Since the boom of Korean culture and the surge in popularity of K-Pop, K-Drama, and Korean movies, we’ve come to know handfuls of celebrities from the beloved country.
Similarly, ever since South Korean media has taken hold of the world and Philippines, our own country rose in popularity as a tourist destination for Koreans!
Before the pandemic closed ports worldwide in 2020, the Philippines already saw a huge number of Korean visitors. The Philippine Travel Agencies Association as well as the Department of Tourism recognized Koreans as the top in tourist arrivals in the Philippines. 2019 marked the 10th straight year that Koreans have been the Philippines’ top tourist market.
Let’s take a quick look at which celebrities have visited our wonderful archipelago:
1. Lee Min Ho
We’ve known and loved Lee Min Ho for his portrayal of Gu Jun Pyo in “Boys Over Flowers”. We love him more for every drama he’s been part of since then. He says he will never get tired of coming to the Philippines and he’s visited 5 times, but only recently did he visit Cebu. He was spotted in SM Seaside City Cebu wearing an “ANNYEONG Cebuanos,” orange T-shirt to promote Bench.
According to him, he wondered to himself why it took so long for him to make his way down here. Other than that, he’s had pictures of him lying on a boat and diving in beaches in Cebu.
2. BTS
This world-famous boyband that has stolen the hearts of many once held a two-day concert in Manila back in 2017. Not many might remember, but they also did a photoshoot in Coron, Palawan for their 2017 Summer Package.
The group has also since become SMART endorsers, so eager fans may have the chance of meeting them again in person soon when the world opens up again!
3. Park Seo-Joon
A known endorser of Philippine brands, including Bench, Park Seo-Joon has visited the Philippines more than one time. He has his personal vlog showing the time he explored Metro Manila, another documenting his time in Makati, Greenbelt, and The Peninsula Manila which included him enjoying a giant bowl of halo-halo!
His very first trip to the Philippines was a trip to the world-famous Boracay when he visited for a “Vogue Girl” photoshoot.
4. Son Ye-Jin
The beloved “Crash Landing on You” actress once expressed how much she wanted to revisit our country after the pandemic peters out. Her first time in the Philippines is reported to have been in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, where she enjoyed the beach at Dos Palmas Island Resort & Spa.
Son Ye-Jin is currently endorsing SMART Communications, so she might be coming back real soon!
5. Im Soo-Hyang
“My ID is Gangnam Beauty” and “When I Was the Most Beautiful” star Im Soo-Hyang once visited Cebu with the cast of My ID is Gangnam Beauty for a vacation. This was their reward to celebrate the hit success of the series.
Accompanied by Cha Eun-Woo, Kwak Dong-Yeon, Jo Woo-Ri, Min Do-Hee, Park Yoo-Na, Jung Seung-Hye, Kim Do-Yeon and Lee Tae-Sun, they surely enjoyed exploring the beaches of Cebu and they even strolled around Ayala Center Cebu wearing shirts that said, “Cebu!”
6. Sandeul
Singer-performer boy group B1A4’s Sandeul also took his very own vacation in Visayas. Specifically, he visited the island of Bohol and went cliff jumping in Kawasan Falls. After his extreme experience, he went on a lazy ride on the Loboc River Cruise.
7. Taemin & Kai w/ The Padding Squad
“Princes of K-pop”, or SHINee, group member Taemin and Exo’s Kai went on a trip to Cebu with their famous group of K-Pop friends called “The Padding Squad” in 2019. Their trip was focused on water activities as they went beaching, snorkeling, diving, cliff-jumping, and even canyoneering in Kawasan Falls.
Kai also explored the cultural side of Cebu by visiting Fort San Pedro, Magellans Cross, generally the area in Cebu port where he could have also seen a lot of historical churches as well.
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