Among the thousands of fans attending their fave's fan meeting, hardly anyone expects to be on the same stage as their fave. Admit it, everyone has a very slim chance of getting that opportunity. But for our resident fangirl this week, Diane Ang, the stars totally aligned for her and gave her THE most unforgettable fan experience.
We're betting that Diane will have the date, June 22, 2024, marked as an important date for the rest of her life. It was the day that she personally met one of her favorite South Korean actors, Byeon Woo Seok—and she even re-enacted a scene with him IRL!
ICYMI, Byeon Woo Seok had his first-ever fan meeting in the Philippines. It was part of his first Asia Tour called Summer Letter. The South Korean actor gained global popularity because of his stunning portrayal as Ryu Sun Jae in the time-slip K-drama, Lovely Runner (which you have to watch!).
For the record, Diane had her eyes locked on Woo Seok since 2016. Perhaps fewer fans know about this, but Woo Seok actually starred alongside Nam Joo Hyuk in the hit K-drama, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo. It was just a supporting cameo role, but it was enough to catch Diane's attention.
"I've been a fan since when he had a cameo on Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo way back in 2016. That's when he caught my attention because he’s so charming. And I started following him on Instagram," Diane told Cosmopolitan Philippines in an exclusive chat. So this year is her eighth year following Woo Seok. We think she deserves the experience, FR!
Road to Byeon Woo Seok's Summer Letter Fan Meeting
It was in early May 2024 when Woo Seok's agency, VARO Entertainment, announced that the actor would be embarking on his first-ever Asia tour. His tour listed shows in several countries including Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
TBH, no one can deny that Woo Seok's fame is out of this world. He's so famous these days that all of his fan meetings got sold out. As a matter of fact, Filipino fans (also called Woo Che Tongs as a fandom, a.k.a Tongtongs) felt the intensity of scoring a ticket to Woo Seok's fan meet.
Diane recalled the ticket-selling for Woo Seok's fan meet, which happened last June 2nd. Tickets went on sale at exactly 12 noon Manila time. She said, "This was legit very intense. I was on the website at exactly 12:02 PM and the tickets were already sold out."
She added, "We were about to give up during the ticketing but we kept refreshing even after an hour. Our priority ticket was Royalty but we ended up securing Orchestra instead. We’re still so very thankful and lucky because we thought that PULP (Live World) would announce a chance for Day 2 after the 1st day of selling."
There was a possibility of a second day for Woo Seok's Manila fan meet, as hinted by the local organizer, PULP Live World. However, it was probably because of Woo Seok's hectic schedule that a second day was not granted.
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First of all, we think it's safe to say that Byeon Woo Seok is one of those actors who can be tagged as a "Prince of Fan Service." He knows how to shower his fans with the sweetest and most intimate gestures—and his fan meetings were solid proof of it.
Woo Seok's fan meetings include segments where he will re-enact Lovely Runner scenes with fans, take selcas with them, and also play some games, too.
For Diane, her lucky moment was to re-enact a Lovely Runner scene. The scene assigned to her was the iconic scene where Woo Seok's character, Ryu Sun Jae, and Kim Hye Yoon's role, Im Sol, were taking photos inside a photo booth. At one point in the scene, Sun Jae makes a half-heart pose on Sol's cheeks, leaving her flustered!
For reference, here's the photo booth scene that Diane re-enacted with Woo Seok:
Diane happily shared her before-and-after fan meeting experience with us, and to be very honest, we're so happy for her! She noted that she was feeling an unexplainable anxiety before the fan meet started.
"Actually, when I was still at home, I was actually really anxious at that time. I messaged my boyfriend that I had this weird feeling that I cannot explain. And he replied, 'Tignan mo matatawag ka nyan mamaya sa stage," she said to Cosmo.
At this point, we're not sure if Diane was just really lucky or if her BF was her lucky charm. The moment her seat number was called, she knew that her beau's manifestation worked!
In our exclusive chat, Diane enthusiastically detailed the once-in-a-lifetime experience of being with Woo Seok on stage, with only a few centimeters of space between them. And we felt all the feels from Diane as she sent us her answer in ALL CAPS. She gave all the details—from his scent, to how cute his dimples were, and of course how she loved his charming smile.
Describing Byeon Woo Seok to Cosmo, "HE WAS VERY TALL, HANDSOME. HE SMELLS LIKE SWEET FRESH FLOWERS. HIS DIMPLES ARE VERY CHARMING. HIS HANDS WERE VERY BIG AND I FELT BUTTERFLIES IN MY STOMACH DURING OUR INTERACTION, HAHA."
Diane even underscored how she immediately understood why Woo Seok remains attractive and endearing to her and to fellow Tongtongs. "HE KNOWS HOW TO GET THE GIRLIES HEARTS (He knows how to get that “kurot” of Filipinas' hearts). AND I TRULY FELT THAT HIS LOVE FOR HIS FANS IS VERY GENUINE," the fangirl conveyed. What an experience, right?!
Diane Ang is in her Byeon Woo Seok era for life
Of course, the experience made Diane love Byeon Woo Seok even more. As always, he has been a great source of happiness and kilig for Diane. She's not denying any bit of it. She even referenced her feelings for Woo Seok via one of BINI's love songs, "Lagi."
"Just listen to the chorus of "Lagi" by BINI, that's how I am literally feeling right now LMAO. I always have very good mornings and good nights, always in a good mood and I repeatedly watch our fan cams [laughs]." Diane declared.
For Diane, being a fangirl requires a lot of perseverance and also a lot of manifesting instances. She shares a final message for everyone wanting to get that ultimate fangirl experience: "Don’t give up on your dreams. Always manifest and it will come at the right time, right place, and right moment."
As someone who also attended the fan meet (yes, we were there!) and saw Diane's shining moment with Woo Seok, more than feeling jealous, we felt utterly overwhelmed with everything. Even if you did not go up onstage, Woo Seok successfully reached out to everyone with his sincere gestures and bubbly personality toward fans.
Byeon Woo Seok's presence is like a warm embrace that will always give you that comfort and unfading sense of happiness in your fangirl life.
Special thanks to PULP Live World.