A Teenage K-Pop Fan STOLE 2 Million To Buy K-Pop Merch & Then Went Viral In Philippines 

As a Filipino, thank u for bringing light to crime that have happened in the Philippines. We appreciate ur hard work biss

The Filipino stans went wild and investigated this case on their own. It sucks because most of the filipino fans now are being targeted because everyone thinks that a photocard is worth thousands. Parcels being stolen, photocards in bag tags being snatched, and this case literally put the lives of many filipino kpop fans at risk. :(

For the people that are not fan of kpop, photocards were inclusions of kpop album but it was random. The value depends on how rare the photocards are.

Just saying, a 9 dollar daily allowance for a Filipino high school student is not normal. It's just usually 2-3 dollars. She's definitely from a well-off family.

For Christmas I send Kpop merch to my goddaughter in the Philippines. We sent her target edition enhypen albums and limited edition sketchers BTS shoes. I’m so glad this was before all this happened.

I'm glad that you're telling more stories/true crimes from the Philippines Sending love from the Philippines 🫶🇵🇭

As a teenage K-pop fan I love how she was standing up for all us and letting people like what they like🫶❤️

This was the story that ended fanwars in the Philippines for a while. I just started collecting like 3 weeks before this came out and I was taking it in as new info drops. Also the memes that this birthed. Because couriers were also targeting packages with kpop-related description, people had to be creative. One of them declared that the contents of the parcel were flower undies. It was a shitshow for a couple of weeks.

No because Stephanie the way you manage 3 channels, a Spotify podcast and so much more inspires me!!! You're so amazing

This is crazy 😂 I’m a Filipino K-pop/drama stan and so glad Stephanie covered this topic. I was cracking up because this felt so unreal then💀 KMJS was my favorite show because most of the things they feature is very educational and can help those people who are in need by bringing awareness. Most Filipino kpop stans were very dissapointed of the whole show because they are known to have a very credible research team. Thanks for this Stephanie it was hilarious HAHAHAHAH

"Just because the family can afford to go on vacation, doesn't mean they're not struggling at all" is a statement that can be true if their vacation was on the neighboring province or region. But in the Philippines, even if you're a bit upper than middle class, going on any overseas vacation with your WHOLE family is already so damn pricey and can blow a whole through your pockets.

another annoying thing about this is that with their pity story, the family contacted a lot of local kpop shops and sellers to sell "bea's" merch for her.. SO WILD lmao they're letting other people do the labor 😵‍💫

The situation was SO weird honestly. I'm one of those fans who put photocards on a photocard holder (with my transportation card) so when stories of other fans getting robbed surfaced, I got anxious and instead of having my photocard holder hanging on my bag, I would put it inside instead. Also (cmiiw), KMJS (the show) apparently contacted kpop shops to help Bea sell her merch. Smaller shops stepped up to help as well and honestly when it was revealed that she was actually well off and the story showed on the episode was (most likely) fake, these stores didn't push through anymore.

omg i remember when this happened. everyone was so mad because the news wouldn’t make another segment retracting their statement that not ALL photocards would sell for so high and those are only rare photos. other news stations had to publish their own statements that not all photocards are worth so much so it would stop endangering kpop fans and even kpop merch stores were being stolen from

u guys can have these REAL random conversations & i’m still super invested 😭 it honestly feels like i’m talking with y’all. it brings me a lot of comfort. thank u guys!! 💖

It means a lot that you're so respectful and try to understand fans instead of dissing and looking down on them or generalizing how they feel

I never know how Stephanie always has such interesting stories for us but she is on TOP of it and it brings me so much joy ❤

I remember where I was when this happened... everything was chaotic, scary, frustrating but also funny... that jaehyun pc was worth 100,000 PHP (almost 2k USD) so everyone outside kpop believed all pcs was worth that... omg i would never have expected stephanie would cover a story from my country 😂😂😂

And because of this issue, my relatives started bombarding me with questions about the exact amount i spend on EXO and their merch. And I would just reply that as long as the funds are hard earned by me, it's no one's business.

The reason why that specific NCT pc was so expensive was that it was a limited edition. So it was extra special for fans

Story starts at 9:52. Sending love from the Philippines!!!!!

When this story went viral it's sad that the kpop community in the philippines got targeted. Photocards getting stolen/snatched from bags or in delivery parcels. What's crazier is even delivery couriers were going as far as asking what are the goods you're shipping out and which kpop group and specific member the photocard is. It really felt unsafe just because people thought every photocard is worth thousands >

Jessica Soho is known internationally for being a field and investigative reporter, she even got a freaking Peabody award, two times. She's as journalist as journalists can get so idk what the hell happened with this scandal😭

You might want to cover the new trending case in the Philippines. A 15 year old boy unalived his niece and put her on the washing machine because he was inspired by the Jeffrey Dahmer series.

