Jaehwa Bernardo

K-pop star Mingyu of SEVENTEEN during his fan meeting at the Araneta Coliseum, April 11, 2026. Photos from Snickers Philippines on Facebook

Article (news)

SEVENTEEN’s Mingyu shares sweet moments with Filipino crowd at fan meet

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776064705052Composite 2 Slanted (4).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="K-pop star Mingyu of SEVENTEEN during his fan meeting at the Araneta Coliseum, April 11, 2026. Photos from Snickers Philippines on Facebook"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">K-pop star Mingyu of SEVENTEEN during his fan meeting at the Araneta Coliseum, April 11, 2026. <em>Photos from Snickers Philippines on Facebook</em></span></span></span></div><p>Mingyu appeared onstage at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in a simple white shirt and dark trousers — a stark contrast to the elaborate outfits Filipino audiences have come to expect from the SEVENTEEN star during his group’s past visits for their concerts.</p><p>Unlike those high-energy shows, too, there were no bombastic openings or dramatic stage lifts. Instead, he entered from the side, casually making his way to center stage, greeting the crowd with an easy wave.</p><p>And yet the Filipino Carats, as SEVENTEEN’s fans are fondly called, who recently packed the Big Dome, still welcomed him with the same — or perhaps even more, as the K-pop star observed — energy seen at the group’s full-scale concerts, deafening shrieks and all.</p><p>“Wow! It’s amazing,” Mingyu said of the audience shortly after taking the stage of the Quezon City venue for his fan meeting organized by Snickers, where he serves as Asia brand ambassador.</p><p>“Their energy is even stronger than at a SEVENTEEN concert,” he added in Korean, with the remark translated by K-pop concert interpreter-turned-host Kyung-min Kim, who served both roles at the event.</p><div><br/></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:560px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2042956589347541116&amp;lang=en&amp;maxWidth=560px&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-04-12T05%3A10%3A43.335683%3A0c5b7eac-8aad-4ac0-b700-a538355dc5ac%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=e2db31ed902deeeca49d783ef551064233fc7545&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:560px;height:560px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="2042956589347541116"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><div><br/></div><p>The fan meet struck a far more relaxed atmosphere than a typical SEVENTEEN concert. There were no song-and-dance numbers, no body rolls to whip the crowd into a frenzy.</p><p>Instead, Mingyu’s hour-long appearance unfolded through lighthearted games, Q&amp;A segments, and fan interactions, offering a glimpse into the more candid and laidback side of the 29-year-old idol.</p><p>In fact, Mingyu didn’t really need to do much to get the crowd going. A simple “mabuhay” during his opening remarks was enough to trigger a wave of screams.</p><p>“I returned to the Philippines, that’s why I’m very happy to see all of you again,” Mingyu, who less than a month ago performed at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bulacan for SEVENTEEN&#x27;s &quot;New_&quot; concert tour, told the Araneta crowd.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/events/2026/3/22/seventeen-delivers-fun-high-energy-ph-show-in-final-new-tour-stop-1535"><strong>READ: SEVENTEEN delivers fun, high-energy PH show in final ‘New_’ tour stop<br/></strong></a></div><p>Having visited the country twice already this year, Mingyu was asked about what he looked forward to when visiting. “Of course, the fans,” he replied. “Is it so obvious? I remember coming here to the Philippines just for the fans and my schedules.”</p><div><strong>Fan interactions</strong></div><p>Much like the products he promoted, Mingyu proved just as sweet — a side of him that was especially evident during a segment where he shared the venue&#x27;s screens with fans from the audience, taking enviable photos together. Mingyu struck heart poses for them to mirror, blew kisses and even offered his cheek for fans on the split-screen to pretend to kiss.</p><p>There were also spontaneous moments that elicited loud screams from fans. At one point, as the crowd sang along to “Rock With You” playing in the background, the flirty Mingyu suddenly repeated the line “Baby hold on” in a speaking manner directed at the fans, triggering a wave of “kilig.” Another notable moment came when he briefly performed his iconic dance moves from the chorus of “Hot.”</p><p>There were also instances that revealed the playful relationship between Mingyu and Carats, such as during the balance game, where the idol and fans were asked to choose between two options to see if their answers matched. </p><p>When prompted with “Rollercoaster or merry-go-round?”, the audience teasingly picked “merry-go-round,” prompting an immediate protest from the idol.