Pungja pushes back against fabricated breakup story stitched together from comedy skit

YouTuber and broadcaster Pungja, whose real name is Yoon Bo-mi, publicly expressed her displeasure Wednesday over a false news article that stitched together her remarks out of context.

On Wednesday, Pungja posted a statement on her Instagram story alongside a screenshot of a headline that read: "Pungja splits from boyfriend of four years — 'He stole my pottery.'" She wrote: "When did I ever say this?"

"You've taken things I said as part of a comedy skit on an entertainment show and mixed them with my past relationship — what exactly do you think you're doing?" she wrote. "Is this really how you transcribe something from a video?"

She added: "Stop combining things that never happened with things that did and creating situations that end up hurting someone. Have some basic decency."

Earlier, on Sunday, Pungja had uploaded a video titled "Co-parenting Between an Elephant and a Hippo" to her YouTube channel "Pungja TV." In the clip, her close friend Lalal jokingly asked, "Why did you break up with him? Did he ask to borrow money?" Pungja fired back in a comedic role-play: "He stole pottery from my house. He never missed a chance."

That remark was then conflated with news Pungja had shared in a February 2022 livestream, in which she announced she had ended a four-year relationship. The two were blended into a misleading account that spread online. At the time, Pungja had said the split was amicable: "We didn't part on bad terms."

"I know you have to write sensational headlines to drive clicks," she added, "but even when good things happen, I've kept quiet because I hate having things written about me and stirring up noise."

Pungja first gained recognition as a transgender YouTuber before going on to appear on entertainment programs including "Omniscient Interfering View" and "Size Survival: Meokjjippa." She recently drew attention after revealing she had lost 28 kilograms.