MISS ASIA USA PICKS A LOW CLASS, HAUGHTLY GIRL TO REPRESENT THE ASIAN COMMUNITY:

I have been involved with pageants for over 7 years. I attended the Miss Asia USA pageant that is produced by Virgelia Productions last night. I could not beleive that Diane Yoo from KOREA was chosen as the winner!She represents everything that a pageant girl is not and one that should not have been chosen as the queen. In the parade of costumes Diane Yoo intentially stopped the production number when she walked out and to the front of the stage, stopped and did a shake and scream for about 10 seconds! This was not rehearsed and she stopped the other girls from coming out until she decided that she was through. When she was announced as the winner for best national costume the audience was silent. Confused and in disbelief!

In swimsuit Diane Yoo walked on stage with a haughty -come F_ _ _ me attitude and did a sleazy strip tease in her two piece bikini. Acting on stage like she was climaxing displaying low class and an embarrassment to the Asian community. You could hear the audience laughing including myself. Evening gown she came out in a hugh blue puff of fluff that looked more like a Costume than an evening gown. Her train took up 1/4 of the stage and all the other contestants had to go out of their way to avoid stepping all over it. Diane showed poor sporstmanship in intentionally hogging the stage and walking to the front of the stage in Evening Gown and standing there even though it was not her turn. In her question and answer segment of the pageant - Diane Yoo never answered the question and came off as the most phony, insincere drama queen to ever participate in the pageant. It was a disappointment when she was announced as the winner and I can only imagine the reactions of the other contestants. I know the reaction of the audience was dismay and confusion. This girl is going to be representing the Asian Community? What an embarrassment to the Asian people!

@ Pageant Fan: Having met most of the candidates and interviewed some of them, I cannot believe that Productions let one of the candidates hug the stage as you reported.

(One reason why I did not attend the main pageant; I was at the Miss Asia USA presentation to the Media May 18 at The Biltmore). I don’t like drama.

But if program cue and controls were in place (i.e. changing lights & sounds) by production, no one should really be allowed to ‘adlib’ moves on stage or do as they please.

Interesting but controversial outcome for the Pageant: Let us hear from Virgelia Productions on their side.

However, the criteria for judging should be fair and authenticated properly.

Would a little overtly implied striptease and some ’sound effects’ as you reported sway strongly the scores of the judging panel in selecting the ‘Role Model’ of American Asian young women of today? Have our perception of what is a good role model for the American Asian women gone south?

Was the ‘action & sound’ done on stage the classic stereotype of the post modern American Asian women? If so, it is very degrading indeed. Forgive my interesting and controversial questions.

Thank you for your comment at PW.

In regards to “FAIR JUDGING” I was shocked when the emcee introduced the panel of ELEVEN JUDGES

And then the emcee made the statement that Virgelia Villegas who is the owner/producer and director of the pageant was now going to be the 12th JUDGE!

How fair is that?
I have never heard of the owner/producer and director of a pageant also be one of the JUDGES too!

Sounds fishy to me!

Yes, I was disappointed too at the result. There are more qualified and respectable candidates for Miss Asia. I totally agree with the other comment.

I have a friend who competed in the pageant. She told me that the choreographer EVELYN LIN was also the PRIVATE pageant trainer for some of the girls! She charges over $100 an hour and will give private lessons! So a staff member of the pageant (Choreographer) is privately training the girls who can afford it. Then they were given a nice placement in the pageant. Also they were given on going training at the rehearsals. I consider this to be unfair because one cannot help but show favortism to the ones whom you are coaching and making $100 an hour from.

@ AB: I hear you: where does professionalism and other interests reside if there are conflicts of interests?

Taking to account your comment, however, I still hold the Pageant Production and the judging system to be responsible for holding a fair and just Cultural Pageant.

I ABSOLUTELY agree with what everyone said except for the last comment. It is NOT a fair pageant. First of all, it is true that EVELYN the choreographer of the pageant, was also coaching the girls in the pageant. Also, never in any true and ethical pageant would you ever have the pageant director VIRGELIA suddenly become a 12th judge at the last minute. All she is doing is checking the scores so she can fix the pageant to whoever was the highest bidder. So pretty much whoever won was based on how much money you were willing to pay Virgelia and Evelyn. On top of that, this is the FIRST AND ONLY year, there was no dress rehearsal before the pageant. If there was and DIANE YOO came out with her obnoxious evening gown, there would have been an uproar with all delegates. There has never been a pageant that people actually “booed” the the contestant (Diane) everytime she walked on stage. It was so obvious that Diane was a joke in the pageant, she never answered any of her questions, she had no poise, no class, and no community spirit. I also overheard she tried to team up the girls to sabatage one of the contestants. Doesn’t that completely go against what Miss Asia USA is all about? None of the contestants were happy with the results and were in shock when Diane won. People like Virgelia, Diane, and Evelyn and perfect examples of what NOT to be. There is no class in this pageant and this reflects nothing on Asian culture. Don’t have mommy and daddy buy your crown, EARN IT, and give respect to all the delegates that worked hard for a chance to be considered. I am ashamed that Diane Yoo is representing the Asian communities. It does not make me proud to be an Asian American.

@ JC: Point well taken with all the little bits of backstage information.

It feels like the whole American Asian community is shocked at the result of the pageant !

Just a correction JC : My last comment did not imply that the judging was fair. I stated that the burden of credibility of the judging system reside first and foremost with the judging, tabulation, and the result being verified true & correct by a qualified firm - in this case, KPMG Accounting.

And I thought my favorite candidates had a chance at the crown, namely Geraldine Craig & tall and gorgeous Jackie Skelly!

However, at the end of the day… just like in sports, ‘Judges decision is final?’

Hi Jay…. thank you for the correction. I will say in response to your comment…just like a sport, “judges decision is final”. This is true but if the judges are bribed so they would make those decisions, how is that like a sport? Also, even though KPMG is supposedly the official tabulators, if Virgelia gets final say (and she does after all is scores are in) how is that a “verified true and correct” score?

Obviously, something is not right here because how could all the audience (by the hundreds), make up artists, contestants, and everyone backstage be in such agreement (that this pageant was fixed) yet the judges seem to not be able to see the obvious? The obvious is that the judges turned the other cheek because of politics. Something needs to be done here - people need to know what kind of pageant this really is so that people like your fav candidates Geraldine and Jackie, and delegates like Laos, the gorgeous Aremenia girls, articulate China, elegant Indonesia and all the other delegates (those that deserve the title) have a fair shot of becoming the queen.

As a newcomer to pageants, I became a delegate in Miss Asia USA to gain the qualitites that I thought would improve my skills of growing to become a confident, poised, and a well-mannered young woman. At the end,I have come to the realization that money can truly get people to do immoral things. The people that I have gained to trust such as Virgelia has achieved a new, profound definition of immortality. Her producation has defeated the purpose of what I wanted to represent for Miss Asia USA and for the Laotian community. I was very disappointed to not make the Top Ten, however, if Miss Korea (Diane Yoo) was what the judges define as a queen, I did not want to be acquainted with what Miss Asia USA apparently stands for.

