From speaking and singing in Filipino, and doing the “Dati-Dati” dance challenge, K-pop idol and actress Yoona delighted Pinoy fans at her first ever fan meeting in Manila.
The star of the hit drama “King the Land” held her “Yoonite in Manila” fan meeting tour on March 1 at the SMX Convention Center Manila, SM Mall of Asia Complex.
Yoona at her fan meeting in Manila on March 1 (Instagram, Weverse)
Just nearly four months ago, her “King the Land” co-star Lee Jun-ho had his “Jun-ho The Moment” fan meeting in Manila.
Jun-ho and Yoona played the lead roles of Goo Won and Chun Sa-rang in “King the Land,” respectively. The final episode garnered a rating of 13.789 percent, the highest for the JTBC series.
Yoona, a member of K-pop group Girls’ Generation, was excited to meet her Filipino fans, who were likewise thrilled to see the star.
She opened her Manila fan meeting by performing her 2017 song “When the Wind Blows,” which has 12.66 million views for its music video on YouTube.
After the number, Yoona impressed the audience when she greeted them in Filipino.
“Kamusta kayo? Na-miss ninyo ba ako? Na-miss ko din kayo. Sobrang saya ko ngayon. May oras na tayong magkita ng personal. Naghintay kayo ng matagal ngayon no? Ako din naghintay ako ng matagal sa inyo. Hinintay ko talaga na makabalik sa Philippines kaya mag-enjoy kayo today at gumawa ng mga magagandang memories.
“(How are you? Did you miss me? I missed you too. I am so happy right now. We have time to see each other in person. You waited for so long, right? I also waited for so long for you. I really waited [for a chance] to come back to the Philippines so please enjoy today and make beautiful memories),” said Yoona.
She added, “It’s been a long time since we actually met so I’m happy seeing you guys. You guys are so energetic so I am really impressed and touched.”
The audience chanted “Diyosa! Dyosa!” or “goddess.”
Yoona at her fan meeting in Manila on March 1 (SM Entertainment)
The fan meeting had many Filipino elements. In the early part of the event, Yoona was requested to taste “mangga’t bagoong,” a Filipino favorite combination of green mango and shrimp paste.
After eating it, Yoona said, “It’s not that salty and at the end there is like a sour taste. I think the shrimp is like dry. There is a very savory taste of it. But I think there will be a lot of smell in my mouth. I’ll just have another mango.” Yoona rated “mangga’t bagoong” 4.5 points out of 5.
SEGMENTS
There were several segments at Yoona’s fan meeting wherein she answered questions from fans and met them on stage, and discussed her acting projects.
Ask Yoona
In “Ask Yoona,” she answered questions sent by fans.
One fan of 15 years told Yoona, “I’m glad you’re here now finally. Did you miss your Sones [fans]?
“That is why I’m here. I actually saw your comments where you guys are cheering for us. I miss you guys more than that,” said Yoona.
A fan even flew from Cambodia just to see Yoona at the fan meeting.
Another fan asked her about her hopes and dreams for herself and her fans. Yoona answered, “I really hope you find your happiness."
She was asked to choose her most memorable character she played and she replied, “I actually love every role that I play.”
A fan also asked her what she wanted to tell her 20-year-old self to which she said, “You can do it? I hope I can say to myself, you know you can actually keep going just like you think what is right.”
“Also one thing that I think is important from the past up to now–love yourself,” she said.
Between drama or movie, she chose drama, and between dancing and acting, she said, “No comment.” Between Sones and Timothée Chalamet, she said, “Of course, it’s Sones.”
Selected fans were called on stage to be with Yoona where they got the chance to say anything to her, have a photo with her and hug her.
In “The Star,” Yoona discussed her memorable scenes in dramas and movies including the film “Confidential Assignment” with Hyun Bin and drama “King the Land” with Jun-ho.
Mission Impossible
In “Mission Impossible,” Yoona picked numbers which contained missions she had to do.
The first was for Yoon to dance to the chorus of the Girls’ Generation song “Run Devil Run.”
In the second mission, Yoona was asked to sing a song and she performed “Pano” by Filipino singer Zack Tabudlo.
She also imitated animation characters.
Next was Yoona doing the “Dati-Dati” dance challenge. “Dati-Dati” is a song by Sarah Geronimo.
She also danced to Girls’ Generation’s debut single “Into The New World.”
After the segment, Yoona performed the song “Knock.” She got a banner prepared by fans and a special blank banner where she wrote her message.
“So this is my own banner for me, right? So you guys prepared it for me? This is actually my first time,” said Yoona.
She wrote “mahal ko kayo” in hangul or Korean alphabet.
Finale
For her farewell song, Yoona sang “Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway” released in 2016 and which has 12 million views on YouTube.
“I am actually very thankful for the overflowing love that you have given me today. And I know you guys waited for so long and I hope you guys enjoyed the time with me. Thank you so much for coming and I hope to see you guys again. Though we are quite distant, thank you so much for making me feel so close with you guys. Mahal ko kayo (I love you),” Yoona told fans.
Yoona’s “Yoonite in Manila” was presented by CNCA.