Korean actor Ju Ji Hoon, who Filipinos first knew of in 2006 as Prince Gian in the Korean drama Princess Hours, is known for his fan service. He carries babies, hugs fans, takes their letters and gifts, and defies his security people’s precautions most of the time just to interact with people.
I watched an old interview of Ju Ji Hoon where he talked about fan service. He said that it is his way of giving back to his fans who show up and take the time and effort.
Over the weekend, Filipino fans got a taste of the legendary fan service of Ju Ji Hoon. The star of The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call and Kingdom held his Juniverse in Manila fan meeting on Aug. 2, 2025 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater.
The actor opened his fan meeting with the song Relieved, which was originally sung by Korean singer Lee Juck. After that, host Sam Oh proceeded with JuTube, which was divided into several topics.
One of the most surprising revelations in JuTube is that this wasn’t Ju Ji-hoon’s first Manila visit.
He has tried Filipino food, visiting local markets as he does when traveling, and has eaten crispy pata, chicken, and fried rice.
Sam Oh also asked Ju Ji-hoon to say some Tagalog words in TagalJihoon. He tried saying Filipino phrases “Miss na kita (I miss you),” “Mahal kita (I love you) and “Ang ganda mo (You are beautiful).” He also said “Mahal kita” to a fan who was called to the stage to meet him.
During the fan meeting, he was asked how he connected with people and he said, “It’s because of how you express your love to me. I absorb it as much as possible.”
In the segment Thinkerverse, Ju Ji Hoon read questions and messages written by fans on Post-it notes. Fans whose messages were read got to go onstage and interact with the actor.
After the first half of the fan meeting, Ju Ji Hoon surprised fans by coming down and going around the audience area to mingle and be up close with them. This was surprising because Korean idols and actors rarely do this, for security reasons. Later on, he also played games with some of his fans.
Everyone who interacted with him onstage got a hug, a chance to take a selfie, or a Polaroid or all three. I am pretty sure selfies aren’t allowed using the fans’ cameras, but Ju Ju Hoon allowed it. As someone who has witnessed many concerts and fan meetings where the protocols are rigid, I was amazed at his level of fan service.
Ju Ji Hoon’s Filipino fans surprised him with a video containing their messages of support.
“I’ve been going through shoots recently in Korea but while I’m here in Manila, I’m so happy to be receiving energy from you guys. I’ll be using this energy to do more shoots, to do better while I’m in Korea,” said Ju Ji Hoon.
During the fan meeting, Ju Ji Hoon revealed that he is working on two projects, a fantasy and a webtoon adaptation. The latter is the reported adaptation of the popular online novel The Remarried Princess, also featuring Shin Min Ah, Lee Se Young, and Lee Jong Suk.
For his last song, Ju Ji Hoon performed Pretty, a song by Hong Kwang Ho.
Ju Ji Hoon’s Juniverse in Manila fan meeting was presented by Wilbros Live.