@ Miss Laos (Paulina): Thank you for visiting PinoyWired. I saw you at the Biltmore and yes, you as well as other candidates had the poise, character, and personality to be on the top.

The reigning Queen should be the epitome of what Miss Asia USA stands for: Beauty, Achievement, & Community.

I have been involved with Miss Asia USA way back in the 90s when it was still a small and uncomplicated pageant. The producers were also different then.

It has grown so fast thru the years that nobody can discount the politics behind the curtain if there is.

What I can say to you is never give up your dreams and pursue it to the best of your ability. After all, this is not the only pageant in the world.

Be all you can be. Good Luck Paulina & better days are always ahead. All the best !

As one of the deligates’ parent, I was very disppointed of the result of Miss Asia USA Pageant. After looking at Miss Asia USA Magazine, I have come to realize that most delegates who made to the top 10 has four or more pictures posted in the magazine. I would also like to point out that during the national costume judging day, Friday June 20th, Miss Korea Diane Yoo, as the winner of the national custom, did not wear her costume that day. In addtion, during the interview with the judges all the deligates were not given the same amount of time with the judges. Obviously, this tells me the top 10 winners were already pre-selected.

@ Linda: Thank you for your comments and your insights. This year’s Miss Asia USA is certainly different and created quite a stir in a lot of people including delegates, audience as well as sponsors.

We will try our best to get the official response from the producers of Miss Asia USA 2008.

Who were the top 5 and 10? I was there but i could’t wait till the Pageant ends.

I cannot believe that they chose that woman as Miss Asia 2008! She has no class nor poise in my view.
What are the names of the judges? Please let us know. They should be blacklisted from any beauty competition because in my opinion they have no taste. And that the organizer or producer, Virgilia, would become a judge herself, it’s all so unethical. Even if one judge was not able to be at the pageant, she should recuse herself from it. Did she think other contestants, their parents and supporters were dumb?
There were far, far more beautiful, charming and intelligent contestants than Diane Yoo. It’s unbelievable that she won after her many miscalculations and arrogance on stage. Virgilia and Judges, you were wrong.

There is another MESSAGE BOARD up and running about the pageant!

http://www.voy.com/21701/

This was the worst rigged contest I have ever been to!!! This was not a real contest it was set up from the start! The winner was NOT the winner! The audience was shocked at the outcome!

LOUISE WU… out shinned all the contestants and didn’t even make it to the Top 5! How was that? The organizer and producer was a judge…How does that work? At the end,I have come to the realization that money can truly get people to do immoral things!! Everyone could see through it and it was so CLEAR!!
In the future I will never support this contest because I see it’s RIGGED!!!

Louise Wu, deserved the crown! But she handled herself with poise and grace… as a Queen would! She is the true Miss Asia USA. The winner she be embarrassed by the outcome!

I wasted my money on a ticket to see something that was already planned! SAD!

This was unfairly judged contest!!! When the Queen was announced the audience walked out. I felt horrible for the winner at the same time as I did for the other contestants. These girls strive for an opportunity that was never within their reach! This is a competition that is based on MONEY! This was a frustrating event and these ladies courage to pursue an opportunity was disorganized and completely set up from the start!! The seriousness of what happened was taken lightly! The disregard for the other contestant was disgusting! This was a business venture for the organizer and producer. She should feel like a failure!!! This was no accident she pulled these ladies in to thinking it was fair and the hundreds of people at this presentation were all clear it was NOT! I stood out front as many unhappy audience members chatted loudly how set up this contest was. If I was a judge as I have been for over 20 years in competitions I would take this into further investigation, because I wouldn’t want my name on something that wasn’t TRUE!

I couldn’t have agreed more with all the comments. This is politics and it is all about $$$. Like many other people in the audience, I was shocked and very disappointed that Miss Korea, Diane Yoo, was crowned Miss Asia USA 2008. None of the other delegates congratulated her. Many people walked out of the audience looking confused and disbelieved.

There is a new Message Board to look at:

http://www.voy.com/217010/

Hey PF, I saw that message board but that’s owned by the organizer who became a judge at the last minute. Get real. She can always erase all our comments there, after all she thought she could fool the other contestants plus all their families, friends, and all others who attended that Diane Yoo was the real winner. I do not think she will defend herself at all. The judges are always right, she probably thinks. Yeah right.

I would like to hear a comment from the director, judge, producer & organizer, Virgilia! Her reputation is now trashed! The audience and the other contestants will never trust anything she puts together again! I hope that was worth it for her in the end. The way she treated these other wonderful ladies is awful!

I would like to congratulate the other contestants for their spirit and hardwork! Don’t allow this to reflect on you.

The winner, whatever her name was…didn’t deserve the crown!She is a joke to the Asian community and should return the crown! She didn’t earn it fair. All the money should be returned to the other contestants that participated in this sherade! The sponsors and families will now think twice about doing future pageants.

This is one big mess and how she handles it from here on out will reflect upon her future ventures!

The politic and other comments hold true in my oppion! I could have spent my evening doing more productive things than watching a contest that was unfair from the start! Still in disbelief of the outcome. I will spread the word that this was a money venture for the organizer!

Good Luck to all the other contestants!

What I heard was that Ms. China Louis Wu was the favorite delegate to win! I am not sure if this is true?

As a contestant in this pageant, I have to say I was not surprised about the Diane as winner and the top 5. I can tell you that Diane only came to one rehearsal (she lives in TX and so only flew into 1) and she did not know her routines or dances at all. So all of us girls were surprised when she came out with a stunning walk and knew all the steps for the Media Event back in May. I knew then, she knew what was going on because of her previous pageant experience. If you google her, you’ll see that she won Miss Korea Texas and that she has close connections with Miss Korea (Honey Lee) and with the new Miss USA (Crystal Stewart) and even Donald Trump. Perhaps Virgelia wanted to use Diane for her obvious connections with the more prestigous pageants of Miss USA and Miss Universe. Also, during the pageant night backstage, she was very haughty and walked with an air of confidence. I don’t know where Diane gets it from because most of us girls were either nervous or nonchalant because we knew that Diane was going to place in at least the top 5. I mean, she killed it at the Media Event. Some of us knew then that we were in for a real competition after that point.

Now this is not my first pageant, and come on now people, you cannot be that naive to think that sponserhips, advertisements, whatever you want to call it (money money money) does not play a role in the decision. I mean look at even the prestigious Miss Universe…hello, MISS JAPAN won when clearly she should not have. Why? Hmm, maybe because 1. the event was sponsered by a lot of Japanese companies like the crown and production set, 2. Miss Japan’s coach is chummy chummy with the Miss Universe organization. So yes, most of you general public in the audience do not know of the money and politics that go in pageants, including this one. It’s not fair or right, but it’s reality. As pretty as some of these girls were, if you don’t have any money backing you, you might as well not come in. Sad but true. The next time you see a Miss USA or Miss Universe on TV, look for the delegate with the most expensive designer gowns on…10 times out of 10 she’ll be crowned queen. In this day and age, when a C+ idiot can be voted (bought) as President of USA, how hard is it to realize that pageants, big and small, have the same thing going on? My advice for future girls, next time bring your padded bras, airbrush makeup artist, and your checkbook.

