Pinoy K-Pop fans raise P500,000 for GK

MANILA, Philippines –  They may love K-Pop to death but these young Pinoy fans know how to give back and make a difference in the lives of the poorest of the poor.

Thousands of K-Pop fans who participated in the second K-Pop convention, the biggest gathering of Pinoy K-Pop enthusiasts or those who love Korean Pop music, held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) last Saturday, raised P500,000 for Gawad Kalinga (GK).

The fund will be used to build homes for the poor in Bantayan island in Cebu next year.

Kring Elenzano, head of the convention’s communications committee, said she was very happy with the big number of participants and the amount of funds raised. GK was also the beneficiary of the first K-Pop convention held last year.

No tickets were sold for the event. In lieu of tickets, a minimum donation of P150 for GK was instead requested.

The more than 5,000 Pinoy K-Pop fans happily obliged to this, knowing it was for a good cause.

“I guess this shows that even if we like K-Pop, we still take part in nation-building activities. All the proceeds from this convention will go directly to GK. I am proud that our youth today know how to reach out and give back to those in need,” Elenzano said in an interview.

She said GK will be a permanent beneficiary of forthcoming K-Pop conventions.

Gawad Kalinga volunteer Franz Josef Hipol was also surprised to see the huge crowd of K-Pop fans in the country.

But what he found more amazing was the concern these young people have for the poor.

“K-Pop fans may show their deep love for the K-Pop artists and the Korean culture, but they also know how to love and care for their fellow Filipinos. The entrance fee is P150 but some even gave more than that. It was really touching,” Hipol said.

Last year, the proceeds of the first K-Pop convention went to the renovation of a Sibol school in one GK site.

The proceeds of this year’s K-Pop convention will go to the Kalinga sa Bayan campaign particularly to fund the activities for the 2011 Bayani Challenge in Bantayan Island in Cebu next year.

Hipol expressed his gratitude to Elenzano for choosing GK as a beneficiary.

Elenzano, for her part, said she has been a passionate GK advocate since 2008 and believes in the movement’s mission to empower communities by people with faith and patriotism, driven by a culture of caring and sharing and dedicated to eradicate poverty and restore human dignity.

“I love GK. I’ve known GK through a friend and ever since I’ve been bitten by the GK bug. I don’t do builds yet but what I do is spread the good news about GK and introduce the movement to friends, to K-Pop lovers,” said Elenzano.

“When we were conceptualizing the K-Pop convention, I already had in mind GK as our beneficiary. I said we’re not gonna earn from this and all the funds will go to GK because I believe in GK which advocates nation building,” said Elenzano.