'His Majesty' Lee Chae-min captivates Filipino fans
“His Majesty” Lee Chae-min wowed the Filipino audience with his charm as he held his fan meeting in Manila.
Lee Chae-min, star of the hit K-drama “Bon Appétit, Your Majesty,” held his fan meeting tour “Chaem-into you” in Manila on Nov. 23 at the New Frontier Theater.
The 25-year-old Korean actor experienced a surge in popularity after starring opposite Yoona in “Bon Appétit, Your Majesty,” which ended in September with a nationwide rating of 17.107 percent in South Korea. This placed the series at No. 12 of the all-time highest rated series on cable TV in South Korea to date.
He was a second choice for the role but ended up nailing it, drawing praise from viewers.
On Netflix, “Bon Appétit, Your Majesty” became the No. 1 title on the non-English TV shows list and spent 10 weeks in the top 10.
The drama pushed up Lee Chae-min’s status as an actor like what “Lovely Runner’ did for actor Byeon Woo-seok. The two actors are managed by Varo Entertainment.
Lee Chae-min’s “Chaem-into you” fan meeting primarily became an avenue to introduce him to fans.
He talked about his career and life, showed his talent in singing and dancing, and interacted with fans.
The star opened the fan meeting by playing “Stay with Me” on the piano, a talent he has cultivated since he was young. “Stay with Me” by Korean singer Huh Gak is an original soundtrack from “Bon Appétit, Your Majesty.”
“I've been practicing a lot during the rehearsal today but because of all your cheers, I've actually enjoyed performing and playing the piano. And actually, it's my first time to hear this much of a great response while I was playing the piano. You know, your response, it's really overwhelming,” he said.
He added, “Kamusta (How are you)? Well, it's an honor to finally meet my Manila fans.”
When asked by emcee Kring Kim, Lee Chae-min said this was his first time to visit Manila.
Personal details
In the segment “In TMI Chaemin,” he revealed personal details. Among them were that his blood type is AB, his height is 190.2 cm (6’2”) and his hobbies are playing the piano, basketball and swimming.
The first thing that came to his mind when he arrived in Manila was that it was hot since he came from Korea where the weather is now cold.
He also picked his eyes as the part of his face that he liked the most.
Lee Chae-min also became an emcee on the Korean TV music program “Music Bank” for one year and seven months.
In the segment “Chaemin Bank,” he tried speaking in Filipino such as saying, “Guys, ako ang talaga ang hinihintay ninyo, ‘di ba? (Guys, I'm the one you've been waiting for, right?)” and “Akin ka na lang (You are mine).” He also danced.
One of the highlights of the fan meeting was when Lee Chae-min went down to the audience area and roamed around the venue to be up close with fans. He also sang “Hug Me.”
In the “ChaeMission” segment, he did the “Marikit sa Dillim” challenge and expressed food with his body and fans had to guess it.
About “Bon Appétit, Your Majesty,” he said his favorite food was macaron and picked his favorite scenes.
“The part when I had to let her go. It was so sad,” he said, and the kissing scene.
Lee Chae-min also played charade with a fan and read messages from them. He had a selfie with a fan and hugged others.
In “Chaem-into Time,” he and a fan reenacted a scene from the Filipino film “Starting Over Again” starring Piolo Pascual and Toni Gonzaga.
As he wrapped up the fan meeting, Lee Chae-min said, “Your responses were really amazing. You just really made it like I want to provide you more. Because of this great love, I’m just fully recharged. I think I can really wrap up this year very well and start my next year amazingly.”
He was overwhelmed and fought back tears when a fan video was shown on the screen containing messages.
Lee Chae-min capped the event by performing “I Find You,” another song from “Bon Appétit, Your Majesty.”
The “Chaem-into you” in Manila was presented by Pulp Live World. Varo Entertainment, Pinnalive, and Merry Go Round.