App coming for expats to book tickets

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said yesterday it will launch a smartphone application that will allow expatriates to make online reservations for movie and concert tickets.

The application will be available early next year in English, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. In April, the Seoul city government opened a Web site (www.visitseoul.net) that lets expats book tickets for movies, concerts and performances.

Some expatriates have complained of not being able to make online bookings for movie and concert tickets because reservation systems only accept Korean identification cards and not alien registration cards. Other expatriates said they have no other option but to ask Korean friends to help them book tickets even when they don’t want to invite them along.

“One of the best merits of the smartphone application and the Web site created by the Seoul city government is that expatriates can pay with foreign-issued credit cards, which is unprecedented in Korea,” said Lee Hae-wu, a senior official at the Seoul city government’s culture and tourism department.

The number of online reservations made by expatriates and foreign tourists at the Web site jumped to 1,600 in October from 49 in April.

By Kim Mi-ju [mijukim@joongang.co.kr]