A stunning WALK? Are you blind? Her walk was terrible!
On top of that a “I’m better than you” attitude does not win pageants. A friendly, excited, gracious and happy look does. Miss Taiwan had that look down perfectly and so did Miss China.

As For Her Previous Pageant Experience:
Diane was chosen Miss Korea Texas out of 7 girls who competed in the pageant. Other than that, I have not seen anything else that she has won. That is not a lot of pageant experience and it showed on stage.

Virgelia does not want anything to do with Donald Trump and the Miss USA & Miss Universe Pageant! Believe me she wants to get as far away from him as possible! Nor does she need him!

Close connections to Honey Lee means nothing! She certainly did not get any lessons from her because her walking and stage presence was nothing even remotely like Honey Lee’s! If she thinks she can compare herself to Honey Lee, then it is in her own mind only! I have never seen a girl so blatantly interfere with a production number and stop it to bring attention to herself which is completely selfish. Im sure Evelyn Lin the Choreographer was furious!

Absolutely I agree with her placing TOP 5.
But after her performance on stage in National Costume - Her swimsuit presentation was laugable, bad taste in an gawdy Evening Gown - not able answering the on-stage questions and intentionally stage hogging. She did not deserve to win the crown.

There have been many National and International pageants that have been documented where the winner wore a homemade dress - and that they were from a poor family.

In Virgelias - MRS ASIA USA and MISS TEEN ASIA USA Pageant, 20% of the score is based on Popularity. Popularity is based on how many ads you sell and also how many tickets you sell to the pageant. So obviously the one who sells the most wins! But she does tell everyone up front so it is up to the contestant who decides if she wants to participate in this type of a pageant or not knowing that this is the rules of the pageant.

People are also complaining that Virgelia makes money on this pageant and I do not see anything wrong with it. Donald Trump makes money with the Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageant. And she does put hours and hours of hard work into producing the pageant. So if she can make money - more power to her! After all, this is the USA!

No, SJ that is sooo completely wrong! You cannot make money on this pageant from the very girls that you are trying to build up. That’s so heinous to even think that. If anything the girls should spend money on an entourage or coaching team that can help them win, but to bribe or pay off the organizer of the pageant is inconceivable. And if anybody is to blame for not winning, it should be on that entourage and coaching team. For example Ms. China Louis Wu should blame her coach and staff if she was the favored to win. All I know is, if I were in a pageant I would get the best people to help me be successful. But I would not pay off the organizer just to win.

I never said anything about bribing the judge or pay off the organizer of the pageant.

All I am saying is that to put on a pageant such as this one costs a lot of money. So where is the money coming from? Sponsors, entry fee, ad sales and tickets sold to the pageant etc.

If after all is said and done and a pageant organizer is able to make money then why not? What is wrong with that?

And why should Louise Wu blame her pageant coach or staff? I can not follow your statements or reasoning behind it. But it is always interesting to find out what one is trying to say.

Please NOTE: All comments here are subject to the terms and conditions of PinoyWired. Let us respect each other’s opinion and different perspective. Thank you again for leaving your comments.

ONE COMMENT MODERATED DUE TO IMPROPER LANGUAGE

The Pageant ended in a disappointment. The delegates went through vigorous rehearsals and trainings to help them prepare, but in the end, we showed them that their hard work was unappreciated. Covering the Pageant from the beginning to the end, I was surprized by the outcome. Miss Korea flew here from Texas a few times, but not every weekend like she states in her interview during the pageant. Her arrogance was not only present during the Pageant, but also at rehearsal, distancing herself from the other delegates. This is the person you want to help strenthen cultural values and comaraderie amongst the Asian American Communities? However, when I got home and had a chance to take a look at the Miss Asia USA magazine, I was definitely sure the Pageant was preset from the beginning. It made me realized that this was a typical Asian function, money can buy you a crown, not mad at all. I wanted to thank the Miss Asia USA organizers for allowing me to end my future relationship with them. Now that the integrity is gone, I have no respect for them at all. This was not the professional and highly regarded Pageant I had in mind. We were in the process of promoting Miss Asia USA Pageant throughout the world. I am outraged that the dedication and time put forth by the delegates was a waste. The honor is gone, long gone!!!

Diane did not perform well during the top 5 Q&A portion, but is it possible that she scored highly in the other 3 categories (national costume, swimsuit, evening gown) that she was able to win solely on number of points?? Maybe her mistakes did not cost her the crown because she performed well in the other sections. I agree that she should not have caused attention to herself during the national costume segment, but I do not think this gave her an unfair advantage in the national costume judging segment. From what I heard, the costumes were judged the day before on Friday during the personal interviews. Also keep in mind that the judges met all of the contestants the day before the pageant for personal interviews, so maybe Diane performed very well during this section as well.

As far as comments of “buying” the crown, I think we all know that it costs a lot of money to be in a pageant. Diane had an extravagant dress that seems like it cost a lot of money. An evening gown that costs that much will surely stand out over a gown that is plain and simple. Maybe it’s fair and maybe it’s unfair, but that is the nature of pageants. If you look at other national and international pageants, it is also the case that more money put into a contestant’s wardrobe, makeup, and hair can have advantageous effects for the contestant.

I do not know Diane personally so I cannot comment on her attitude backstage or in rehearsals. Judges only see what is on stage. Unfortunately they do not see what happens backstage. Contestants have a very narrow window in which to showcase themselves. Diane took FULL advantage of that.

As far as the comments on Virgelia, she is a business woman, and this pageant is her business. Like any good business person, her strategy is to make profit. I agree with SJ, it takes a lot of money to pay for the theater, programs, ads, lights, sound, video, and everything else that makes the contestants look professional and glamorous on stage. Let’s just hope she is also independent, objective, and refrains from favoritism.

The queen supposed stand as good role model for everyone, also who doesn’t create drama. All of us want the queen who take care herself well not like taking 10 assitance and spending million. watch for next year. I bet many girls will wear huge gown and spending million to win.

I was honored to have attended Miss Asia USA. I have been very fortunate to have attended 4 Miss Universe pageants, 3 Miss America pageants, 1 Miss Teen USA. With all that said, i don’t understand how contestants with bad shoes, bad dresses, and bad makeup expect to win (that will never get you a crown)!!! You need to hit all 3 of the above and then some and it takes a winning personality and attitude to be crowned the Queen!

Don’t hate Miss Korea for knowing how to win the crown. She is right on for having 6 make-up artists and hair dressers. Her taste was impeccable!!!

Girls, you need to take note on what it takes to be a winner!

PS: I recommend for some of you girls (and you know who you are) a good facial cleanser, the faces were a little too oily with the lights and all. Please invest a little bit more on your make up. Some of you girls were beat up from the feet up… and you know who you are!!!!

