By: Naiia Lajoie

Krystal von Seyfried is no stranger to the Manila Up! Magazine family of publications, though this is her inaugural mention in ASIAN FASHION MAG. We are celebrating her coronation as Miss Asia 2024, awarded during last year’s Asian Fashion Week, in which she also graced the catwalk as a runway model. An established model and well-decorated pageant titleholder, Krystal has shifted her trajectory using her God-given gifts and extensive social media reach to take on new challenges and serve the community.

Interestingly enough, the familiar face within and staple of LA’s Fil-Am community is currently taking a break from social media, citing that life poses enough stress these days, and that she is prioritizing her mental health and well-being by limiting her online presence. “It’s dangerous being a woman on the internet,” she warns, ever an example to the younger generation or anyone who may want to emulate her trajectory. That said, she is still making significant use of what she does present online, using her “powers for good” by bringing awareness to precolonial Philippines, among other poignant topics.

One of Krystal’s focuses these days is on spreading knowledge of Baybayin, a precolonial writing system used by early Filipinos. She notes the unfortunate truth that most older generations of Filipinos are not familiar with this script, due to the overwhelming influence of the Spanish colonizers. “The Philippines was named after King Philip [II] of Spain, [and] we as a people have nothing to do with him,” she points out. “We were given the name; we weren’t able to name ourselves.” Thus, she has made it her mission to make Filipinos more aware of their precolonial history.

For Krystal, the pursuit of this dream involves melding old beliefs with new technology, creating YouTube videos and eventually branching into TikTok to reach the newer generations. She also wants to mix pre- and post-colonial Philippine culture in a way that she describes as “copacetic.” “You can’t remove Spanish influence from Philippine culture,” she admits, though that is not her intent. As an example of unifying all belief systems and mediums, she translated the name Jesus Christ into Baybayin, which was met with pushback by some followers.

Commenting on her fans pointing out that Jesus (and Christianity in general) was instilled by the colonizers, Krystal stood by her example and explained that she – and all Filipinos – love Jesus, a subject which she is no slouch on. In fact, she is also working on compiling videos about interreligion literacy, having studied a lot of theology on her own. Another lofty goal of Krystal’s is to write a book titled “108 Churches”, chronicling her visit to 108 Christian churches, taking notes on how they conduct their liturgies. “It’s a long project that really excites me,” she beams, ultimately wanting more religious harmony.

Krystal is a firm believer that the more one learns about different religions, the less hatred there is the world. And while she is focusing on mastering the Abrahamic religious (having been raised in Catholicism), she eventually does want to expand beyond churches to different temples, even moving into Buddhism and Hinduism. “There’s a huge breadth of religious topics,” the avid scholar explains, eventually wanting to purse a master’s in philosophy and theology. But for the time being, she is in “solitary study mode,” researching Judaism. “To know and understand Christianity, you have to have a good basis in Jewish history.”

The model-turned-researcher has not abandoned her origins in the fashion and entertainment world but rather uses that basis as a tool to help spread her knowledge. Given this is what she loves to do, she has transferred the fanbase of her makeup application and gaming streams to her religion videos. This content-producing pursuit is not without its difficulties though: “It’s hard to do voiceover for video content, it takes an immense amount of practice and work.” To prepare herself, she enjoys presenting her findings in full makeup, and to further steady herself, she uses a makeup brush to pat her face, giving viewers something to focus on while retaining her teachings.

This clever method of self-soothing and keeping the audience entertained has also proven to be an effective method of informing the public of her platform, which is ultimately what the newly crowned Miss Asia wants to do. They tune in to see the result and along the way, learn about culture, history, and religion. To see Krystal in action and keep up to date on her eye-opening teaching, you can follow her on both Instagram and TikTok: @ krystalvon108, as well as her YouTube channel: / krystalslearninglibrary108.

A Legacy Carried Forward
Emmy and Krystal von Seyfried remind us that true greatness is measured not by accolades or headlines, but by the quiet strength, wisdom, and integrity passed from one generation to the next. In their lives, we see a legacy of purpose, resilience, and heart—a reminder that the most enduring crowns are those of character and influence.