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15 Things We Discovered About Song Joong Ki During His First Manila Event

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<div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748148098726batch_DSC01201.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Song Joong Ki during his press conference in Manila | Photo by Pat Buenaobra</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p><strong>Song Joong Ki </strong>finally met his Filipino fans last May 24 during his first-ever event in Manila, Philippines. Organized by health and wellness brand <strong>I AM Worldwide</strong>, the “<strong>I AM Song Joong Ki: Live in Manila</strong>” event was held at MOA Arena, where he bonded with his fans for more than an hour of fun-filled onstage chats and games. </p><p>Song Joong Ki is the face of three I AM Worldwide products: Amazing Pure Organic Barley, Amazing Choco Barley, and Amazing Caffe Macchiato. He said he likes these products not only for their benefits to his body but also how delicious they taste—we lost count of the times he said “<em>masarap</em>!” He said he usually prefers food that is good for digestion, so he’s into organic products, too.</p><p>When asked about the campaign shoot he did with the brand in South Korea, Song Joong Ki shared that he remembered it being really cold. Upon seeing how warmly Filipino fans welcomed him, he said through a translator, “What if <em>dito na lang ako mag</em>-shoot <em>sa</em> Manila next time?” And the audience erupted in cheers.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Related: </strong><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/metro-style/people/2025/5/24/song-joong-ki-talks-about-his-family-during-manila-press-conference-1707" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Song Joong Ki in Manila—The Korean Star Shares Cute Anecdotes About His Family</strong></a></div><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748466933060batch_DSC01153.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><div><br/></div><p>Song Joong Ki is famous for K-dramas like <em>Sungkyunkwan Scandal, The Innocent Man, Descendants of the Sun, Arthdal Chronicles, Vincenzo, </em>and<em> Reborn Rich</em>, as well as movies <em>A Werewolf Boy, The Battleship Island, Space Sweepers, Hopeless, My Name Is Loh Kiwan, </em>and<em> Bogota: City of the Lost</em>. These projects have endeared him to fans across the globe, but especially to K-culture-loving Filipinos. </p><p>When Janeena asked him why he thinks his K-dramas are so endearing, Song Joong Ki turned to the audience to ask, “Why?” And from where they were sitting, the fans were shouting what Song Joong Ki and his shows mean to them. His work clearly had such a significant impact on the fans in ways he never would’ve imagined. <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/metro-style/people/2025/5/25/watch-janice-de-belen-is-the-luckiest-fan-at-song-joong-ki-s-manila-event-0858" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Seasoned Filipina actress Janice de Belen</a>, for instance, who attended his Manila event, later shared on Instagram that Song Joong Ki’s drama, <em>Descendants of the Sun</em>, helped her cope with grief when her mother passed away. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Related: </strong><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/metro-style/people/2025/5/25/watch-janice-de-belen-is-the-luckiest-fan-at-song-joong-ki-s-manila-event-0858" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Watch: Janice de Belen Is the Luckiest Fan at Song Joong Ki&#x27;s Manila Event</strong></a></div><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748466731421batch_DSC01091.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><p style="text-align:left">During the show, Janeena also told Song Joong Ki that Filipinos specifically loved his portrayal in <em>Vincenzo</em> because of his “bad boy image,” and he was delighted to know that. </p><p>From his press con to his live appearance, fans got to know him better, and we, too, were delighted to have seen different sides of him through the stories and trivia he shared about himself. Here, we listed some of our discoveries about Song Joong Ki. </p><div><br/></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748466748622batch_DSC01185.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><br/></div><div><strong>He found Filipinos kind and friendly, so he really wanted to come to Manila.</strong></div><p>Song Joong shared with ABS-CBN News, “I have some Filipino friends in Korea through my friend. And then, when I stayed in Italy with my wife, we had some Filipino friends there, too. So, the image of the Filipino people for us is so kind, so friendly.” This good impression made him want to come to Manila, since it was about 15 years ago when he first visited Cebu, Philippines, for a vacation. Unfortunately, his Manila trip was short, so he couldn’t explore much of the country. “But next time, I really want to come here for my family vacation because I heard here, there are many beautiful islands,” he said, adding that he knows about Palawan.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>If he had more time in Manila, he would&#x27;ve wanted to...