Can’t even imagine how the members of B.A.P. themselves would feel after seeing their first award in another country.
Recently, a now-deleted TikTok by a Filipino K-Pop fan went viral after featuring a genuine trophy from the MAMA Awards that had been awarded to popular 3rd generation K-Pop boy group, B.A.P. The K-Pop fan had received the trophy as a gift from their mom after visiting an ukay-ukay shop (second hand surplus store) in the Philippines.
The trophy was said to have been sold for around PHP200.
If you aren’t aware who B.A.P. is, they were a South Korean boy group formed back in 2012 and was being handled by TS Entertainment. Consisting of Yongguk, Himchan, Daehyun, Youngjae, Jong-up, and Zelo, the group debuted with their single, “Warrior”, and had reached 10th place at the Billboard’s World Albums Chart at the time.
B.A.P. later on got nominated for a number of awards for almost all major award ceremonies in the K-Pop industry, just in their debut year as rookies.
Oh, and speaking of that trophy, B.A.P. won that MAMA award in 2012, by the way.
In 2014, just 2 years after their debut and having just finished their first world tour, the boy group sued their agency, TS Entertainment, to nullify their contracts on the basis of “unfair working conditions and profit distribution.”
K-Pop stans aren’t the only ones angered by the situation, with Korean netizens catching wind with what had happened. Both international and Korean fans spewed their anger towards B.A.P.’s former agency, TS Entertainment, for simply “throwing away” such a momentous award for the boy group after shutting in 2021.
Netizens Express Anger As #BAP's #MAMAAwards Trophy was Found at Second-Hand Store#비에이피 #TSEntertainment
Join #Minidol Discord to meet your virtual idol!
▶ https://t.co/RvYPwlmSp8https://t.co/DHLWdiqWq1— KStarLive (@kstarlivecom) March 6, 2023
The current owner of the trophy was originally unaware of K-Pop when their mom had bought the trophy. They also assured fans that it is being taken care of under their hands, especially after realizing (and finding out about how big the MAMA awards are and K-Pop in general) the significance of the trophy.
Nevertheless, fans are still questioning how and why it ended up in a thrift store in the first place.
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