After the announcement of BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) Jin’s encore concert, some accommodations near the concert venue reportedly raised their prices more than 20 times, causing anger among fans.
Jin recently announced through the fan communication platform Weverse that he would hold an encore performance of his first fan concert tour, “#RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR_ENCORE.” The concert will be held from October 31 to November 1 at the main stadium of Incheon Munhak Stadium, Michuhol District, Incheon.
His first fan concert tour began in Goyang last June and took place across nine cities in total, including Japan, the United States, and Europe, with 18 performances. Jin is scheduled to showcase a stage in Incheon that condenses all the experiences he accumulated while touring around the world.
BIGHIT MUSIC, his agency, stated, “In response to the passionate requests from ARMY (the name of the fandom), we prepared an encore performance. Please look forward to a special stage that can only be experienced in Incheon. The concert will be larger in scale than the one in Goyang in June, and the artist is doing his best to prepare in order to interact closely with more audiences. We ask for your great interest and support.”
However, after the announcement of the encore concert, there were claims that some accommodation facilities near the venue drastically raised their prices. Recently, a post titled “A hotel that raised prices 20 times after BTS Jin’s concert announcement and called to cancel the reservation” drew attention on social media and online communities.
The poster revealed, “Even though my reservation was confirmed, I received a call from the reservation site saying there was a pricing mistake and they would cancel it. Even during the holidays, the price is expensive at 80,000 won (about $53 USD), but they raised it to 1,075,000 won (about $714 USD).” The person explained that they had used a discount coupon to book the room for around 50,000 won (about$33 USD) and posted screenshots of the payment details and confirmed reservation.
They also shared photos showing evidence that only during Jin’s concert days, the accommodation cost was set at 900,000 won (about $667 USD) and 1,070,000 won (about $793 USD).
It was later reported that the accommodation adjusted the price to around 300,000 won (about $222 USD). However, even that is two to three times higher than usual.
Netizens who saw this pointed out that it has become common for accommodation prices to rise before and after concerts of popular artists. Fans planning to travel from afar expressed frustration and disappointment over the excessive pricing.
Read Some korean Netizen’s Comments
- Wow, this is crazy. There should be restrictions on this.
- This is so exaggerated. How can a motel be worth 1,070,000 won, damn it?
- Crazy, really scumbag.
- Can’t anyone do something about this?
- What a scumbag. It’s not even a 5-star hotel. Hahaha. I can’t believe it. Do they think they’re a hotel in Dubai?
- Are you crazy? Where’s your conscience?
- It’s clearly just a motel with the word “hotel” in its name.
- The regular price is 29,900 won for a day and 50,000 won for a stay. That’s a regular motel. How does it become 1,080,000 won? You’d better take a taxi and go to a 5-star hotel.
- The conscience is gone.
- During a recent stadium party, I stayed at the Toyoko Inn in Bubong for 40,000 won and it was great. The prices never changed. So I completely agree with the viral post.
- They didn’t get caught during the Busan concert either, which is why it’s happening again now. At the time, they said all of Busan was like this, but it seems like all areas are the same.