I thought the pageant was very tasteful and well presented. Can’t wait for next year!

Love you all,
Pageant Lover

i have known diane yoo since she was a little girl. her entire family is a disgrace to the korean community in houston. everything they do is based on money. they think they can buy there way with money.the only way she won her crown is that her father bought it for her.everyone knows this.she walks around in outrageous outfits on a daily basis so your comments about her gown and swimmsuit was no suprise.Nowadays people just ignore her and dont even congradulate her. Shes a joke and she doesnt represent asian american girls at all!!!!!JOKE!

If Virgelia Productions truly lets any contestant “buy” the crown, then why is it that 2007 delegate Miss United Arab Emirates bought the inside front cover of the 2007 Miss Asia USA program and did not even place in the top 10?

Pageants, like any other professional sport, cost money. For example, race car drivers with the best and most expensive cars usually win. Is that unfair?
I am not surprised that Miss Korea and Miss Taiwan ended up as the top 2. They were two of few who put a lot of money and effort into their gowns and national costumes. How can some of the other contestants buy an inexpensive and plain gown or even rent their dress and expect to win against Miss Korea and Miss Taiwan who had extravagant wardrobes?

Money is not a requirement to win a pageant, but it sure does help. And like it or not, that is the truth.

I just want to let everyone know who reads this that, it is all about money, and being a oriental.
For Example: Taiwan, China, Korea,Phillippines,Vietnam And Thailand.{apart from these countries you dont need to apply to this pageant, because it seems that the pageant only is represented in these countries only. And it shows from 1989 till 2008. If you are not of a oriental background you will not win, even if you are a millionaire. All this showcase of being as one in the Asian community is nonsense.Its really sad and shameful but this is a way to fleece people of their money, emotions and aspirations. And this is another way of committing a criminal act that needs to be stoped. The organization, and people involved need to be put into jail.

Most people who say they’re from Eastern heritage or descent here will refer to themselves as “Asian” not “oriental”.

Sniff, sniff I smell something awry in here.

Well, I was once a contestant of the Virgelia Production, this production is only care about money, that’s all. If you see all their previous queen, they’re all rich. Example, the queen from Mrs Asia USA 2007-2008 (Dona Chou), she is old and ugly. One of the contestant who represent Korea (Jane P Smith), she was a runner up for the Mrs Asia USA 2007-2008, because she did not paid the $30K like Donna Chou, she got piss so she attend the Ms America 2007-2008 right after the pageant and it end up that she won the crown. Virgelia Production is famous for gold digger. Whoever give her more money, that person will be the winner.
The popularity award and the people choice award are the awards that present to the people with the most money contribution.
This organization should be shut down because it’s not fair for those contestants who compete with all their best, also, it’s a waste of time and effort.

Well, the inside ad does not help UAE to win the pageant because it’s only worth $2,500 for that ad, other contestant they bought more than what she is buying, if you look inside the magazine, I believed the girl from Philipines give around $4,500 or more from her ad, she buy more than just one page. Remember, one page ad worth $500 each so if you buy more than 8 pages, it will overcome the inside cover page

I am delegate number 27, the delegate behind Diane Yoo (number 26) and I want to tell you what happened behind the scenes. Since the day after the pageant, my mother has told me about this forum and told me to read it. I couldn’t bring myself to read it untill today only because I was extreamly dissapointed by the outcome of this pageant and the entire production company. As I began to put the peices together, starting from the day of the fashion show, I realized that this entire pageant was a game. The company that puts Miss Asia USA is NOT a non-profit organization. Let me just say, money and agreements exchanged hands behind the scene. As I started attending practice, I began to see that the professional level of this company remained closely within the Vergelia’s family. I am friends with a girl who is going to run for Miss. USA within these up coming years. As I discussed with her how our practices and events were run, she was shocked. Everything each delegate had to do for Vergelia required money - hair, make up, even dresses.. even our os sash with our country name had to be bought. My friend told me that for a pageant that claims to be on the same calaber as Miss. USA, they have neglected to do the one, most important thing: take care of their delegates. In Miss. USA, they pay for each girls plane ticket, 1 week of hotel stay and food accomodations as well as transportation. Anything they need, they write it on a peice of paper and give it to a runner who goes and gets it for them without any extra charge. In Miss Asia USA, the sash alone was charged $50, all make up and hair “provided” were charged to the delegates.

During practice I have never felt so belittled in my life. I was talked to as if I was a worthless person who had no education! I was yelled at and asked retorical questions such as, “are you stupid?!” and “what is wrong with you? why are you so slow?!”. I was shocked and appauled. Not even my own mother talks to me that way. I was not the only delegate to recieve verbal belittlement. There was so much yelling from both Virgelia and Evalyn. It was unprofessional and I was very upset. Interestingly, Diane Yoo who was hardly there for practice, never wore our practice uniform or shoes, never remembered to bring her sash, and was always at least 3 hours late to the one event she attended… was NEVER yelled at. I want the production company to know, that the delegates are professional women who are educated. They do no deserve public embarrasement and humiliation during rehursals. Lastly, I want to point out that our walk routines were changed every other week. Even one week before the show, all the delegates had to relearn a new walk routine. Those who were confused were yelled at and scolded… it was completely unprofessional!

Before the fashion show, all the girls rehursed for three weeks. Diane Yoo was not there even once. However, come the day of the fashion show, she was not required to learn the walk but rather was given a “special” walk. She was the only delegate who wore a different costume for the swimsuite and the only delegate who got the chance to walk the run way without a partner. The whole stage was given to her.

I would now like to explain what happened the day of the pageant. On Friday, the day of the interview and national costume competition, Diane Yoo arrived extremely late. Due to this, her stress level was extrememly high. A few of the girls got a taste of her snake tongue. What shocked me most, was that she had the audacity to yell in public, loudly, at her mom as well as the audacity to yell at other pageant mothers. Stress is not an excuse to yell or act the way she did. Other delegates, including myself, were also stressed but we showed good sportsmanship. We each try to help one another. The next day (Sat.) I arrived behind the stage to find that I was sharing a dressing room with about 5 other delegates. I didn’t mind because they were all my friends and gave good company. Later I learned that Diane Yoo was given her own dressing room in which she refused to share with anyone. Due to this, my dressing room recieved an over flow of girls. I was appauled to hear about her mother kicking my friend out, who was not a contestant but was assigned to help the other delegates. As her mother told her to “get out”, Diane Yoo sat there listening without uttering a word. What I found worse about this treatment was that Diane Yoo claimed that she was “friends” with her… what an interesting way to let your mother treat a “friend” of yours huh?