</strong></div><p>...check out the traditional supermarkets to acquaint himself with the local products.</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:left"><strong>The role he wants to try next is…</strong></div><p>…a vampire! Song Joong Ki said he wants to dabble in the fantasy genre. In 2012, he starred in the fantasy romance film <em>A Werewolf Boy,</em> and he shared that he really enjoyed his character there, and it made him think of doing a vampire character. “<em>Pero s’yempre, dapat </em>one of a kind ’<em>yung</em> vampire. Vampire <em>na</em> <em>may</em> Asian color <em>din</em>,” the interpreter said, translating Song Joong Ki’s comment.</p><div><br/></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748467021262ADSC01122a.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/> </div><div><strong>His favorite season is…</strong></div><p>…summer! When Song Joong Ki shared that during the event, Janeena joked, “’<em>Wag ka na umuwi</em>! Summer <em>lagi dito</em>!” Although the weather is hot, he feels like summer makes him feel alive. Janeena joked him once again, “<em>Naku, ’wag ka na uuwi talaga. Dito ka na</em>!” Quickly, he replied, “Okay!” He joked back, saying that he would call his wife and tell her he wouldn’t come home.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>The oldest thing he owns is...</strong></div><p>...a car key!</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748467123061batch_DSC01159.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>His favorite scenes from <em>Vincenzo</em> are…</strong></div><p>The interpreter translated Song Joong Ki’s answer to that question, saying, “<em>Ang dami kong </em>memorable scenes, but<em> isa dun ’yung </em>last episode, <em>may</em> kissing <em>sa</em> last episode.<em> Tapos ’yung</em> first episode, ’<em>yung</em> winery, <em>nasunog</em>. ’<em>Yun din ’yung</em> memorable <em>sa’kin</em>.” Song Joong Ki further shared that he really loved the script of <em>Vincenzo</em> and welcomes the idea of a second season for it. “In the<em></em><em></em> drama, I was able to overcome the struggle of being a bad boy, and I think I’ve done a great job in that <em></em>drama,” Song Joong Ki said, as translated.  </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>He said he likes the sound of the Filipino language and would like to study it.</strong></div><p>A Korean’s fan meet in the Philippines isn’t complete without a segment teaching the artist some Filipino words. At Song Joong Ki’s event, he learned Filipino words like “<em>masarap</em>” (delicious), “<em>kalapati</em>” (dove or pigeon), “<em>apoy</em>” (fire), “<em>ginto</em>” (gold), and “<em>gusali</em>” (building). Janeena even taught him to say “<em>kalma lang</em>” (just relax) and “<em>dahan-dahan</em>” (slowly).  </p><div><br/></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748467368123batch_DSC01190.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><p style="text-align:left">There was a segment during the “I AM Song Joong Ki: Live in Manila” called “Read My Mind.” Select fans were invited onstage for a game. There were two options presented for each round, and they had to guess Song Joong Ki&#x27;s preferences from those options. They had to write their guesses on a whiteboard, and Song Joong Ki had to write down his pick, too! Here are the things we learned about him during this part of the program:</p><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><p>Between cats and dogs, he prefers dogs. He has an Italian greyhound named Nalla. </p><p>Between pizza and pasta, he prefers pasta.</p><p>Between the beach and the mountain, he prefers the mountain. </p><p>Between chocolate and vanilla, he prefers chocolate. </p><p>Between coffee and tea, he prefers coffee. “I really love coffee,” he said. </p><div><br/></div><blockquote cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@metrodotstyle/video/7508218412708023560" class="tiktok-embed" data-video-id="7508218412708023560" id="v65911290514934520" style="max-width:605px;min-width:325px"><iframe name="__tt_embed__v65911290514934520" sandbox="allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-same-origin" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7508218412708023560?lang=en-US&amp;referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-05-25T03%3A45%3A57.974774%3A71b2caab-9c12-4bac-85da-8ac57d7d7f63%26action%3Dedit" style="width:100%;height:758px;display:block;visibility:unset;max-height:758px"></iframe></blockquote><script async="" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Photos by <strong>Pat Buenaobra</strong></p>

<p>Korean superstar Song Joong Ki talked about the next role he wants to portray, his favorite scenes from his well-loved series "Vincenzo," and more!</p>

Korean superstar Song Joong Ki talked about the next role he wants to portray, his favorite scenes from his well-loved series "Vincenzo," and more!

12 Things We Discovered About Song Joong Ki During His Manila Event

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12 Things We Discovered About Song Joong Ki During His Manila Event

Grace Libero

Published May 29, 2025 05:30 AM PHT

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Updated May 29, 2025 05:37 AM PHT

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