The biggest surprise of my life when I saw my fav group NCT on Stephanie soo’s thumbnail 😭😭 crossover of my two favourite things

This happened in my country too!! Kpop packages were being stolen, scammers everywhere, fans fighting each others, people literally went nuts over a damn piece of paper it was insanee. And some "kpop influencers" went on tv shows bragging about their "expensive card collection" to the whole nation making it worse hhhh. This phenomenon really changed the selling/buying/transactions between fans. Even tho the situation is a lot better now but we're still kinda traumatized by it that if we're selling kpop goods we don't write the real name of the goods anymore. Like if we're selling a somewhat more expensive photocards, we'll write the product name like custom e-money or like custom name card to avoid packages being stolen

The way you delivered the story is really accurate. Thank you for being our voice (I'm a PH photocard collector) by putting the story in an international scale. KMJS really put a toll on the KPOP industry by releasing this episode and they did not even do a clarification post or video after all these things happened. & also, I really felt so bad for Jade (she might be a victim too) from these adults who were MAYBE behind this batshit crazy story.

Correction: you don't exactly need a degree to be a cashier in most stores like Jollibee. Most stores require you to be at least in college level

Oh naur! For some reason this case blew up here in PH. A lot of K-pop fans are now scared to hang their photocards in their IDs, bags, etc. They are also now scared to order merch due to some scammers. 😔

My daughters back from visiting her grandparents in TN. So she’s excited to watch this one with me. Thank you for strengthening the bond between moms & their daughters ❤❤❤❤

As a Filipina and as a fan girl, not of Kpop but of international bands, the amount of times I cried wishing i could go to shows to see them when I was in highschool and college... I only got $3 a day. But now that I have a job and can finally attend shows, it makes me appreciate my efforts more. I got to see The Vamps for the first time, 2nd row, VIP after 10 years of being a stan. I am forever grateful.

The stealing even went to the point where shady delivery guys would steal packages from people when they found out that there were kpop merch inside. Wild. I never thought I’d encounter a time in my life where I’d clutch my BTS photocard, wallet, and phone in my hand when taking public transport lol

not nct always in the crime scene 😭

glad that you covered both sides of the story (especially the kpop fans' side)!! Thank you for this and I hope people will stop ridiculing people who find comfort in supporting kpop groups

Hey Stephanie! So glad you were able to cover this controversy. Personally, I didn't care much at first on why "Bea's" family went to KMJS to sell her merch. But when the shows credibility was putting young women in harm's way it became really toxic. The photocard snatching incidents were more terrifying as it seems since a lot of these snatchers would go so far as threaten students with kn*ves. Plus, it was concert season in the Philippines (there were shows every weekend) so a lot of concert goers gather in public spaces near the arena dressed for the show and their kpop merch (lightsticks, photocards, banners, etc.) visible to anyone they pass by. We've (coz I'm also a kpop fan) been put a target on our backs just because we chose to be passionate about kpop. Anyway, I've always love your videos since it appeared in my feed in 2017. Sending love to you and your fam from the PH 🇵🇭❤

I was in bns (buy & sell) twitter when this happened and the amount of frustration and anxiety we had when this happened is such a hellish experience when we just wanted to enjoy collecting in our own little(?) world. Parcels were stolen by riders or snatched when used as keyrings. and the kmjs ignoring their responsibility and threatening to sue when we just want them to clarify that not all merch cost that much. then finding out that this family is so freaking shady. WHY did they have to put their fam problems for the public to see when they can resolve it privately T_T im still so anxious when i buy or sell because the possibility of the merch being stolen just increased when it was already nervewracking to begin with. :(

Really happy you got to cover this one!! Being part of the bns (buy and sell) community for kpop merch in the philippines, it really affected us since we really felt unsafe. We would hear people having their packages get stolen and their photocards that are displayed in photocard keychains would get stolen in public too 😭 Just wanted to add that it really is hard to report stolen merch especially the photocards to the police since you know they wouldn't really take you seriously for such items.

Thank you for covering the issue. Also it kinda backfired in the kpop community coz once the news was aired people thought that any merch can be sold at high price thus there were many cases of photocards being stolen or kpop parcels not being delivered and stolen by others. It was chaos

Blue hour soobin was definitely a rare find

It’s fake - the girl is an actress and has done some small tv roles plus she’s upper middle class, they made it seem like she was lower mid. There were also some KMJS guests that have admitted that they were asked to lie or over exaggerate details.

