- California Assembly OKs highest minimum wage in nation
- S. Korea unveils first graphic cigarette warnings
- US joins with South Korea, Japan in bid to deter North Korea
- LPGA golfer Chun In-gee finally back in action
- S. Korea won’t be top seed in final World Cup qualification round
- US men’s soccer misses 2nd straight Olympics
- US back on track in qualifying with 4-0 win over Guatemala
- High-intensity workout injuries spawn cottage industry
- CDC expands range of Zika mosquitoes into parts of Northeast
- Who knew? ‘The Walking Dead’ is helping families connect
Conan O’Brien gets boisterous welcome in Seoul
![Conan O'Brien had used Instagram to invite fans to greet him at the airport, and they obliged. (Courtesy of Instagram)](http://www.koreatimesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/conan2.jpg)
Conan O’Brien had used Instagram to invite fans to greet him at the airport, and they obliged. (Courtesy of Instagram)
SEOUL (Yonhap) — American talk show host Conan O’Brien attracted hundreds of fans at a cafe in Seoul on Monday after receiving a boisterous welcome usually reserved for K-pop idols at Incheon International Airport the previous day.
Dozens of fans who had failed to reserve a spot at the guerilla-style meet-and-greet gathered around the building in southern Seoul to welcome the redhead comedian. They swooned as O’Brien entered from a minibus and shouted “Annyeonghaseyo,” or “Hello” in Korean.
At the meeting, O’Brien answered questions from more than 200 fans who had beaten a 1,000-to-1 chance to share the space with a man whose show isn’t even broadcast in South Korea.
A 17-year-old attendee who only gave her surname Cho said she was inspired by O’Brien’s positive attitude when he was taking a year-long break from talk shows in 2010. She had brought a hand-drawn portrait of him to the event.
An 18-year-old girl surnamed Yoo had also brought a shopping bag full of Korean snacks and toiletries.
“Because I don’t know when O’Brien will revisit Korea, I prepared this as a mother would for a daughter leaving for marriage,” she said.
To the fans’ disappointment, the event was cut short from two hours to 30 minutes.
On Tuesday, O’Brien is scheduled to record a cameo appearance on the MBC soap opera “One More Happy Ending.”
He will meet with JYP Entertainment founder and musician Park Jin-young on Thursday to work on a collaboration project, though the details remain under wraps.
His five-day journey in South Korea will end on Friday.
O’Brien had said on his show “Conan” that a letter from a Korean named Sunny Lee inspired him to book a trip to South Korea. Along with the letter, Lee had sent him a box of local snacks.
“Here is my motto, and I want this to get out all around the world: If you send me free snacks from your country, I will travel there in person to thank you. That’s what I do,” he said on the show.