Kim Bum returned to the Philippines 10 years after his last visit to the country.

After making his debut in the 2006 South Korean series Unstoppable High Kick, model and actor Kim Bum skyrocketed to fame after starring in Boys Over Flowers, the South Korean version of the Taiwanese series Meteor Garden. 

This month, Viu Philippines brought back the 34-year-old actor to the country through their new initiative, Viu Scream Dates. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to Manila. Thank you so much for the warm welcome. I hope you all have fun tonight. I missed you guys so much. It’s been 10 years already," he shared during a fan meeting held last September 22 at the New Frontier Theater in Quezon City. 

"Actually, it’s been a really long time since I’ve been to Manila and to see Manila fans because of the pandemic and other circumstances I was not able to see you guys for a long time,” he added. 

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Kim Bum, who currently stars in the 2023 series Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 with Lee Dong Wook, admitted that he was relieved to have recovered after feeling under the weather right before flying to Manila. 

When asked how he feels about meeting his Pinoy fans again, he said: “I think the first thing that comes to my mind now, given my first impression, is that Manila fans are very passionate and also they’re very kind to me.”

One of the most memorable moments during his fan meeting was Kim Bum’s dancing, which he revealed he had to prepare for as early as four months ago. 

“I thought of it myself, though I regretted it (laughs). I thought about this performance a lot. I think I thought about my dance performance a thousand times in my head (laughs). Since I thought that you guys would be having fun with this corner, I prepared for it for three months," he said. 

"You know, I have never danced, even in front of my mother (laughs). I have prepared some dance for you. Based on the amount of classes and meetings that we’ve had, it’s been four months already. So, I have recorded all the songs from the start to the end and I have also practiced my dancing," he added. 

"Though I never tried dancing and I’ve also never practiced dancing, but seeing that you guys love it, you know I’m feeling very relieved. I prepared for three to four months and I have to say it’s a very fruitful thing,” he continued. 

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During the question and answer portion, Kim Bum shared his thoughts on some of his most memorable roles throughout the years. 

“Of course, it must be the most recent project Lee Rang from Tale of the Nine Tailed. Boys Over Flowers is also a very precious memory for me because it gave me the opportunity to meet you guys," he said. 

"Since the character that I performed in this project is quite bright and cute and that’s why people will say I’m cute then. Actually, there’s not much difference between the actor and real life. But in real life, I prefer a dark atmosphere," he added. 

"But because of you guys, I think my feelings are more moved this time. I want you guys to stay happy. I hope you guys won’t get hurt easily," he continued.

"I think the first thing that I put first when I perform a role is that I just share the feelings with the character and also to actually be able to express it well. I had fun talking about my story to you guys. I wanted you to see something different,” he concluded.