</p><p>“No!” he kept repeating before stressing, &quot;I love roller coasters, too! I’m not afraid of it that much.&quot; In collective disbelief, the local crowd responded with “Weh?”, leaving Mingyu to only respond with a “boo!” with a thumbs down.</p><p>When asked to choose between being clingy or nonchalant, Mingyu turned his mic toward the crowd, who responded in unison with “clingy.” He could only reply, “The fans know me so well.”</p><p>He also quickly picked up expressions from Filipino fans, including “eyyy” and its accompanying hand gesture, which he later repeated at various points. He also learned several Filipino words, such as “bakit” (why) — which he used to ask about certain reactions from the audience — “merienda” (snack) and “masarap” (delicious).</p><p>Seeing the enthusiasm of the crowd, it would be hard to believe that many of them had already spent practically the entire day around the Araneta Coliseum, taking part in various activities, including a pop-up booth at a nearby mall where they played games and took photos with Mingyu-themed photo walls and standees. By the afternoon, the booth area was already packed, with some fans bringing banners featuring a shirtless Mingyu as well as photos of him with bandmate Wonwoo.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1775969347814MINGYU2.jpeg" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="A fan takes a photo with a banner bearing the face of Mingyu, hung from a lamppost across the Araneta Coliseum. Jaehwa Bernardo, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A fan takes a photo with a banner bearing the face of Mingyu, hung from a lamppost across the Araneta Coliseum. <em>Jaehwa Bernardo, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1775969413955MINGYU.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Fans line up to take photos with one of the banners featuring Mingyu hanging from lampposts in front of the Araneta Coliseum. Jaehwa Bernardo, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Fans line up to take photos with one of the banners featuring Mingyu hanging from lampposts in front of the Araneta Coliseum. <em>Jaehwa Bernardo, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>In front of the Big Dome, banners of the K-pop star lined the lampposts. Fans carrying light sticks, photocards and other merchandise braved the sweltering heat during the afternoon to take photos with the displays, with some even forming queues just to get their shots.</p><p>The fans’ energy never faltered even after Mingyu left the stage and the event came to a close later that evening, as “Very Nice” — the group’s signature concert-closer — played. The crowd stayed behind to sing along and jump in unison, turning the scene into something like an actual SEVENTEEN concert.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/music/2026/4/7/seventeen-vows-to-sail-on-same-ship-as-all-members-renew-with-agency-1143"><strong>READ: SEVENTEEN vows to &#x27;sail on same ship’ as all members renew with agency<br/></strong></a></div><div><strong>Birthday celebration</strong></div><p>Before the event ended, Mingyu was also surprised with a birthday cake, having celebrated his birthday on April 6, just days before the fan meeting. The crowd also sang for him, during which he responded with cute dance moves before making a wish.</p><p>“I don’t know if it’s okay for me to have such a long birthday celebration,” he said.</p><p>“I’m very happy that I can celebrate my birthday with Carats,” he added, before asking who the other April celebrants were in the crowd and greeting them as well.</p><p>When he asked Kyung-min, the host, when his birthday was and was told June, Mingyu responded in jest, “Oh, see ya!” — a moment that drew laughter not only from the two of them but also from the crowd.</p><p>In his closing message, Mingyu thanked those who were able to attend the fan meet. “Even though our time was short, I hope you guys enjoyed tonight&#x27;s event,” he said.</p><p>He noted that he was unsure if he would be able to return to the country again this year, but appealed for continued support.</p><p>“It’s so meaningful, heartwarming and special that I got to see Filipino Carats today,” he said, before dishing out a Filipino expression once more: “Thank you so much everyone. Mahal ko kayo.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jZQX9qdWxZ8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><strong></strong><br/></div>

<p>SEVENTEEN star Mingyu's fan meeting in Manila carried a far more relaxed atmosphere than his group's concerts, but the fans' high energy impressed the K-pop heartthrob.</p>

SEVENTEEN star Mingyu's fan meeting in Manila carried a far more relaxed atmosphere than his group's concerts, but the fans' high energy impressed the K-pop heartthrob.