt it as they loudly cheered for him after his “convincing” act.
“Mabuhay! Ako si Lee Junho. Maligayang pagdating sa aking pinaka-unang fan meet tour. I’m so happy to be in Manila after such a long time. So today, right at this moment, I will make it a happy memory for you. Sobrang na-miss ko kayong lahat,” greeted the singer-actor in Filipino after singing Nobody Else as his opening number.
The first segment of the show was Junho the Moment, also the title of the fan meet presented by Live Nation Philippines, where host Sam Oh inquired about life updates and experiences from his previous Manila trip.
The King the Land star last visited the country in 2013 with his K-pop boy group 2PM for a concert. Ten years later, he came back with a solo fan meet and expressed how he missed his Filipino fans, saying, “For the short moment that I was in the Philippines, I was really touched with your powerful cheers. And I’m really happy that I could feel that, too, the support and energy from you, guys, again.”
Junho had only a few days to spend in Manila due to his hectic schedule and didn’t get to try much of Filipino dishes. But on the day of the fanmeet, Nov. 11, which was coincidentally a Pepero Day in South Korea, he got to eat a pepero given to him by a fan. Nevertheless, he promised that when he returns “probably next month,” he will get to try some, especially halo-halo.
In another segment, Junho shared more about his acting projects, such as the historical drama The Red Sleeve (2021), where he won a Best Actor Award for Television at the 58th Baeksang Arts Awards for portraying Yi San, and the more recent King the Land, where he played the King Hotel head Goo Won opposite Girls’ Generation’s Im Yoon-ah as Sa-rang.
He didn’t expect that the King the Land would be an international hit but he always had hope that the series would be loved by many.
“And I’m really happy, that happy energy that I have actually portrayed a lot or well (in front of the) audience and I’m really thankful for it,” he said.
The highlight of this segment was when Junho’s face turned red when a “kilig” scene with Sa-rang was played on screen. The scene showed Sa-rang inviting him to sleep over and Junho walking toward her with an intent gaze and together, they shared an intimate moment.
A blushing Junho reacted, “I feel (I did) the best that I could so that you, guys, could feel this (kind of) emotion. I didn’t expect that this would be your reaction (thrilled). We shot this scene in (an) area in Korea… I was hoping that the love (story) that we are actually portraying would (translate on screen) and to you as well.”
It did as the audience gushed and screamed in excitement, wanting to be Sa-rang at that moment. Even Sam requested to reenact that particular scene with Junho. The latter tried but wasn’t able to capture the exact feels of the scene. He just laughed and said, “I just can’t do it.”
The evening event proceeded with Junho’s heartwarming interactions with the audience. In the Favorite Fan Moment segment, he gladly granted the requests of the fans to hug and take a photo with him.
Some of the fans from other countries flew in to Manila just to see him.
One of them asked Junho to make a virtual letter for her grandmother who just turned 80. Another was a daughter who bought a ticket for her mother so that she could take a selfie with her favorite actor. Junho was generous enough to accommodate selfies with both of them. Junho also prepared gifts for his fans and recorded different versions of “wakeup call” for them.
Following a short break, Junho returned to stage to carry out lively performances of Canvas, Korean version of Nothing But You, Can I, I’m In Love, and 2PM’s Zero Point.
Seeing and feeling the “passionate” reactions of fans, Junho teased that he would love to stage a concert in the country soon.
“You, guys, actually love and supported me as an actor and at the same time as a singer. Maybe I should take my clothes off at my concert,” he quipped.
“Because of the deep love and deep energy that you have given to me, I always sing like I always have to repay this love that I received from you, guys. I think and I hope that the times that we spent time together will be a happy memory for you, guys.”
“I will never forget your heart and I will try my best to come back here as soon as possible. Whenever we meet again I think, you know, I could meet you, guys, in cooler looks. Thank you so much for joining me and I hope you take care on your way home. Please stay healthy until we meet again. I love you, guys. Thank you,” uttered Junho before staging his second to the last song, DSMN.
Toward the end, Junho’s avid admirers shared a video message of their favorite moments with him and how he made their hearts flutter.
He then voiced out how much he loved his supporters before concluding his fan meet with Ride Up. He professed, “I love you, too. Thank you so much… I think I’m (feeling) all of the energy, the power that you have given to me today. So, I’ll keep these moments that we have together and try to focus more on the projects and also music. And I will also try to make the most (of the) moments that I could spend with you. Sincerely, thank you so much. I love you, guys, and thank you very much. See you soon.”
Junho playfully pretended to toss his jacket to the audience, take a selfie with the crowd, as a shower of confetti streamed down from the stage, and a hi-bye session to cap off the fan meet.