Twins spend over $2,000 just to meet with Korean idol Lee Jong Suk

Distance means so little when someone means so much.

Which is why two twin sisters from the Philippines decided to fly to Singapore just to meet their idol, Korean actor and model Lee Jong Suk, 27.

The star of the highly-acclaimed Korean drama W, which ended its run in September, was in Singapore for his Asia fan meet.

The twins, Ms Vina and Ms Rona Bautista, 32, told The New Paper that they bought VIP tickets to the fan meet at MegaBox Convention Centre @ BigBox on Saturday night.

It cost them $238 each. They paid $2,200 in total for their trip to Singapore.

From left: Mrs Andrea Yu, 40, finance assistant manager, Ms Vina Bautista, 32, HR manager, and Ms Rona Bautista, 32, operations assistant. TNP PHOTO: OH XING YEE

Ms Vina said: "I always thought I would only see him on TV, but I actually got to see him in real life this time round."

Ms Vina added: "When I went to Korea in August, I even visited some of the W drama film sites."

The twins had initially planned to go to Lee's fan meet in Bangkok last month, but it was cancelled due to the country mourning the late Thai king's death.

Ms Vina said: "We had bought our plane tickets, which cost $990 for two. We were not able to get a refund."

The sisters then heard that Lee would be in Singapore instead and jumped at the opportunity.

Revolving around the theme "variety", Lee prepared several segments for his fan meet. From playing games to singing, the charismatic star had the 1,800 fans in the audience screaming for joy.

Ms Vina said: "We finally got to see him today. The fan meet was short, but it was all worth it."

However, the twins said they did not feel like VIPs during the fan meet, which lasted 90 minutes.

Ms Vina, a human resource manager, said: "Even after buying the most expensive tickets, we were not even selected for the group photo-taking session nor did we receive sound- check passes, while some people got both. It's not very fair."

'SURREAL'

Ms Rona, an operations assistant, said her sister was the one who introduced her to W.

"I knew about Lee's existence only recently, when I first watched W. After that, I started watching his other dramas," she said.

Another fan, Miss Ow Hui Qin, was chosen to go on stage to take a selfie with Lee.

The 25-year-old, who has been a Korean drama fan since she was a teenager, said: "It felt so surreal, I couldn't believe it when my seat number was called out."

Another fan, who wanted to be known as Hui Ling, 29, was shocked when she got to go on stage and have Lee sing a song to her.

"I was trembling and I didn't look at him throughout when he serenaded me as I was really shy," she said.

Lee may not be the best of singers, but his adoring fans did not mind.

A mother-daughter pair, Madam Low Ai Kim, 50, and Trisha Lim, 19, who bought the $128 tickets, told TNP they were very excited to see Lee.

Madam Low, a housewife, said: "My daughter introduced his shows to me. The first one I've watched was Pinocchio. After that, I became quite interested in him.

"My daughter likes (Korean rock band) F.T. Island as well. As her mother, I like everything she likes."

At a press conference held before his fan meet, Lee shared his skincare secrets.

He said: "Just try not to go into the sun too much."