Son Heung-min offers fan-service till minutes before his departure

연합뉴스 / 2022-07-17 15:43:03

▲ This photo, shows Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur, who finished a friendly match against Sevilla FC and Team K League in Coupang Play Series, departing through Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 on Sunday as he greets his fans. (Yonhap)

▲ This photo, shows Son Heung-min signing for his fans. (Yonhap)

▲ This photo, shows Son Heung-min's fan, Park Min-seong and his son, Park Seo-jun. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, July 17 (Yonhap) -- The love of Korean fans and the fan service of Son Heung-min (30, Tottenham) were booming until the last day.

Tottenham hotspur, which played two friendly matches in Korea, departed for England through Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 with their personal flight on Sunday around 2 p.m.

About three hours before departure, hundreds of people gathered to the gate of the terminal's entrance, through the check-in counter for private flights, to the door leading to the departure hall. They were fans who came to get autographs from Son Heung-min and Tottenham players.

The crowd reached 500 by noon. Even though the players did not arrive, the safety line that was installed with a yellow ribbon was being pushed forward bit by bit.

The security staff of Coupang Play, which invited Tottenham, had to shout, “Please go five steps backwards. Or else, no one would be able to get their autographs!”

When the players arrived, the fans shouted their names and began to ask for their autographs.

While Lucas Moura and Hischarlisson signed autographs for a few people, the rest just waved their hands before heading to the departure hall.

However, Son Heung-min did not ignore the requests of his hometown fans.

When Son Heung-min finished the procedure, he came back to the fans to smile and sign autographs for them.

The children holding papers with Son Heung-min’s name on it ran all over the place.

A female fan, who appears to be in her twenties, hurriedly ran towards Son Heung-min who was signing autographs, but stumbled somewhere making people laugh.

The father, who completed the “mission” of getting Son Heung-min’s autograph from his son, had his shoulders wide.

The “impromptu fan signing event” lasted about 30 minutes, and Son Heung-min left in a hurry only 30 minutes before takeoff.

This literally means that he offered “fan service” until the very last moment they left Korea.

When Son Heung-min appears at the airport, there are a lot of family fans with children. It is a different scene from other sports and entertainment stars.

"As a scorer and team ace, his ability to navigate the European stage is great, but because of his personality, it makes us want to support him even more,” Park Min-seong, a father who came to say goodbye to Son Heung-min with Park Seo-joon, a sophomore in elementary school who wore a Tottenham uniform and a mask, said.