Peppered with sweetness — That’s how to sum up the blissful two hours of 2018 Lee Jong Suk Fan Meeting Tour <Crank Up> in Manila.
We are not shy to admit that the date night with Lee Jong Suk on November 18 at the Araneta Coliseum really made all those drama reviews we wrote oh-so-worth it.
As the last stop for his Crank Up tour, the actor made sure that his fans will bring home a bucket full of happy memories as he also enjoyed the warm welcome he received from his supporters in the Philippines.
We lost track of how many times the deafening cheers and screams enveloped the venue to the rafters with fans not holding back on showing how happy they were in meeting their cherished actor.
Today, we look back to all the intoxicating moments, as well as, the beautiful emotions shared at #LeeJongSukinMNL.
LEE is for the LIVELY, ENERGETIC, and ENGAGING stage
In this, we are a bit guilty because it was just hard not to flow with the cheerful ambiance emanating from the chirpy attendees. More so, host Giselle Sanchez was good at coaxing fans to express how they feel.
And when you have a Lee Jong Suk who smartly rides on the inside jokes, breaking the language barrier in a dapper way, you get the most appreciative fans ever.
A born charmer — not that we need him to exert effort to win our hearts anymore since we can pretty much be content with his smile and charms — But Lee Jong Suk sure knows how to interact with his fans in the most adorable way.
As soon as he entered the stage, all of us individually created a special imaginary moment complete with two spotlights, falling rose petals, and romantic music. But all of us unitedly woke up from the dreams we created for about five seconds since we all can’t help but threw in our fan girl screams and Lee Jong Suk chants.
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Warmly greeting his passionate fans, Lee Jong Suk comfortably readied himself to share his thoughts on the lead of the host.
He expressed excitement about meeting Filipino fans especially since it is the last stop of his tour. He remarked how he was taken aback when he heard his name being shouted upon arrival at the airport.
The actor, who once shot the film No Breathing, in the country also shared remembering those moments he spent while filming the movie when he took a quick dip at the hotel pool he was staying in earlier.
For the first segment of the talk portion, the audience had a chance to crack up the brain structure of Lee Jong Suk as he shared random thoughts about his family, managing stress, his year 2018 thoughts, and his best memories with fans.
He revealed that he tries to be friends with his mother and that he shares similar behavior with her.
When asked about dealing with stress, his go-to relief is eating delicious food and how his fans are also helping to relieve his stress level.
The animated emcee took the opportunity to release her fan girl stress after being starstruck on seeing her favorite Korean actor and cutely scream her fangirl’s heart out. Lee Jong Suk adorably rides on her impromptu antic by asking if she is okay making his fans giggle.
Admitting honestly that he pondered a lot of thoughts this year, Lee mentioned that 2018 is meaningful as he turned 30 in Korean age, so he had to think about future projects, his scheduled fan meeting tour, and a possible quick break in 2019.
His hinting of military enlistment heaved a collective oh-no from fans, who were dreading the thought of his impending army duty. Additionally, he briefly said in passing that he is set for his latest drama filming schedule before the year ends.
When the hosts asked what his memorable moment with fans is, we swear we saw our hearts slowly detaching from our bodies and forming smiley faces as it floats in the venue, when Lee Jong Suk cooly answered, “Right now”.
JONG is for JOYFUL, ONE-OF-A-KIND, NIRVANIC GIFT
From his humble supporting roles, Lee Jong Suk easily found his niche as an actor after transitioning from his modeling roots.
The dashing actor easily wins over the viewers’ hearts that three years after his debut, he scored his first lead man role in 2014.
Since then, he never looked back and has cemented a reputation as one of the most bankable actors of his generation.
His Midas touch in selecting projects reflects positively through his track record of successful dramas and films.
Out of the roles he has portrayed so far, Lee said that his recent role as Jung Jae Chan in the drama While You Were Sleeping is his most memorable one.
Spicing up the night, a video snippet of his dramas’ best scenes and lines were presented to the lit audience who were like on a roller-coaster ride squealing out loud at the favorite kisses in Lee Jong Suk’s dramas —” hand kiss” in Pinocchio, “rain kiss” in While You Were Sleeping, and “handcuff kiss” in W.
As the mood was set on reminiscing the mentioned dramas, Lee commented that the rain kiss scene in While You Were Sleeping had to be shot in reality and dream premise. He coyly admitted kissing Bae Suzy twice, making his fans giggle.
While on the “sweet scene” note, the actor confessed that to film that type of scene he needs to be in a heart-fluttering mood. He also talked about how the “handcuff kiss” on W was hard to do because it required intense and strong emotion.
Moving forward to the next video snippet set, the comic scenes from his recent drama While You Were Sleeping was shown.
Lee Jong Suk admitted that, since he has spent a lot of time filming with the cast members of While You Were Sleeping, he is closer with them.
He also thinks fondly of Shin Jae Ha, the actor who played his brother in the drama and hopes that he becomes successful with his future ventures.
When asked if he likes wearing suits, he admits wanting to look good for the fan meeting so he dressed up nicely for the night, but uttered that he prefers comfortable clothing.
