How far can you go as a fan? In online communities and SNS, a Filipino teenager went viral after it was reported that she stole more than 2 million PHP (36,000 USD) from her grandmother, just to buy K-pop merchandise.

Story About K-pop Fan Stealing 2M From Family Becomes Hot Topic

In various K-pop communities and social media platforms, a Filipina teenager is creating a buzz around the world after her story was featured in a Philippine television show, "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho."

In the broadcast aired on March 5, a young K-pop fan was specially featured after she reportedly stole about 2 million PHP (about 36k USD) from her grandmother's business to finance her K-pop merchandise collection– later on, turning into– "addiction."

The fan's misdeed was caught when her aunt "Jasmin" came across her niece's collection hidden behind her closet. What seems to be a thick pile of papers was actually 3,000 photocards organized in 23 different binder and about 50 albums of various K-pop artists including duplicate copies.

Among the photocards were NCT Jaehyun's, which cost a whopping P50,000 (about 908 USD). There are about three NCT cards with this price, causing the aunt to panic as to where did her niece get the money to purchase it since their family isn't well-off.

To protect her identity, the so-called "Bea," a high school student, admitted to stealing from her grandmother's business where she worked as a cashier to earn extra allowance.

Her grandmother "Agnes" is the one who raised her after "Bea's" parents separated, thus, she trusted the store with her grandchild.

At first, she thought that the business is not doing well due to slow income, not until she found out that it was "Bea" who was stealing money from her pocket to finance her personal collection.

In "Bea's" defense, the most she ever took might have been 20,000. She then explained why she likes to collect K-pop merchandise, saying:

"It always makes me happy whenever I'm unboxing (my merchandise), it gives me excitement."

"Bea," who was introduced by her friends to K-pop added:

"There's this satisfaction whenever I successfully pulled the photocard of the idol I desired."

As per a recent count, the total of Bea's purchased merch amounted to P2.7 million (about 49k USD). The teenager will undergo counseling and her collection will also be sold via online live selling to recover the money they have lost.

How Filipino K-pop Fans Are Reacting Following Bea's Story

As of March 7, K-pop fandoms are initially helping "Bea's" Twitter shop, to sell her precious collection items.

However, there are a lot of fans who raised their brows that the story is actually scripted, then "exposing" that Bea's family is actually using the sentiments of K-pop fans to grow their K-pop merchandise business.

On top of this, people began to show skepticism if the family is really not wealthy after finding out that they are actually living a rather luxurious lifestyle before the episode.

As of the writing, the Philippine television show which featured the story is yet to release its position on these claims.

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KpopStarz owns this article.

Written by Eunice Dawson.