When the show began, none of the girls expected what would happen: Evelyn specifically said that if you are not ready when it is your cue, she will kick you out. “I don’t care” she said. Diane Yoo being number 26 and I being number 27, I saw everything….. Diane Yoo missed her cue to walk before me during the national costume. I figured Evelyn would take care of it tell Diane to just stay back for this round - But no… to all the delegate’s surprise, Diane came running out in front of a delegate… completely off cue! I could hear all the girls behind me speak through thier smile, “OH MY GOD”. Even I found myself talking out loud asking, “what is she doing?!”. Each girl takes turns to be in the front for each round. The national costume was Diane’s turn to stand in the back so that other girls could stand in the front. It was no surprise that she came out and stood in the very front blocking nearly half of the stage. I was even more shocked at her un-lady-like performance…. I have NEVER heard or SEEN a pageant girl grunt and yell as she walks her national costume! A pageant is NOT A theatrical PERFORMANCE. I could not believe, this being an ASIAN pageant as well, that a girl would grunt and yell! My friend, the delegate whose cue got stolen by Diane Yoo was very upset at both Diane and Evelyn for letting it happen. It was suppose to be her time to show the judges, instead she had to “share” it with Diane. If anything, if Diane really wanted to make that round, she should have at least waited till all the girls had gone and then make her entrance. What she did was disrepectful to my friend as well as the other girls. The evening gown round was the next, and thankfuly last time, I had to stand in next to Diane. Once again, she was late and was missing in the line. There were only two girls left before it was her turn to walk. I began to think to myself that she is probably going to do something outragous. Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder. As I turned around I was overwhelmed by her. Her dress so SO HUDGE I had no idea how I was to follow the cue and rutine. I turned to ask Evelyn for help but she just said with a sharp tongue “just walk!”. I looked a head … one girl left before Diane’s walk. I turned to Diane and asked her what I was suppose to do with her long blue train. She said “Oh don’t worry, I have an escort who will hold it” and she pointed to the airforce officer behind her. My jaw droped. So this was the final act. This wasn’t rehursed… nor should it be allowed. None of the other girls were given an “escort”. I found it completely unfair. So I turned back to Evelyn and she simply said it doesn’t matter! As Evelyn walked back to the side stage to check up on the other girls, the girl who was behind me furiously went up to Evelyn and in a loud voice said, “Evelyn, this isnn’t allowed. None of the other girls got an escort.” Evelyn, being put on the spot, with all the girls staring at her, quickly ran up to the airforce officer just as Diane walked up the steps to the stage. She told the officer to let go of the train. I must admitt, I felt satisfied…. up until the point I heard Diane make an animalistic roar IN HER EVENING GOWN! Once again, I told myself, another grand performance by Diane Yoo.

I have come to the conclusion that there was absolute no integrety within this organization. They allowed such behavior to happen… only for one thing - money. I am going to leave you off with this interesting thought: Now that I have told you that money exchanged hands behind the scenes, and that an obvious favor card was played for Diane… what do YOU think about the judges involved. Is it possible to give the benefit of the doubt that there was a final score change? Is it interesting that even with the score change, none of the judges found it the crowning aginst their final points? Why is it, that none of the judges came forward to question the final tabulation?

I do not believe that there can be an actual solution to this controversy. Even with I ask for the final tabulated score, who is to say someone did not change the score before it was made public. The only thing I can say is … for those who are “pageant watchers” that support the “show”… please rethink. Behind the scenes of this “show” … is nothing worth supporting. It is not a competition about beauty being a quality of personal and physical characteristics… it is not about which delegate is intellegent enough to answer a question…. all this pageant is is a game. A game of money and manipulation. I discourage an participants who are looking for a meaningful experience. I left this competition in tears… not because I didn’t place but because I was fooled into playing a game I was not aware of. I, alone with other delegates, were simply a tool. Now with Miss Korea as Virgelia’s new puppet, she has even more resources to continue her game. I have been in many pageants… I have seen this world, both the good and bad, and I must say I surrender… the pageant world is not for me. It has nothing to do with being a “strong” person… but simply being an honest person.

The thing that amazed me, was the reaction Diane gave after she won. mhhhhhh! if i remember, she was jumping up and over joyed. Of course not, no emotions shown. Go figure!! What about people walking out after she was “crowned”. Big scam!!

@ Delegate 27: Thank you for your very in-depth commentary of the behind the scene at Miss Asia USA 2008.

I feel your frustration but do not give up. There is a whole world out there who need your talent, character, and beauty. I encourage you to continue on in your quest.

Maybe not at this pageant unfortunately, but there are other pageants with whom I have worked with (Miss Universe 2006) as well as other pageants who still command high integrity.

One word of advise: interview a lot of people who are knowledgeable of those pageants before committing yourself.

Be well.

This is my first time ever being in a pageant and originally my goal in entering this pageant was to 1) represent my community, 2) use this as an opportunity to help bridge asians into the media, 3) help my parents financially, 4) break the stereotype of the pageants, 5) step out of my comfort zone,and 5) be a positive role model.

For the past 3 months I have commuted from UC Riverside (an hour away from our rehersal spot) to put my time and effort in this pageant because I felt that I was going to get a window of opportunity to do what I truly wanted to do. Virgelia threaten to take me out of the pageant because she felt that I was not “trying my best” and she did not want me to take off my sarong during the swimsuit competition because I was apparently the “fattest” girl out of everyone. I AM AN AVERAGE SIZE GIRL. Now can someone tell me what is that about? What happened to showcasing our culture and inner beauty?

I definately felt taken advantage of and I do not want any other girls to go through what the other girls in the pageant and I been through. The only thing I took away from this paegeant was meeting many different girls who had a heart, soul, and mind (although, not ALL of them had those good characteristics). I have more respect for (certain) pageant girls, but I have NO RESPECT for this production.

Many of the girls did not have too much money in the first place and I know for a fact I did not. I had to work my way around the pageant by using my dad friend’s to help me because I couldn’t afford everything Virgelia wanted. So if you think that all pageant girls have money, than I say your an idiot. Since I did not use any of her resources she kept pushing me to buy more tickets. Was she pushing me to promote the show? Of course not, she just wanted the money.

There are many stereotypes floating around about pageants and because of that people become ignorant and will only see one side of the picture. I must admit myself that I once had a negative stereotypes about pageants, which was that it was based solely on beauty. After this pageant, I definately had my stereotype broken about pageants being only about beauty, but now realized that THIS PARTICULAR PAGEANT was solely on money.

I am the type of person that believes you cannot judge something unless you live it or been through it yourself. So for those spectators who believe that the delegates are lying, jealous, should have known that it was all about money…blah blah blah…I say you should try to go through what we had to go through than you will definately see where we are coming from.

I have nothing to hide

I was invited to this event, and must say that the posts on this forum have been quite amusing and comical. I understand becoming vested in something, and caring as a result — but the complaints on this forum are just extreme, to say the least. It was a beauty pageant, what else do you expect???

#1) The concept of a beauty pageant in and of itself is ridiculous for a host of reasons, but I’ll highlight a few: (1) You can’t evaluate physical beauty and declare a ‘winner’, because beauty is subjective; (2) You can not determine an individual’s strength of character or intelligence by the way they respond in 1-minute or so to a brief question; (3) Along the same lines, you also can not determine much of anything by the way someone walks on stage or presents themselves in a public setting - at most, maybe you can say someone is “good” in front of people or not, but nothing more.

