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University festivals are the hottest tickets in town, and scalpers are capitalizing

Published: 24 May. 2025, 15:18 Updated: 24 May. 2025, 15:39

LEE TAE-HEE
[email protected]

Students line up to enter Korea University's student zone at its festval on May 22. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Around noon on Thursday, students formed a long line stretching over a kilometer (3,280 feet) in Korea University's Central Plaza, fanning themselves in the heat as they waited to see celebrity performances for the school's spring festival.

Despite the temperature reaching 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit), students patiently stood in line with anticipation, waiting to enter a zone reserved exclusively for Korea University students during the school's spring festival, known as "Seoktap Daedongjae."

In Korea, it's common for big name K-pop groups and singers to visit university festivals — held in the spring and fall — and perform for students.

To prevent K-pop fans who aren't students of the university from occupying the front rows, many universities' festival organizing committees designate student-only zones in front of the stage.

Entry was also tightly controlled at Korea University, with staff stationed at major pathways to check student IDs before granting access.

“I’ve been in line since 9 a.m., and I have been waiting without even eating lunch,” said Lee Soo-hyun, a 26-year-old Korea University student. “There’s a rumor that IVE, ILLIT and Daesung will be performing today.”

Lee was correct, with the three artists, along with girl groups Meovv and UNIS. performing that day.

While festivals bring excitement for students, there are growing problems that schools have to grapple with: student ID sharing and ticket scalping.

With student IDs necessary to enter student-only zones closer to the stage and nonstudents also wanting to see various K-pop groups, it's common to see posts by students offering to lend their IDs for a price.

Girl group IVE at Yonsei University's Akaraka festival on May 25, 2024 [SCREEN CAPTURE]

On the university community platform Everytime on Friday, many uploaded posts saying they will lend their student IDs for around 50,000 won ($37).

Similar posts appeared on Everytime ahead of boy band TWS’ performance at the University of Seoul on Wednesday and NCT’s appearance at Soongsil University on Thursday, with users offering to lend their student IDs for 30,000 to 70,000 won.

For some university festivals that require students to purchase tickets to see the performances, resale prices have been skyrocketing.

Although Korea University's Seoktap Daedongjae doesn't require students to purchase tickets, the university also holds a similar student-exclusive festival, known as Ipselenti, on Saturday that does.

Tickets retail for 18,500 won, but on the school's Everytime section, resale prices for Ipselenti tickets soared to a range of 70,000 to 100,000 won — more than five times the original value.

Yonsei University, which sells tickets for 17,000 won for its Akaraka festival, is also seeing tickets listed for as much as 300,000 won.

For last year's Ipselenti and Akaraka, Korea University brought singers such as NewJeans and Jannabi. Yonsei University brought in ILLIT, aespa, and Taeyang — boosting the popularity and resale value of their events.

To prevent ticket scalping, Yonsei University began issuing mobile tickets through KakaoTalk last year, eliminating paper tickets. Attendees are required to show the digital pass on their phones upon entry.

Posts on Everytime sell Akaraka tickets for 150,000 to 200,000 won, with some saying they can also lend spare phones with the original purchaser's credentials. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

However, some students found workarounds by temporarily logging on to the ticket seller’s KakaoTalk account via a spare phone, allowing buyers to enter using the seller’s credentials.

In response, festival organizers are taking action.

On May 13, Chung-Ang University’s festival committee uploaded an announcement on its official social media channels, alerting students that unauthorized ticket sales and student ID lending are illegal.

The university implemented stricter measures, checking the attendees' student ID via an online app, along with another ID not issued by the school and the mobile ticket's QR code when people come to the festivals.

Korea University has assigned unique serial numbers to each Ipselenti ticket and checks that they match the original purchaser’s name upon entry.

Yonsei University's student organization has been operating a “Secret Inspector Program” since May 3. If students see cases of ticket scalping, they can contact the resellers to get the ticket number, the seller's name or the phone number, and the student organization cancels the ticket.

Under Korea’s Minor Offenses Act, those caught scalping tickets in person may face fines of up to 200,000 won.

But the law’s limited scope — applying only to in-person transactions — has left online scalping largely unchecked.

“We need to find ways to uphold the value of such student events, which are meant to be enjoyed by students — like printing the names of original purchases on tickets and checking IDs more rigorously,” said Heo Kyung-ok, a professor of consumer science at Sungshin Women's University. "Changing how the public thinks about ticket scalping is another important issue."

Some argue that universities have inadvertently fueled the problem by leaning too heavily on star-studded lineups to draw crowds.

“The demand for these festivals has skyrocketed because they’re seen as a rare chance to see A-list celebrities at a bargain,” said Seol Dong-hoon, a sociology professor at Jeonbuk National University. “That’s why more students are tempted to profit from reselling."

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY PARK JONG-SUH, LEE TAE-HEE [[email protected]]