Korean superstar Lee Min-ho recently spent a blissful weekend with his Filipino fans through the “Be My Yeobo” Benchsetter Fun Meet.

Lee was back in the country to renew his role as Bench endorser and to meet his fans in Manila and Cebu.

In an interview with Inquirer Lifestyle, Lee expressed his  gratitude to the fashion brand.

“I have been working with Bench for five years now, and through Bench I was able to communicate with my Filipino fans,” he said. “When I arrived at the airport, there were people waiting and I became really excited because it has been a long time since I last visited the Philippines.”

“Yeobo” is a Korean term of endearment for “honey,” and it’s perfect for Lee, who has become a heartthrob through his roles in hit TV shows like “Boys Over Flowers” as as Gu Jun Pyo, “City Hunter” as Lee Yoon Sung, and  “The Heirs” as Kim Tan.

Like close friends

But unlike his characters, which portray grand expressions of love, Lee said that what he values in a relationship is being comfortable with a loved one. “I want us to be like close friends,” he said.

Lee also thanked his fans who never fail to shower him with affection.

“I usually communicate with the fans through social network sites. They show much love for me, and I appreciate it very much. To pay back the love that I am receiving, I will return with good projects. I want to continue meeting Filipino fans in the future, as well,” he said.

Lee has 1.7 million followers on Instagram, more than 28 million followers on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo, and more than 17 million likes his verified Facebook page.

Asked what he thinks is the secret to his success, he said it’s probably a combination of good material and hard work.

“The first thing would be finding good material to work with. Not all work is good or suitable for me. The second thing is probably because I make sure that I put all of my efforts to bring out the best results,” he said.

Last year, the actor tackled a breakthrough role as a mobster in his first film, “Gangnam Blues,” which grossed $15 million at the Korean box office, with admissions of almost 2.2 million.

This year, his blockbuster action-comedy movie, “Bounty Hunters,” is set to be released.

It follows five bounty hunters who chase fugitives in China, Hong Kong, Korea and Thailand, and also stars Wallace Chung and Tiffany Tang.

“‘Bounty Hunter’ is actually a lighthearted movie. It’s of blockbuster scale because it covers many countries. Through this movie, I can meet a lot of fans and share the joy I experienced in making it,” he said.

“Bounty Hunters” is a collaborative project among Korea’s Starhaus Entertainment, Hong Kong’s Pegasus Motion Pictures, and China’s Harmonious Entertainment Shanghai.

As for his dream role, Lee said that he doesn’t set any boundaries in the characters that he wants to play.

“There are many characters that I want to play. In the future, there might be another trend so I want to try any character for me,” he said.