#2) If someone participates in a pageant with the above in mind, I personally would respect that contestant the most. Sure, there may have been bribes and favoritism — that’s life and it happens in much more serious arenas than a pageant. The point for a contestant would be to realize that “hey, its just a pageant which means nothing”, enjoy the fun of it, and thus not be so emotionally tied up in knots about it which obviously is not the case here.

#3) I didn’t bother to read every post on the forum. I was actually referred to it by a friend who invited me. It basically sounded like a bunch of sore losers complaining. It would have been nice though to have read at least ONE COMMENT from ONE CONTESTANT saying something along the lines of: “Hey, I was a bit disillusioned by the process, but congrats to Diane. Hope she enjoys the oh so coveted title of Miss Asia USA. I need to get back to the business of real life. Take care everyone!”

#4) Undoubtedly, I’ll get some feedback to this post. I encourage those who do to take time to articulate a clear argument (and maybe even use spell check) if you really want to prove your “intelligence” though.

@ Brian Lee: Thank you for your articulate comment. However, please expect that others would have a different view. As you stated in #1, (1-3), amd I summarize, each other’s viewpoint is very subjective.

However, circumstantial facts that were quite out of the ordinary happened on stage as well as backstage at Miss Asia USA 2008 that led alot to believe that the ‘result’ had controversy.

Again, thank you for your straight to the point observation.

Are you kidding me Brian Lee?

Yes but no…

I myself am not a pageant participant or observer (but just like yourself was referred to this site by a friend). First and foremost, the way you addressed beauty pageants as “ridiculous in itself” is a very arrogant comment to make. It is both disrespectful to the winner and the other pageant participants (not to mention the people involved in production and the judges). Now, for you to make 3 claims based on the VERY PRINCIPLES that pageants are judged on is laughable– 1. Yes, beauty is subjective BUT pageants serve to do the complete opposite and purposely rank contestants based on this! contestants sign up for this sort of stuff so they CAN have someone judge them on a set criteria (like best fit body, etc.) but this is not even the point at issue here.. This is NOT about the purpose of pageants but about the fairness 2. Yes, you can’t judge a person’s character by a one min. response BUT they’ve been training to answer as articulately as they can! they are AWARE this will be a huge part of the judging and must prepare accordingly if they want a serious chance at winning (if you can’t swim, don’t get in the water)! 3. Yes, you can’t judge a person by how they act in front of people- its called an “ACT” for a reason. but many of these posters are the contestants themselves or backstage helpers that have seen the unrehearsed act or true character

#2) ““hey, its just a pageant which means nothing”, enjoy the fun of it, and thus not be so emotionally tied up in knots about it which obviously is not the case here.”
— once again with your elitist comments… i don’t know if you’d laugh off something you feel you worked hard for but didn’t get a fair chance at from the beginning.. I don’t care if it’s a college test or a card game or PAGEANT… these girls put in their own money and precious time- if they had known that the crown was already bought beforehand for this particular pageant, I doubt there would be this much anger and confusion. Maybe they could have tried to bid higher if they had known! lol they only took it seriously because they signed up for something they thought would be a fair chance at the crown. and it doesn’t matter if its the pageant world or the workplace. please learn some compassion… and I hope your friend stops inviting you to pageants since you have such a demeaning viewpoint on the whole idea.

#3)”I didn’t bother to read every post on the forum.”
–you just summed it up perfectly. you didn’t bother so it “SEEMED” like everyone was just being sore losers. what do you make of ALL the allegations against Diane? i’d normally take such rumours with a grain of salt, but it seems like a lot of contestants have very detailed and similar accounts of what happened.. but oh yea, you didn’t bother with that either huh?
next time try reading something all the way through and then maybe it’ll change your view or help you come up with something applicable to THIS situation

#4) “I encourage those who do to take time to articulate a clear argument (and maybe even use spell check) if you really want to prove your “intelligence” though.”
–lol how can you judge intelligence based on how well you spell on a blogsite? I think you’d agree that there are an array of factors more important than spelling on a blogsite for determining a person’s intelligence – like you so “articulately” pointed out in point #2 concerning the ridiculousness of judging a person based on a minute speech

In conclusion, I can understand your initial thinking IF this was another FAIR pageant.
read all the facts, and then make respectful comments. don’t generalize. bc/ like Jay from Pinoywired said- this wasn’t the typical pageant

and congratulations to all the winners.. (:

bc/ i still believe each contestant including Diane put in a lot of effort (whether it was $$money$$ or time)

however, the pageant community should make it clear and discourage the use of bribery with money etc. and not support such productions that do so.. it just gives all pageants a bad name to the outside world (refer to the poster 2 above mine)

there really is nothing wrong with a pageant.. if done correctly, it goes beyond beauty and promotes leadership, excellence in all areas (esp. one’s character), and community service

Well Jay,

This blog is what is bringing you up in the engine search as one of the number one hits for Diane Yoo Miss Asia USA. This exact blog does not show up any more. Now you have it directed to another blog with the same name to…
http://www.philippinepressclub.com/2008/06/who-will-be-crowned-miss-asia-usa-2008.html—- Only this one is directed to another web site that has the same title only blacked out all of our comments. What a shame!

@ What a shame: Thanks for the comment. PinoyWired is not in a contest to be ‘number one’ on any search engine although that is not a bad thing.

PinoyWired is here to do responsible journalism. The blog you are referring to http://www.philippinepressclub.com have been in existence long before PinoyWired. That blog DID NOT HAVE THE COMMENT OPTION ON since it became LIVE some years ago.

Just a correction: we do not re-direct the stories on both sites.

Both of them may carry an overlap on some articles but the two sites are here to inform and educate the community.

Each one have their own distinct target audience to serve. Also as a writer, I cannot limit myself to the two online sites mentioned.

I have to warn you though that some of my articles are carried in print media (newspapers) as well as magazines (U.S. based as well as in the Philippines).

Also, I do write for a few other online websites on select topics. If you want to see them all, just google my name.

Again, thank you for your very keen observation. More is better. Keep on reading.

For the last week, everyday I have been reading this particular blog. How I would find it was by ALWAYS googling - Diane Yoo Miss Asia USA - and this site would ALWAYS come up as one of the top headlines - ….Who will be crowned ‘Miss Asia USA 2008′? | PinoyWired.Com#comment-1352… So to give you the benefit of the doubt I used the search engine and scanned ALL the way through google…. This is the only one that shows up now with the same title “WHO WILL BE CROWNED MISS ASIA USA?” …
http://www.philippinepressclub.com/2008/06/who-will-be-crowned-miss-asia-usa-2008.html
….. I told everyone to go here in one place so their voice could be heard but you are not allowing it any more and making it look like WHO WILL BE THE NEXT MISS ASIA USA blog is so important. Please put it back up in the search engines. Otherwise what a disappointment!

@ What a shame: In as much as ranking is a good thing for us, apparently we don’t have too much control over the meta tag crawlers of the search engines like Google, and others.

They are the ones who does the ranking and not us. Number one or number ten, those concerned can still post comments here and we have not changed anything.

