When Korean pop music first landed in the Philippines during the 2000s, Filipinos embraced the said genre wholeheartedly. And despite our unfamiliarity with the songs’ lyrics, we have become a nation obsessed with K-pop groups and idols.
Apparently, this fondness for K-pop entertainment still exists even today. And without a doubt, die-hard Filipino fans will even go to the fullest extent just to show their love and support for their favorite Kpop groups—from burning their hard-earned cash on merch and concert tours to attending meet-and-greets. And speaking of which, famous South Korean girl group BLACKPINK was in Manila for a quick meet-and-greet with their Filipino Blinks. The event was organized by Shopee Philippines.
But on that same day, Filipino Blinks took to Twitter to express how they were “scammed” by the online shopping site. Using the hashtag #ShopeeScam, which trended both in the Philippines and worldwide, fans exposed how they were robbed of their once in a lifetime chance to meet their idols.
Below are the tweets about the recent setback:
Meanwhile, the online shopping site released an apology statement on their Facebook page to address the Twitter users’ allegation.
“We would like to sincerely apologize for the issues involving the Shopee x BLACKPINK meet-and-greet today in Manila. We hear your feedback loud and clear, and we understand that the event fell short of the high standards that Shopee users and BLACKPINK fans expect.
Although we took immediate steps as soon as we discovered the problems to ensure the rightful winners of our contest could claim their prizes, we know that the entire process caused confusion, disappointment, and upset for many. We are reaching out to all those affected by this issue, and we are also taking steps to ensure that such an incident does not occur again in the future,” the team wrote.
Although the online marketplace has already offered a one thousand pesos-worth voucher as compensation for the huge loss, this will never be enough for the emotional damage they caused to Blinks who had spent a fortune on this promo.
