Korean actor Park Seo-jun gets rousing welcome from Pinoy fans

Deafening screams filled the Araneta Coliseum when Korean actor Park Seo-jun was revealed on stage at his Fun Meet in Manila on Oct. 14.

Park Seo-jun is the global ambassador of Filipino health and wellness company IAM Worldwide.

Korean star Park Seo-jun at his Fun Meet in Manila and press conference (Jonathan Hicap)

“Thank you for inviting me IAM. IAM Worldwide amazing,” he said amid the loud cheers from the audience.

It’s been four years since Park Seo-jun visited the Philippines for an event and he was excited to be back.

For many Korean drama fans, Park Seo-jun is known for starring in “Itaewon Class,” “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim” and “Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth.”

This year, he became a restaurant staff in the tvN/Prime Video show “Jinny’s Kitchen” along with BTS’ V, Lee Seo-jin, Choi Woo-shik and Jeong Yumi.

He rose to become one of the most popular Korean stars today.

In Forbes Korea’s 2022 Power Celebrity 40 list of the most influential and highest paid people in Korea, Park Seo-jun ranked 12th.

Despite his busy schedule, he has been keeping his body fit, saying, “You just need proper routine, exercise and just be with IAM.”

“If I have the time, I want to go to the Philippines to have a vacation,” he replied to a question of what he would do if he had free time.

Korean star Park Seo-jun at his press conference in Manila (Jonathan Hicap)

He gamely answered personal questions through different segments including “Park At Your Own Wish,” “Let’s Seo Them” and “Seo and Tell.”

In “I Seo Design,” Park Seo-joon signed and decorated shirts and tote bags for fans.

Hours before the Fun Meet in Manila, Park Seo-jun faced Philippine media during a press conference held at Marco Polo Ortigas.

Park Seo-jun is one of the most popular Korean stars in the Philippines and he was welcomed by fans at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport when he arrived.

“I was very surprised when I arrived at the airport. I cannot truly say that I can grasp the scale, how big I am here but being able to see everyone is welcoming, I am really happy,” he said.

On what he was looking forward to doing in the country, he said, “Of course, being able to meet my fans.”

Park Seo-jun recalled that he visited Cebu before.

“Actually a few years back I was able to visit Cebu. And this was a very memorable time for me. So recently I also enjoyed going to different vacations. If I’m here I would also love to visit tourist or vacation spots,” he said.

He added, “Of course, before, being able to visit the Philippines and also other countries was very exciting to me. Whenever I visit different countries, the most I am excited about is being able to meet my fans.”

Park Seo-jun will star in the Hollywood film “The Marvels” and recently, Marvel Studios revealed his character poster as Prince Yan.

In addition, he will star in the Netflix series “Gyeongseong Creature,” which took two years to film spanning seasons 1 and 2.

“First I have this upcoming series called Gyeongseong Creature. We have been shooting the project for the past two years, completing seasons 1 and 2. We’ll get to see each other again in December,” he said.

Park Seo-jun said he studies the role he will portray in a drama.

“First when I receive a scenario for a new project, I first try to look in, take all the information that I can get from that. However, when I see some missing spots, as an actor, I think it’s my responsibility to fill it up myself,” he said.

Korean star Park Seo-jun at his Fun Meet in Manila (Jonathan Hicap)

He does not have any specific acting genre that he wants to try.

“Since there are a lot of different genres that exist, I truly cannot say I want to try a specific genre. And of course for me the thing that I love the most doing is acting and at the moment I haven’t thought about trying other endeavors yet,” he said.

When asked to describe his ideal vacation, he explained, “Of course, when it comes to vacation, most of us might think of being in sports or different activities that we can do.”

“But for me the most important vacation is the ability to empty your mind. Since I myself do not have a lot of opportunities to empty my mind, it will be best for me to have a vacation where I can empty my mind and have some free time for myself,” he said.

Park Seo-jun has come a long way in his career as an actor. If he give advice to his 18-year-old self, he said, “If I would remember myself during those years, I was having a very hard time because I really had a vague future.”

“But if I have the chance to give advice to my 18-year-old self, I would like to say that if you will just do your best, everything will work out. However, even though everything will work out, I hope you will never lose your own self,” he added.

He said, “Thank you very much to IAM for making this opportunity.”

Park Seo-jun’s Fun Meet in Manila was presented by Wilbros Live.