The http://www.philippinepressclub.com site DID NOT HAVE COMMENTS ON ever since and if it is on number one position on GOOGLE, again we cannot control it.

It may change tomorrow. Ranking depends on a lot of criteria. It is also on a day to day basis.

However, please tell your friends we welcome their comments here. It will be good also to google “pinoywired”. That way, they will find their way here.

Thanks again for the feedback.

SCANDAL ROCKS MISS ASIA USA PAGEANT

Glendale, CA – July 2, 2008 – The Miss Asia USA 2008 Pageant was held on June 21, 2008 at the Alex Theater in Glendale, California. 31 delegates participated in this year’s pageant and Diane Yoo representing Korea and from Houston, Texas was chosen as Miss Asia USA 2008. Rather than a traditional pageant where delegates compete for winning a title, it was an unfair opportunity for the owner Virgelia Villegas, to choose in a public venue, her own personal pick as to whom she wants to represent the title.

Negative complaints and many questions were raised by delegates, parents, volunteers and staff at the pageant. Among them is harassment at rehearsals and in emails, battery police report, talks of sabotage and special treatment given to Diane Yoo who was chosen as this year’s winner of the pageant.

Disbelief and confusion during the pageant competition when the emcee made the surprise announcement that owner, producer and director Virgellia Villegas was now going to be the 12th Judge to decide who the winner would be. Another complaint was raised when staff member and choreographer Evelyn Lin was also offering during orientation, her services to the delegates as a Personal Private Pageant Coach for a $100 per hour fee. Special line-up placement was given to these delegates and showcased in production numbers.

The pageant claims that no pageant experience is required and the web site states that free workshops and training would be provided to the delegates but was never given. The pageant staff was less than supportive to Miss Cambodia – Christilily Chiv who wears a Size 8, telling her she was fat and needed to wear her sarong during the swimsuit competition. After 2 rehearsals she received 2 emails from Ms. Villegas threatening to remove her from the competition if she did not see improvement in her walking or poise and even reminded her that her entry fee is non refundable. On June 27, 2008 in Los Angeles, Miss Cambodia – Christilily Chiv filed a Battery Police Report against Miss Asia USA’s choreographer Evelyn Lin for hitting her during the Miss Asia USA Press Conference held at The City Club.

Special treatment and privileges was given to Diane Yoo who won Miss Asia USA. Among them is allowing Miss Yoo to have a staff of 7 people in the dressing room to help her during the pageant where as the other delegates were allowed only 2. Stating in several write ups about the pageant that Diane Yoo attended all the rehearsals is in accurate.

The lack of full disclosure on the entry form and web site http://www.missasiausa.org as to all mandatory fees required to participate in the pageant and what these fees cover. A non-refundable $500.00 fee to enter is all that is stated on the entry form but never states what the $500.00 fee is for. At orientation the delegate are told that they must sell 3 full page ads at $500.00 each and a minimum of 30 tickets to the pageant. A couple of weeks before the pageant, delegates are told that they must fulfill these requirements or they will not receive their prizes if they are chosen as one of the Top Ten Finalists. Full disclosure was never given in writing nor is it stated on the web site as to the scoring system and how Miss Asia USA is chosen. Prizes to the winners and runner-ups were never disclosed. Best In Swimsuit and Miss Charity was never awarded even though it was advertised in the program book and told to the delegates that it would be awarded on stage at the pageant. Cash was encouraged, yet thousands of dollars in receipts promised to the delegates were dodged by the pageant staff.

A photo shoot was arranged by the executive director of the pageant. The delegates were told in an email and during orientation that it was complimentary. Upon arrival the photographer told the delegates that they needed to pay a $100.00 to $350.00 fee.

Although the practice of popularity is accountable in many pageants, there is a specific delineation of points related to it. Where as in the Mrs Asia USA and Miss Teen Asia USA Pageant the number of points is purely at the discretion of Virgelia Villegas, rather than a set number.

Ok first of all, I just feel sorry for all the girls who joined this pageant. #1. all of you girls are beautiful and you know that deep inside, but you need the confirmation from a bunch of old geezers (who are bribed to begin with by the way) #2. You are wasting your TIME & MONEY #3. ONLY 1 Person gets the title “Queen” and no just because she won the title cuz of her rich mommy & daddy doesnt make her any better. I know this because I too was enroll in this pageant 2006 - I am too Embarassed to announce my name and title my “people” sponsored me to enroll I thanked God each and everyday for not letting my mom pay the “Extra Hidden Fees” But at the end of the night after the pageant I have to agree there was some “weird interactions” behind stage but I didnt look too much into it because Ive never heard such things. This was my first pageant and I did feel discourage by the outcome but i came in the final 5, and for the rest of the beautiful girls out there Please dont give up on your dream!!! Dont let this Dream killer Virgellia sucks the dream out of your life!!! There more things out there

Its not the crown that justify your true inner beauty !!!!

God Bless

Runner Up 2006

This note is to call out those girls who tried to take down a true queen! How dare you lose such self respect for yourself and lower your value in trying to sabatoge the queen’s press conference. Sour beauties only make you ugly wannabe queens. I hope you learned your lesson that no true queen can ever be taken down! She only stands stronger and taller because of your actions. She held that press conference with dignity and respect like a true professional! I saw her hold the press in the palm of her hand. From what i saw, the press was VERY impressed with her presentation. If you girls try to do something negative again, i hope your karma catches up with you.

I love you all,
Your Pageant Lover

“karma catches up with you”

sounds like karma is catching up with this so called queen

Very nice article on Diane and what she has done for her communitity at http://www.chinatownconnection.com/miss-asia-usa-2008.htm

Too bad the lie about her never missing a rehearsal was included.

Thank you Virgelia for posting your remark in the posting above me. I know you too well and the words you use. Funny how you use the word “Karma” though. Wish you would respect the contestants and their parents more. I heard from miss indonesia how you yelled at her mother at the so call fashion shoot which was held at the hotel you work at. She looked a bit shaken up.
Virgelia was also selling dvd’s of the previous pageant for $50 at one rehearsal. Since the pageant is fix, this dvd would have been no help at all for any contestant.
Anyone want to discuss the prize? A fake scholarship.

@ all readers who left comments: Again thank you for expressing your view of this pageant at PW.

However, please try to respect each other’s viewpoint.

Happy 4th to all the readers !!!!

I wish LA times Newspaper knows about this scandal. Who cares about what it said in a local ethnic newspapers. They can say anything since they don’t really know what goes behind the scene. Please everybody, let’s prevent innocent victims/candidates to join this pageant next year. I am glad everyone voice the concern which has nothing to do with “sour looser.” Virgelia, please have some moral values, will you? Slow down your financial gain hunger and spend a quiet moment to evaluate the whole situations. Charity start within yourself. All mature adult is obligated to be a good role model to our younger generations. Take a moment and analyze everything. You’ll gain more respect if you are fair to people. Do you remember the law suit a couple years ago between City of Glendale,you and mayor. Please….find piece in your heart. May god save you.

