Lee Min Ho is glad he enlisted in the army late and here’s why

Lee Min Ho enlisted in the army in 2017 and that time, he was already 30 years old. Apparently, he chose to serve as a soldier in his country at the latest age that the military has set.

All South Korean men are required to enlist on or before they turn 30 and although he registered late, the actor said that he has no regrets. In fact, he shared that it was a good decision to serve in the military later than when he was younger so he was happy.

Why the actor is glad about his decision

Before his enlistment, Lee Min Ho participated in a photoshoot for an issue of Star1 magazine and there was an interview as well. During the talk, he opened up about his upcoming enlistment and said that he is really happy to join the army at 30 and it is all because of the popularity he gained when he was younger.

Sports Chosun reported that Min Ho explained that if he had gone to the military early he could have missed the opportunities that were offered to him. He achieved massive popularity around Asia when he was in his mid-20s and this would not have been possible if he was in the army earlier. After starring in “Boys Over Flowers,” his popularity dramatically went up and he eventually contributed greatly to the spread of the Korean Hallyu Wave.

Proof of his amazing popularity

As proof of his immense popularity in and outside of South Korea, it was reported that Lee Min Ho was once earned a hefty KRW900 million or US$784,951 just to attend a single event. It was noted that his appearance was not even long but the promoters willingly spent that much just to have him on the event.

In the discussion on Channel A’s “Rumor Has It” that aired in 2017, the hosts of the show talked about Lee Min Ho’s earnings and the time when he was invited to an event in Hong Kong. They said that just by showing up and have his face seen for a short time, he was paid millions in Korean won.

They further talked about the VIP treatment that Lee Min Ho got from event organizers when they shared that when the staff learned that the actor could not make it to the event, they immediately arranged to fly him through a chartered plane. In the end, the event organizers reportedly spent a lot but when the actor showed up, the organizers got back their money as his mere appearance brought in more than KRW10 billion KRW or US$8,722,579 in profits.

Lee Min Ho’s agency confirmed that the actor received a massive amount but did not disclose the numbers. “There’s no accurate standard for appearance fees. He doesn’t really attend many events, and we’ve never decided on a schedule based on its appearance fees, but it is true that they offered an amount that was beyond our imaginations,” Koreaboo quoted MYM Entertainment as saying.