Kristel Fulgar, Karen Bordador air sides following hosting gig fiasco at Seo In Guk’s fanmeet

Seo In Guk’s fanmeet in Manila was surrounded by controversy following the last-minute change of hosts.

It was first announced that Kristel Fulgar will host of the event, but she was suddenly replaced by DJ Karen Bordador.

A few moments before the occasion, Kristel took to social media to announce there had been a "turn of events" and that she would no longer be hosting the fanmeet.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances, I will no longer be hosting Sea In Guk's fan meet in Manila tonight," Kristel began in a Facebook post dated August 12.

"While I am saddened by this turn of events, I understand that decisions are made beyond our control. I want to assure you all that my support for Sen In Gun remains steadfast," she continued.

In a vlog posted on YouTube Wednesday, Kristel looked back on the incident and gave a glimpse of herself rehearsing for the show.

“Unfortunately, hindi na po ako yung magho-host ng event,” she said in the clip taken before the event started.

“First time kong naka-experience ng ganitong scenario sa 20 years ko sa industriya ng entertainment,” Kristel continued in a shaky voice. “Nandito na ako 7 a.m., nag-rehearse, and then eventually, sinabihan ako ng director na hindi na daw ako ang magho-host. Parang ‘Huh? Sandali lang naman, anong nangyari?’”

[This is the first time I've ever experienced this in my 20 years in the entertainment industry. I've been here rehearsing since 7am, and then eventually, the director told me I won't be hosting anymore. I was like, 'huh? Wait. What's happening?']

According to Kristel, she knows she's not a "super expert sa hosting" but being a Seo In Guk fan for 11 years now, Kristel says she can easily connect with other fellow fans.

"Hindi ko forte ang hosting, tinanggap ko to kasi tinitingnan ako as representative ng mga fans ni Seo In Guk, so hindi lang ako basta magiging host sa stage kundi magiging fan ako," she added.

Kristel explained, "since rehearsal yon, hindi ako sanay na ibigay yung 100% energy ko. So kung nakulangan sila sa energy, dun sa rehearsal, sabi ko I will do my best," she continued.

[Because it was a rehearsal, I didn't give my 100% energy. If I lacked energy during rehearsal, I said I will do my best.]

But the Korean technical director no longer allowed her to go back on stage, and instead told her they had already contacted a different host.

In her vlog, Kristel apologized to her supporters who bought tickets to watch her on stage.

“Alam ko may mga fans ako, supporters na bumili ng ticket para mapanood ako sa stage para makita nyo yung kilig ko kapag nasa stage na ako with Seo In Guk pero hindi na natin, hindi ko yun mabibigay,” she said.

As of writing, Kristel's vlog already has 580K views and is the 4th trending video on YouTube.

Meanwhile, Karen began by sharing some cryptic posts on X (formerly Twitter) after netizens threw hate at her after she replaced Kristel.

“Forgive them Lord for they do not know what they’re saying,” she said in a tweet dated August 14.

In a separate post, Karen said, it was “so easy to point fingers but naturally no accountability taken,” she added.

After receiving mean and baseless IRRATIONAL hate I didn’t deserve…now what?

So easy to point fingers but naturally no accountability taken.

Damage is done!
Karma comes in many forms.
Hope you learned something.

God bless!

— Karen Bordador (@Karen_Bordador) August 15, 2023

In a vlog uploaded on Wednesday, Karen detailed her last-minute hosting gig, saying it was a "big challenge" and a "huge surprise."

“Normally, if someone asks me to host a day before or on the day itself, I would say no. But for some reason, I don’t know, like my instinct said ‘go for it’ and also a lot of people really did message me to be part of this only on the day itself, okay? A few hours before the event.”

“I was thinking it is gonna be a huge privilege to even be part of Seo In Guk’s first-ever fan meet,” Karen continued. “Just the idea of having to work with the Korean team again would be so exciting.”

Karen previously hosted Park Bom’s event in the country.

“After that, I had a really good relationship with the organizer from Korea and I did share from my TikTok videos that they are so different when it comes to local production,” she emphasized.

“With the Korean team, it was extremely detailed,” she said.

According to the DJ, she received a call from "a couple of people" around noon. "I noticed my phone had different kinds of messages of needing me for an event so I didn’t really know what exactly it was for," she said.

In the video, Karen also showed screenshots of messages from her manager asking her if she would accept the job. She was given an hour to think about it, "and then I said yes.”

“I didn’t really know what transpired earlier because that’s none of my business. The point is, they needed me that time. I just told myself I want to make sure my mind’s gonna be a 100% focused on this one,” she said.

In her video, Karen gave a glimpse of her rehearsals with the teams and shared they were no longer able to go through the entire script because there “was no time at all.”

Karen's vlog has been viewed 15K times as of writing.

Seo In Guk visited the country on August 12 as part of his first Asia fan meeting.

He starred in the hit series "Doom at Your Service" in 2021, "Shopaholic Louis" in 2016, and "Reply 1997" in 2012.

He also made his fans cry in 2018 in "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes" with his fellow star Jung So Min.

—LA, GMA Integrated News