Why Sam Hammington shed tears in Manila
‘I see all your messages on the internet… but to see people here, to take the time to come and see us, it means so much. I can’t even tell you how thankful I am,’ said Sam Hammington at a recent fan meet at New Frontier Theater
The fan meet was filled with laughter as Sam’s kids Bentley and William played games with the fans, ate Filipino food, and learned Filipino words.
Manila loves the Hammingtons, and the feeling is mutual.
South Korea-based comedian Sam Hammington and kids William and Bentley successfully held a fan meet on July 17 at the New Frontier Theater — with Sam shedding tears over the warm reception.
The 44-year-old, New Zealand-born Sam said the past three years have been hard for his family due to the pandemic, which is why he was so happy to travel again and meet fans face-to-face.
“I see all your messages on the internet… but to see people here, to take the time to come and see us, it means so much.
I can’t even tell you how thankful I am,” he said.
He recalled that Filipinos have been showing “so much love” since the beginning of the Hammingtons’ career on the Korean show The Return of Superman.
The fan meet was filled with laughter as Bentley and William played games with the fans, ate Filipino food and learned Filipino words.
Sam and the kids were gifted with traditional Filipino attire, camisa de chino and barong, which they wore on the second part of the program when they sampled lechon, adobo, banana cue and champorado — or what they called “chocolate rice.”
William said his favorite is adobo: “It is soft and the sauce is tasty,” which his father agreed with.
But while Sam’s love for lechon was instant, William thought otherwise.
William, 6, and Bentley, 4, were immediately hooked to air hockey which they played a little more than planned.
They likewise enjoyed the “newspaper game.” As for learning Filipino, they shouted in unison, “makulit ako” (I am naughty).
The Hammingtons said they would like to visit Boracay, Cebu and Palawan if given the opportunity.
Sam revealed they’ve been reaching out to Korean stars for a collaboration, including K-pop group Stray Kids.
The Hammingtons will also have a new show and an animated movie, following the end of the first season of their show Dream Closet.
More content will be added to their YouTube channel The WillBen Show which has almost 400,000 subscribers.
Among other things, Sam is most excited about William and Bentley going to kindergarten school.