I live for these. Stephanie never disappoints. Love you Steph ❤

Omg yes! I hope you also cover the new case here in the Philippines that is really viral and really crazy, the kid in the washing machine I mean. It's really crazy.

I was concerned when I saw the title of the video as this topic was HUGE here in the Philippines but it's refreshing to see that the information in this video was well-researched and the details were complete, not embellished, or biased at all. Thanks for doing this!

as a filipino, having a financial struggle then having the money to go on a vacation more so in another country is very impossible. Even in a regular family in the Philippines, going in a vacation locally is expensive enough

Story preface starts at 6:47 Story starts at 9:50

There isn’t a day where I don’t watch Stephanie’s videos. Thank you Stephanie for making our day much brighter with your company through your multiple channels 💜

NCT always as the scene of the crime😭

I’m a Filipino and it amazes me how well you did your research about this. Because the show was sooooo in denial that they caused the commotion on photocards BECAUSE THEY DID NOT REITERATE THAT NOT ALL PHOTOCARDS ARE EXPENSIVE! Thank you, big fan of yours! 😘❤️

If someone stole my photocard I would be ready to go to jail

Thank you for all of your hard work Steph!! You are my ray of sunlight in a busy day 🥰

I think the tree you’re talking about is a weeping willow. Those are one of the only ones that hang down towards the ground that I can think of that would be in a random neighborhood lol they are my favorite! Also a lot of plant people will take a trimming of a plant in the wild and propagate it and turn it into a whole plant for themselves grandpa knows how to save money and live his plant dreams ❤

I AM SO SO HAPPY YOU COVERED THIS STORY! irresponsible journalism is the root of all evils, im telling you. that episode of '"Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho" was so negligently and irresponsibly written and filmed that it endangered the safety and property of the whole kpop community in the philippines. they made it seem that ALL kpop merch are worth thousands of pesos. this show was viewed nationwide on a weekend prime time slot. they failed to even state that MOST kpop items, especially photocards, are only worth 3-4 dollars, some even only costs 1 dollar. the more infuriating this is, they did not even apologize. they were so arrogant about it, threatening anyone who tries to continuously call them out with legal action. the thing is, we are already being looked down on by nonkpop fans, calling us names like weirdos, losers, etc, and this episode only made it worse. we were targeted by random people on our stan accounts, calling us vermins of society for spending OUR HARD EARNED MONEY on something that makes us happy (as if grown old men collecting baseball cards or sneakers are any different but men are trash and they will never admit it 🙄). the kpop community in the philippines do not condone the action of that thief. but then again, that story was so sus that it really looked like one big stunt to get their 15 minutes of fame.

Hi Stephanie! Hope you can look into the case of Evelyn Sayos and maybe cover it in your podcast. She was a woman who was missing for 4 years but her body was then found in their septic tank in 2020. Her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend were the murderers. This case is probably just as cruel as the Maguad case in Philippine history.

from PH here! this story was INSANE.

The fact that you covered this story is more crazy to me. As a Filipino and an avid viewer of your videos, it's oddly fulfilling seeing you cover cases from my country.

This is so sad. After the broadcast of this story, some kpop fans got their photocard stolen by some random people thinking that all photocards are expensive :(

About the palm trees, they're not only really costly to buy, but they are to maintain!!!!! They get this mold and rot from the inside out so you have to be injecting them with a special treatment to avoid that 😱 (I live in the Caribbean)

If I have a favorite Korean show right now, it would be Steph's vlogs and podcast. She is my favorite Korean as well right now. What she is doing is much more wholesome and fun to watch. It is as well very informative and you can gain something. So thank you so much Stephanie and to your amazing team! You're a BLAST!😊💜 And yeah, I'm a Filipino and thank you for being flexible and covered cases in Philippines. Sending love from the Philippines 🇵🇭.

I'm from the PH. Thank you for sharing this story to your viewers.

Watching Stephanie cover this is just ✨ chef's kiss ✨ I'm a Filipino and this issue really became a threat to the safety of K-Pop stans and police even don't recognize their reports cause they think it isn't of their concert :(

this is insane!! i’m filipino but haven’t heard of this until now. as someone who grew up in Manila, let me tell you, anyone going to bali on vacation is definitely not going to be significantly impacted by $35,000 being lost 🤣

I'm so glad that Stephanie is so supportive, I've heard SO many people tell me that liking K-pop is immature or bad and it's just NOT. Honestly the time I've been into K-pop I've been much happier then when I wasn't.

I waited till the end how Stephanie would be able to show the “conspiracies” that went on the KMJS episode & can really say, “Good Job!” It was well researched! Thank you for your efforts!

