Metro Manila has never seen a fan meet like this—four hours long with the audience still clamoring for more, many of them teary-eyed, then lingering on in the lobby to bond with fellow fans before they stepped out onto the soft drizzle. The city was in its usual gloomy rainy mood—except at SM Arena, where the mood was happy, nearly euphoric, at close to midnight.
All of that thanks to Park Bo Gum, the world-famous Korean actor and musician whose fan meet, Park Bo Gum Be With You Manila, last Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, had many firsts in this era of fan meets with Korean stars and idols. Done with Live Nation, it began at exactly 6:30 pm and ended at 10:40 pm, his hi-bye with all (all!) fans in the arena still to follow. He spoke English primarily, even to the quintessential fan meet host Sam Oh, whom he introduced to the arena audience, instead of the other way around. He asked the audience to welcome Sam with a loud applause as he called her in—we hadn’t seen a fan meet in the Philippines where the Korean star did the introduction of the emcee.
It was obvious that, apart from the segments, the show was generally unscripted, in English at that—something that surprised the fans, who have been so used to interpreters. He tried so hard to express his thoughts and feelings in English, lapsing into Korean only when at a loss for words—a supreme, gracious effort that won over the audience even more, his sincerity shining through the show’s high energy.
“Lalarga na!” he said in cute Tagalog as he moved the toy train to signal the show’s journey. (The show’s theme and concept centered on journey, referring to his career that has spanned 13 years, supported by fans every step of the way, even during and after his military enlistment in 2020.)
“….Protect the weak, respect elders. If people with that right mind increase, world will be better,” he said trying to explain what his latest drama hit, Good Boy, was all about.
Actually it’s hard enough to explain the lesson and plot of K-drama, but to explain it in English—that’s a different level indeed for any Korean actor. In that interview portion, Sam obviously was impressed. The interpreter would pick up only when Bo Gum strained for words.
Bo Gum talked—really talked— to the audience. When it was getting really late, and it was obvious how the audience had remained immersed nonetheless, he asked them if they didn’t mind being out late at night: “Are you far from your station?” He meant subway station—Bo Gum is known to take the subway in Seoul, even as a big star.
His rapport with fans was easily among the strongest we’ve seen among Korean stars
He certainly knew how to engage the audience. His rapport with fans was easily among the strongest we’ve seen among Korean stars, his candor and spontaneity quite disarming. He was with them, just as the fan meet’s title said—literally. Towards the end, he worked the ground floor, walking up and down each aisle as his memorable single Let’s Go See the Stars played in the background. Then a few minutes later, after a brief lull (wardrobe change, apparently), he popped up in the upper floor, in track suit, to the screams of the audience caught by surprise, and again, he worked each aisle, from end to end.
Park Bo Gum goes to upper floor.
The packed arena got its money’s worth. “A Bo Gum concert is always sulit!” said one fan, who must have been speaking for every throbbing heart in the audience. “I’ve had so many fan meets; this is the greatest,” said a 72-year-old fan whom Bo Gum asked to go up onstage to greet her happy birthday. Our fan date, Ria Tangco, a longtime colleague from ABS-CBN Publishing, met a Filipina who flew in from London to watch the fan meet.
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Bo Gum is said to be among the most hardworking and diligent Korean oppas, be it in his drama series, movies, or concerts. Music is his passion—singing, playing the piano. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Musical Theater from Myongi University and a Masters in New Media Music from Sangmyung University.
“Is it ok?” he asked the audience if they liked or understood the songs he sang in Korean. “When I was emcee in Cantabile (music talk show, The Seasons: Park Bo Gum Cantabile), I met good artists, musicians, had good time with them so I want to share with you.” Then he sang Confession.
His diligence was evident—he obviously had a hand in crafting this show, from the interviews to the musical segment to the fan encounters throughout the arena.
The fan meet began with Bo Gum emerging onstage, dashing and dapper in military suit (referencing his latest role, the police officer in Good Boy on Disney+). He opened with Anyeong. He broke the ice, saying he was happy to be back in Manila after six years. This time, Manila was his fifth stop, after Yokohama, where he kicked off his world fan meet tour in July, followed by Seoul, Singapore, and Kaohsiung. After Manila would be Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, then finally on to Mexico, Brazil (I remember a video of fans cheering wildly as he hosted Music Bank there), and Chile.