Pageants will always have winners and losers. Some of the losers may be sore losers…but this issue with Miss Asia USA goes beyond that. If so many contestants, parents, and friends are complaining about this year’s pageant, then obviously something fishy was going on backstage.

It sounds like everyone has a right to complain because unfortunately, many of the contestants dealt with unfair treatment and could palpably feel that Diane Yoo was the favored winner (escort for her ostentatious dress, special placement on stage, etc) despite the fact she was not at every rehearsal. I was also appalled to hear that one of the contestants had been physically abused as well!! What kind of production is this where a choreographer hits the contestants?

Hopefully, enough people will be able to bring light to this situation so this pageant will become a more fair production next year. Or maybe, everyone should be discouraged from even competing at all next year. Sometimes the best action is inaction.

Regarding this year’s queen, it is unfortunate that her reign has begun with such a scandal. It is an embarassment that such a brazen, dishonest, and fake person will be representing the Asian community.

wow.. at first i rooted for all her success (both misskoreatx and now miss asia usa).. but the many complaints surrounding her wins have been very serious and are not to be ignored by the pageant community..

this was not the first time Diane was someway involved in a questionable act of fair competition.. i’m beginning to really think that she/her family view pageants as merely having strong “connections” in the pageant world through bribes rather than trying to create a level playing field.. i noticed this when i found out that she managed the misskoreatexas website– yes, seems like a conflict of interests no? but it is written/managed by her! Also, i find it odd that the current 2008 misskoreatexas winner May Lee was given a special advertorial on the site a year before as a potential misskoreatx 2008.. and by “potential” it’s clear they meant winner.. they are both very close friends.. and you can see May Lee in many events posing w/ Diane on the website.. likewise the previous 2007 winner Lynn Jo was also from Houston and close friends w/ Diane.. just coincidences? i think not.

all winners starting w/ Diane have been from Houston & close friends w/ her.. might as well call it Miss Korea Houston instead.. cuz it looks like favoritism played a role in that pageant as well.. http://misskoreatexas.com/?cat=15
(her dress also seems very over the top like Diane’s choice in outfits)

it seems that the last 4 winners of koreatx were all from houston! (Gigi Lee, founder/president of Asia Houston Network and former Miss Korea Texas 05) ok i am now sold that there was some MAJOR favoritism.. (it can happen.. but coupled w/ everything else-current rumors.. it just looks bad)

@ Knows Diane personally & @ correction:

Thanks for the observation. It could be alot of things.

A great coincidence. A quirk of nature. OR something else.

It is up to the proper pageant authorities in Houston to initiate an action. But someone should come forward and inform them properly.

Again, these allegations cannot be taken at heresy, but with compelling evidence.

why is this site no longer one of the top results (or even on any of the first few pages) for “miss asia diane yoo”??

you now have to type in pinoywired to get here

and if this is a move to muffle the protests.. then what a shame it really is!

all the comments on here serve a purpose to unify the unheard PEOPLE’S voices so a difference can be made in future pageants..

the new sites that are just NOW showing up have extensive registration req. to even post a comment! which is why there has been such a great response on pinoywired.. but why bother with comments when it will be removed/hidden from the search engine too???

@what a shame and @question

Thank you both for sharing your concern about the Google ranking of PinoyWired, especially on this post.

As Webmaster, I am quite happy whenever we get 1st page or 2nd page showing in Google results and I am in the clouds when we get ranked #1. After all getting top spot in Google results is every webmaster’s goal.

I have noticed the decrease in ranking this past week as well. While the decrease can be explained by noting that our post is “older” than some of the ones in the 1st page of Google, I have found out that there are stealth spammers which came in and are syphoning our ranking.

Please be assured that I have already implemented counter-measures to block such spammers dead-on. While no webmaster can guarantee top ranking in Google anytime, suffice it to say we blocked those who would try to bring our ranking down.

In addition, I’ve added a new feature you will see at the bottom of this comment form after the Submit Comment button, you can click on box to be notified via email about followup posts from other commenters for this article.

This webmaster thanks you both again for your keen observations, concern and your vigilance.

Here’s a new scandal with this pageant I just found out about…

Miss Asia USA 2008
Second Runner Up - Linda Tram Nguyen - was really married when she entered into the Miss Asia USA 2008 Pageant that Diane Yoo won! She has also competed in several other pageants where the rules state that she must be SINGLE - never married.

The secret revealed….

Is the claim she’s making viable when according the rules set out by Miss Vietnam Global in 2006,
she did not qualify….(including all the other pageants since 2003 as well that she entered too)…

Either she’s a really good actor fooling everyone or there is a cover up or bribery among the pageants for her to keep winning the top spots…making it unfair for all the other unsuspecting and non-professional beauty queen hopefuls.

VietShowBiz Entertainment - Vietnamese Showbiz Online Community Forums: View topic > TIN NÓNG: Miss Vietnam Global 2006 fraud..

Please visit website below for details

http://www.vietshowbiz.com/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=28783&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0

I’m pretty sure the marriage document has been proved fake.

However, what was really unfair was the special treatment during the pageant given to Miss Korea.

First of all, maybe the title should not be “Miss
Asia USA” if the basis of winning is thru selling the most ticket. The title of the winner should be the name of Organization like for example Pinoy wired USA.
Regardless of how the winner looks as long as she sells the most matter the most.If that is the basis of winning in this contest.Period. Secondly, an organization run by people who are judgemental are full of chaos and they are more critical than anyone you can think of. Whether that person came from Philippines, Thailand, Korea, or other asian countries, their characteristics, attitude and point of view never never change as their culture do not change when they got her. Please learn from other Americans on how to be fair, sports and open minded otherwise, your thoughts and actions degrade your own kinds of people. Lastly, please do not put the younger generations like you and I who were born, raised and grew up here as Americans into an embarrasing situation. Quit all those nasty complaints and accept whoever won as a chosen winner. As she is meant to be the winner.

Why the hell should louise have won the contest? I don’t get it, you guys are just friends of her. I’ve been following pageants for years and Louise is just a pageant rat which is why she’s won her recent past titles. In my opinion pageant rats should not win nor even compete. They should just accept fresh blood instead of girls who get so used to being in pageants that THAT’s all they can do. I saw her go from flat chested to getting whopper implants too. That just makes me laugh! She starts losing her luster and has to get plastic bags to make her self feel sexy. Tragic!

I attended the pageant as a supporter for Miss Laos. She is beautiful by the way. I was very very disappointed when the MC announced the winner…”Miss Korea” and the whole audience go..”BOOOOOOOOO!!!!” I was one of the people who yelled “BOO!” too. Personally, I think Miss Vietnam or China should have won! They did everything very well. On the other hand, Miss Korea acted too arrogant to represent Asian Women…even in the modern world. If you compare how she acted on stage to other pageant contestants i.e., Miss Universe, Miss USA, etc. you’ll know what I mean. Even Miss Universe contestants don’t act like that! If you don’t believe me…get the video of the contest and judge for yourself!!!