One of South Korea's A-list stars, Lee Min Ho, is currently struggling with a couple of misfortunes, causing concern among his fans and experts.
As per KBiZom, only around 55% of the available 2,500 tickets were sold weeks before a fan meeting at the Olympic Hall in Seoul as he prepares to go ahead with the event.
Korean forums such as Instiz also bemoaned the huge disparity between the ticket sales of the Korean star Lee Min Ho and those of his senior contemporaries.
According to reports, Kim Soo Hyun filled 4,500 seats for his latest fan meeting, while Lee Jong Suk sold 2,000 tickets at a recent event shortly after returning to the scene after a long absence.
As a result, negative views of Lee Min Ho are on the rise.
One fan took to social media about the situation. "The situation is concerning. It would only be our guess, but we expected a little bit more from an artist of his stature," the fan said.
Lee Min Ho has also received considerable attention for his latest K-drama, "When the Stars Gossip," which has performed quite poorly. The series has been criticized for its storyline and execution, especially its finale.
The numbers from the failed drama reflected this dissatisfaction. Viewership ratings have also reflected this dissatisfaction; the drama peaked at only 3.9% in its second episode and has since plummeted to a mere 1.783% by episode 15, resulting in an average rating of just 2.363%.
Read more: K-Netz Blast 'When The Stars Gossip' After Controversial Sex Scene: 'Worst in History'
As a whole, the drama has become one of the lowest-performing weekend dramas for tvN since 2017.
Entertainment analyst Park Kyung-soo says, "Since he has starred in lead roles before, it was unprecedented for any of his dramas to land in such a humiliating circumstance, where no one ever produced much buzz about his show with a production budget of 50 billion won ($34 million)."
This makes Lee Min Ho's hardships all the more shocking, considering his previous career-proof success in the business. Despite this, his fans want to stay hopeful, adding that many actors find it hard to sell 1,000 seats for a fan meeting.
One fan said, "I think this fanbase is still alright." On the soap opera side, the drama's writing attempts to blameLee Min Ho. for failure
In the forthcoming months, Lee Min Hho has a project set to be released this summer as an adaptation of the web novel "Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint." However, significant changes to the tale called out by fans in early reviews have been said to ruin the source story.
These challenges, lurking around the corner, have many wondering whether 2025 will be a redo year for Lee Min Ho or another bump in the road as he navigates the highs and lows of his career.