Then this actor, who has two Baeksang Arts Awards, explained that, inspired by the movie Harry Potter and the iconic train platform, he envisioned this fan meet as a train trip from one stop to another, a journey with his fans.
Sam coaxed him to play with the word “pogi” like Bo Gum. He tried to say “pogi.”
He said he arrived late just the night before and felt blessed to be welcomed by many friends. Bo Gum calls fans not “fans,” but “friends,” we’d note throughout the show.
Asked by Sam what Filipino dishes he’d try, he said he hadn’t been eating much to keep his “looks,” but he’d tried our coconut water and putoseco (native powdery cookies made of glutinous rice).
Though he tried to do his travel vlog, he couldn’t but fall asleep on the flight to Manila, and asked for just champagne, sparkling water, and “a cup of milk.”
Sam let him talk extensively about his latest dramas—When Life Gives You Tangerines (Netflix) and Good Boy (Disney+)—both critically acclaimed and with high ratings.
This first segment—the interview—was as good as listening to an exclusive with Park Bo Gum about acting and the characters he played. He talked of how When Life Gives You Tangerines was a journey to make the audience feel happiness and love. (By the way, some fans came wearing tangerine hats.)
He talked about how he tried to bulk up for the boxer role in Good Boy, gesturing at his chest. One amused fan beside us shouted: “Just show it!”
He said if the audience of Good Boy observed well enough, they’d note that the suit he wore in an episode was too small for him.
He didn’t use stuntmen, he said with pride, yet did one-take scenes in his first action drama. Among the scenes, his “personal favorite,” he said, was the tunnel scene with his co-stars, which was shot during Christmas.
He said he wanted people to remember Good Boy for how people with the “right mind could influence other people,” and the “search for justice everywhere.”
The show’s second part was his music. He sang his songs and accompanied himself on the piano, including On My Way; the iconic My Person from Love in the Moonlight, the drama that broke records and clinched his world stardom; and All My Love, which he released before his military enlistment in 2020.
Bo Gum sang so many songs—we lost count—but what was unforgettable was how he asked the audience for requests, as he accompanied on the piano. He was jamming with the audience. He said he really wanted to “share my mind through the lyrics” though he “wasn’t really a singer.”
In the Grant a Wish part, a fan wrote if Bo Gum could greet her 72-year-old mother a happy birthday; she had brought her along. A visibly touched Bo Gum wanted to see the mother herself, and asked mother and daughter to come up onstage. They did, and Bo Gum played Happy Birthday on the piano as the mother and daughter stood before him, incredulous. Saying hi to the two, Bo Gum uttered what sounded like “Sobrang Latina” to comment on the daughter’s dusky complexion.
Cap that Bo Gum gave away as raffle prize—he wore this at his 2019 fan meet in Manila. (Screenshot by Ria Tangco)
He gave away personal gifts to lucky fans. To us, the most special among these was the cap he wore to Manila on his visit six years ago. Giving away a Celine (health?) product (he’s a Celine ambassador), he was asked if it really worked; he said he didn’t know—that spontaneous.
Bo Gum said, but ‘I have to go,’ and asked, ‘Anyone wants to go to toilet?’
As the night wore on, the audience broke into “Walang uuwi! (nobody goes home!),” to which Bo Gum said, but “I have to go,” and asked, “Anyone wants to go to toilet?”
Then the audience got what they really wanted: Bo Gum getting off the stage to go all the way to them, walking past them, aisle by aisle, waving, doing high-fives—the ground floor first, then after an intermission, the upper floors. He told the audience, “Please don’t stand, don’t want you guys hurt.”
Indeed, quite literally, Park Bo Gum has raised the level for fan meets.
At this point, you’re convinced, Park Bo Gum is already, definitely, a mainstay on your list of fast-changing Korean oppas. I’ve always seen Bo Gum as BFF material—both diligent and fun, obviously intelligent.
The time: 9:49 pm, Bo Gum was still working the upper floors.
A little past 10 pm, Bo Gum stood onstage, in the rain of confetti. He was certainly saying goodbye now.
10:10 pm. Only the video was running onstage, as many in the audience turned teary-eyed.
Then we overheard a woman on our row exclaim, “Salamat sa buhay mo! (Thank you for your life!)”
Doesn’t get any better than that.
By the way, is there anything this multi-hyphenate can’t do? In his old travel-reality series (Youth Over Flowers), you remember how he can’t drive well. Minor detail.
