When “Success” Goes Viral in the Classroom

It started with a question from a student during class: “Teacher, if I watch these videos, can I really make money? Is this a scam?” When the teacher asked the room how many had seen similar “success-selling” content on social media, over 90% of students raised their hands. Both students and teachers were stunned.

The videos spreading through Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts painted a seductive picture: teenagers flashing supercars, lounging at Bali resorts, fanning out stacks of cash. But beneath the glossy surface lay the architecture of a classic Ponzi scheme — retooled for the smartphone generation.

This is the story uncovered by KBS’s investigative program Chujuk 60 Minutes (추적60분): a new breed of cyber multi-level marketing (MLM) operation that specifically targets minors — and the one teacher who fought to dismantle it.

The Scale of Damage, in Numbers

A single high school teacher independently tracked down more than 50 student victims. But as the numbers swelled to 2,000, then 6,000, the teacher confessed: “This was beyond what I could handle alone.”

The 7-Step Trap: How the Scam Operates

What makes this cyber MLM uniquely insidious is that, unlike traditional pyramid schemes that at least sold a physical product — jade mattresses, health supplements — this operation sells nothing but the illusion of success itself. The “product” is a course that teaches you to sell the same course to others.

As a lawyer interviewed by KBS put it: “When the primary purpose of a course is to recruit the next person rather than deliver genuine value, and when income is generated internally from later members paying earlier members, this is a textbook pyramid scheme — a Ponzi structure.”

Dreams Weaponized: The Victims Speak

The students caught in this scheme weren’t reckless or foolish. They were young, economically anxious, and full of good intentions — exactly the kind of vulnerability that skilled manipulators exploit.

The most heartbreaking detail: when asked why they joined, many students answered, “I wanted to give my parents pocket money too.” A dream of filial devotion, twisted into a weapon by con artists.

Haeyoung’s mother, unable to pull her child out of the operation’s grip, reportedly dragged her to the rooftop in desperation, sobbing: “Let’s just die together. This will never end.” A family relationship shattered over something that never actually existed.

Anatomy of the Pyramid: Who Actually Profits?

In this structure, the only people who make real money sit at the very top. Everyone else is fuel — their payments and their faces turned into screenshots of “success” to attract the next round of victims.

The legal analysis is unambiguous: “When there is no independent economic structure and the income loop is entirely internal — later entrants paying earlier entrants — this is a textbook Ponzi scheme, regardless of what the operators choose to call it.”

“Is This a Communist Country?” — The Father’s Defense

When KBS reporters visited the family of Jichan, one of the scheme’s most visible student recruiters, his father mounted an aggressive defense. His core argument: “He’s simply selling an online course. That’s not illegal. This isn’t communism.”

The video of the father tearfully receiving ₩1,000,000 (~$720) from his son — meant to demonstrate filial success — was in fact repackaged as marketing content that drew more students into the scheme. The internet’s verdict was swift and brutal: “Like father, like son” trended across comments by the thousands.

The Teacher Who Fought Alone

The real hero of this story is the high school teacher who sounded the alarm. Noticing the abnormal reactions during a lesson, this teacher independently analyzed viral videos, traced students one by one, and made over fifty phone calls to families.

Public response was overwhelming. Comments called this teacher “a true educator in an age when they’re rare,” with thousands of upvotes on messages like “this is what a real teacher looks like” and “someone give this person a medal.” In a profession battered by burnout and systemic frustration, one individual’s refusal to look away became a beacon.

Public Reaction

Anger, heartbreak, dark humor, and warnings — here’s a summary of where public sentiment landed.

How to Spot a Digital MLM Scam

Distilled from thousands of comments, expert analysis, and the investigation itself — here’s the definitive checklist. If 3 or more of these apply, you’re looking at a scam.

The simplest acid test, quoted by commenter after commenter: “If someone really had a money machine, why would they tell a stranger? They wouldn’t even tell their own family.” One sentence is all it takes.

Why This Scam Keeps Happening

This isn’t merely a story about gullible teenagers. It’s a story about systemic failure at every level — from regulation to education to platform governance.

What Each of Us Can Do

And the most important action of all: share this story with the teenagers in your life. A nephew, a student, a neighbor’s kid. One conversation can be the difference.

The Real Success Equation

A commenter summed it up better than any expert could:

Nobody who truly knows how to make easy money will share it with a stranger. The genuinely wealthy don’t flaunt. Real success doesn’t arrive with a click. And the most reliable investment anyone can make — at any age — is an honest day’s work.