Absolutely!!! You said it so well; the things that teenage girls enjoy are really ridiculed! 😭

I’m traveling to the Philippines in a couple of days to visit family and Stephanie already blessing me just talking about the Philippines😍 AND I’M SO EXCITED TO WEAR THE NEW MERCH WHEN FLYING!

The KMJS statement was so much worse. They basically denied any accountability in the series of events that happened right after the episode aired, threatened legal action to anyone that talked trash about the show, staff, and the family. They also said that they have not received any information from the police about the photocard snatching that happened, as if anyone will take that matter seriously. It was really bad for a couple of days. I personally liked the show (I've been watching it since I was a kid) but they've really gone downhill the past couple of years. This was the last episode that I really tuned in and after that I was honestly done.

I've been watching you for so long and would just want to thank you for throughly reaserching about the story! Not a lot of people would consult about stories like this. ❤

Ppl usually fall for sob stories and kmjs and that family really underestimated kpop fans 😂 I witnessed the twt thread and most of them speculated that they did it to promote their buy and sell business. Your story is very accurate (based on what I witnessed in twt)👍

I remember this. It became dangerous to bring out photocards because people would steal it regardless of the real price of the photocard

Thank you for making our day, steph!

As a filipino we do have lots of talent specially doing some strange things that other cant relate😂😂😂 thank you for bringing this up.. always watching ❤

one of the things about the prices being lowered is because those merch are already unsealed 😊 Love you Stephanie! 🩵

I’m a Scottish BTS fan, my 27 yr old daughter introduced me to them a few yrs ago and I just love their music and message. The fact they put on exciting shows and have such a close friendship only helps. My daughter is ‘hyper neuro spicy’ and lives at home still, because when she was 17 I had a massive seizure and she had to call an ambulance and clear and support my airway, as I’d aspirated,. That was the first time she’d ever made a call to a stranger…she didn’t even speak to her Oma in Canada over the phone, preferring messages. I was whisked away and rapidly placed on full life support after a second seizure without any consciousness between, I had a Glasgow coma score of 3 which is really bad. Turns out I have a condition that causes unexpected bouts of encephalopathy so she’s my full time cared while studying for a degree in forensic psychology online, she’s incredible… so I even bought her a Taehyung bag, getting merch in the U.K. is super expensive because of shipping and taxes, it’s crazy, she has lots of albums, including a verified signed one that she won, photo cards,figurines, BT21 plushies etc. The funny thing is that it’s all kept in the bedroom she shares with her long term BF, so he has to sleep surrounded by ‘all things BTS’ but he doesn’t complain as he knows she’s very special. She’d never steal to ‘feed her habit’ as we jokingly call it. She’d also never pay ridiculous resale prices for rare cards. She has a couple but she was lucky and got them in purchased items…she’s also not going to sell them lol, her collection makes her happy and she deserves that for saving my life, not once but twice when I ended up back on life support.

As a filipino who is currently studying in a school filled with kpop stans (including some of the teachers) its honestly sad/horrifying that this could happen to anyone, a ton of my friends have spent a few thousand *PESOS* on kpop merch

Woah! I watched that episode! I didnt see that coming! Thank you for doing your research and bringing awareness ! ❤❤❤❤

Thank youu for updating and making my day that much brighter 😊

Hi Stephanie 💕 thank you for existing !!

Filipino here, but not from Philippines. Honestly as soon as I heard that they mention the high prices of the rare cards on the news segment, I knew that would lead to something bad. Lots of people struggle with money to provide for themselves and family. That news station is irresponsible for doing what they did, and a part of me dreads for those who might have parents who would not hesitate to take that one prized $1 photo card from there kid thinking they could make lots of money off of it.

KMJS could have over dramatized the whole thing. There had some talks that they used some videos and resource person in the show without paying. I read of a chef who was so pissed off that everytime they asked him to be in the show they paid him nothing but a thank you he had enough so he said never will he go to that show again. They are kinda known for being cheap 😢

You’ve been posting a lot recently,, thank you for always giving us the best videos!!! ❤

i'm not phillipino nor do i live in the philippines, but my txt soobin photocard got stolen three weeks ago. I live in california and theres not a lot kpop stans espeically not ones that are '"out" per say. and it was pc from the their new album the dream version and it was so pretty and i decorated it and it hung on my school bag. I cried when i lost it because it was my favorite one

Once you stumbled upon this channel, there's no going back 😂 I keep looking for your videos on your other channels as well lol. Thanks for making our days brighter, Stephanie! 💟

KMJS is my favorite show every Sunday. As a kid, I remember staying up super late just to watch every episode of it. Ms. Jessica Sojo is indeed a wonderful journalist. For the record, she is the host of the show, but she has a whole team that does the job. Of course, she is also involved in it, but she is not the only one who is at fault in this incident. As time passes, KMJS loses its uniqueness among other shows. It used to showcase different delicacies in our country and how colorful the culture of the Philippines is, but now it is known to be just a debunking show, or at least me and my brother call it that way, which is really sad. I still watch it, but it's not as enjoyable as before.