At this point of the fan meeting, Lee Jong Suk had already convinced us that he is really intelligent. There were even moments when he responded right away to the MC’s English question without the help of the interpreter. He also gave sound answers when questioned about his goals as an actor.
We got the MC’s back when she sweetly pried if the actor experienced wanting to have a specific type of romance based on the roles he has played before. He said he does not want to have a romance that will go through a hard time since most of his dramas were like that.
Striking while the love talk is hot, Lee Jong Suk’s OX talk ensued. The actor has to answer Yes or No to five questions.
I think there is a reason for a love that others oppose. – YES
I am a jealous person. – YES
Man and woman can become friends. – YES
I have a consistent ideal type. – NO
I am active and enthusiastic when falling in love. – YES
Lee admitted that he is a jealous type for some reason. He made us swoon when he elaborated that his being active and enthusiastic when in love means when he wants something, he will be keen to have it. *swoon
To answer the one-million question of what his ideal woman is, he curtly answered that his ideal type is someone who is wise.
SUK is for SWEET, UNDERSTANDING and KEEN Relationship of the actor to his fans
On November 27, his much-awaited drama special Hymn of Death with Shin Hye Sun will be aired via SBS.
He is set to portray a genius playwright in a dramatic project without guaranteed pay since he agreed to work probono with the director of the last series he starred in.
He took pride in how he prepared for the forbidden love premise of the story. Furthermore, he mentioned that he looked like the historical figure he was about to portray in real life.
Next up in the fan meeting schedule was Lee Jong Suk’s music show. We will all be honest that we were totally swept by Lee Jong Suk fever that night so that made us the most understanding people ever in encouraging him to go on while he struggled with the song while playing the piano. *wink
To prove that we-still-love-you-no-matter-what claim, fans took turns with encouraging chants appreciating his effort.
Like a schoolboy who knew he acted cute in front of his crush, he got us all laughing when he mumbled that he really practiced for the not-so-smooth number and apologized on the mediocre result.
His all-willing fans assured him that doing his best was enough. He sweetly responded that he wanted to do a song for his fans as a gift, and we had to do a collective “that’s-so-sweet-awww” for that.
We love how Lee Jong Suk connects to his fans enthusiastically all throughout the evening. When asked to compare his previous Crank Up tour, all of us melted when he said, he regrets why he did not come early to the Philippines.
Hyping up the night was the telepathy game with lucky pre-selected onsite fans. Lee Jong Suk gave glimpses of trivial things about him while playing with his fans. He likes milk over juice, historical over sci-fi drama, long sleeve polo over knitwear, text message over call, swimming over skiing, and white over black.
Six lucky fans had the chance to stand with the actor on stage. Lee was so adorable and, in his element, while comfortably interacting with his fans.
When asked to guess one of the girl’s age, he guessed it right and responded to the emcee’s lead to guess hers playfully with a quick lip service that she looks 18. Adept in feeling how nervous his fans were to meet him, he communicated with them genuinely with small talk and even gave advice and cheers for their hard work.
The lucky girls said their versions of saranghae and he willingly gave hugs to all six of them who said he has inspired them and made them happy.
After the game, we caught him even directing where the participants had to go down on the stage like a director — truly immersed in the gathering with a never-fading smile.
Lee said, “I am glad to meet you guys. I know that this is the last stop of my fan meeting tour. I will go home with the great memories I had and I promise to give better projects for all of you.”
To capture the moment, celebratory selcas were taken amidst the unwavering cheers of the fans.
Lee expressed gratefulness for the passionate love he received and said it will forever stay in his memories. He gifted the adoring fans another song after that. And under his love spell, the enthused crowd enjoyed his melody no matter what.
Sharing how it was a good decision to visit the Philippines after a previous mishap in his last fan meeting, he has nothing but gratefulness for the warm response he received.
In his closing words before his last song, Lee Jong Suk said, “I won’t forget your warm love and support for me. I don’t know when I will meet you again. But even then, I so love you and I am so thankful.”
“Thank you and I love you guys. I hope you guys go home and stay safe. You guys are my pride and today’s memories, I will never forget.”
It was two hours of blissful encounter with hitmaker actor Lee Jong Suk to his loving fans who did a great job of keeping the spirited mood high with appreciative hurrahs.
Along with the sweetest memories, it was seeing the actor’s ordinary self — stripped of his celebrity coating — that made the fan meeting an eventful experience.
Getting some ideas of what he is like as a person and his spontaneous gestures and responses have convinced us that his savvy choices in his projects stem from his innate keen mind.
For Lee Jong Suk followers, a magical date night with the actor who gifted them with some of the best K-Drama heroes is truly a gift, a memory they will keep dearly in their hearts.
The 2018 Lee Jong Suk Fan Meeting Tour <CRANK UP> in Manila is brought to fans by PULP Live World, A-Man Project, and Globe At Home.
abbyinhallyuland extends gratitude to PULP Live World and Happee Sy for the tickets to the event.
Photos: A-Man Project | Emylyn Castalla
Event covered by: abbyinhallyuland and Emylyn Castalla
*First Published on Hellokpop
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