Oh it's bea 😭 I remembered the stress of the kpop stan twt on the Philippines bc of this episode and a lot of kpop stans got their photocards got stolen and some of the locals are saying that it's the fans fault because they should report it to the police immediately yet kf we go to the police and report it we will most likely be blamed for bringing a photocard in public 😭

As a Filipino Kpop fan who was there during this entire fiasco, I would like to commend Stephanie for doing such a great job covering even the behind the scenes.

It’s my first time watching a video of hers and I love it already, the way they fell so off topic about the trees. That’s exactly how my brain works lol

i remember seeing the expose threads about this on twitter. it was INSANEEE watching this go down in real time. while I'm not from the Philippines, i cant fathom to think how much stress Filipino kpop stans were experiencing knowing their merchandise could be stolen at any moment

Love seeing more vid’s on Korea and k-pop crimes and cases ❤

im a kpop stan and one thing that i have learned from being a multistan for years is that no matter what DO NOT mess with kpop stans. thank you steph for covering this! love you so much

Thanks for sharing this info, I am from the Philippines and I am happy that you were able to talk about this matter without bias. You are the best! I am a huge fan!

Jessica Soho is one of the most credible host in the Philippines and to have this story air in her show is a blow in her credibility. Also, I was not aware of this story. I'm from the Philippines, Hahaha

omg this was all over my twitter when it happened. after that episode came out lots of filo kpop stans were getting their pcs stolen from their bags, so everyone was telling each other not have have their pc holders out. it was quite the mess

Hi stef! I'm your silent watcher and avid fan.i'm a filipino and i love that you're including viral stories from the philippines.i have watched all your videos and i'm sure you have a lot of followers here in the philippines.i'm amazed how good you are in searching and telling stories and even details like in philippines you need a degree in order for you to land a job even for a crew or staff in any establishment.

To add, she actually bought an extra ticket for the said 3-day concert and kept it as a "souvenir" (she didn't use it) because she didn't want to have them ripped (common practice so that the tickets don't get re-used once you're inside the venue). Fans got mad because the shows were sold out and people were fighting left and right for the tickets but she had an extra one because of the money she stole from their shop. Fans were actually trying to help her sell (some wants to buy) her collection at first but that changed after they were exposed. My twitter timeline was a whole shit show the whole week after that episode, aside from photocards getting snatched, some collectors were made fun of by KIDS because of their pc's, kids would try to get their photocards for fun, literally cornering them and pulling on their photocard holders. Shops that cater KPOP still experience tampering of parcels to this day. Thank you for shedding some light in this situation, Stephanie. I hope people will respect other's hobbies and also, to collectors, please, please collect and "mine" (merch) responsibly.

This was super crazy, when it happened a few months ago. A few of my circles on Twitter actually told me that they were being followed because these ahjussis thinks they are bringing photocards (this was after the episode was aired). I'm a working adult and I can't even afford the things she bought. But then, I was really doubting the whole thing and yeah, they actually got criticized about the whole story after that show. The whole crying thing seems like an act though, cause they actually weren't "having a hard time" cause they go on vacations almost every week (this was from a friend of their family). This was so stressful for student kpop fans, but it became a laughing stock after they were busted with the whole lying thing. I'm a new subscriber and I am really enjoying all your vids, Stephanie! I listen while writing my articles for work.

Ah, it was crazy when this episode aired on TV. A lot of Filipino KPop fans immediately felt targeted by harrasment due to the complete misinformation that the show just published to the nation. Even after being called out and people eventually finding out the truth behind the issue, they still haven't released a proper statement to right their wrongs and its still infuriating especially with how they market themselves as world-class journalists. Up till now, even if the initial issue had died down, the effects can still be felt with parcels containing KPop goods being either stolen by couriers. Others still judge a fan as soon as they see any sign that they're a KPop fan.

This is why whenever i go to concerts i be protecting my photocards with my life

I LOVE HOW THEY DID A MUKBANG FIRST THEN THEY TALKED ABOUT TREES ...THEN THE STORY BEGUN ❤😂

Yes, plant people do go around snipping plants from random places and grow them

Yesss. Stephanie literally make my week better on any channel of hers!! ❤