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Busan gov't confirms more than 90 lodging complaints after BTS world tour announcement

Published: 26 Jan. 2026, 19:03

A person takes photos in front of a promotional display for BTS’s fifth full-length album on the steps of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul on Jan. 22. [NEWS1]

BUSAN — Fans planning to attend BTS's concerts in Busan this June have reported sudden cancellations and steep rate increases at lodgings, as accommodation providers allegedly seek to rebook rooms at inflated prices.

The Busan Metropolitan City confirmed on Monday that it has received more than 90 complaints through the Korea Tourism Organization’s QR code reporting system for price gouging.

One fan from Daegu posted on social media that a hotel asked them to cancel their already confirmed reservation.

“This should be an exciting time,” the fan wrote. “Instead, I’m overwhelmed by stress over where I’ll be staying.”

They added that they suspected the hotel was trying to resell the room at a higher price, so they had reported the incident to the booking platform's customer service team.

“If nothing works out, I’ll just sleep in my car,” they wrote.

Other reports describe similar behavior, with operators pressuring guests to cancel prebooked rooms or raising rates up to 10 times the usual price.

A person takes photos of BT21 Line character dolls in front of a promotional display for BTS’s fifth full-length album on the steps of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul on Jan. 22. [NEWS1]

“The issue appears to have started after BTS’s concert dates and venues were announced on Jan. 13,” a Busan city government official said. “In many cases, operators claim that bookings were erroneously made after system glitches or staff mistakes, but we are reviewing each case.”

A review of major booking platforms shows that rooms in Busan during the June 12 to 13 concert period are listed at rates ranging from 600,000 to 700,000 won ($420 to $490) per night. One guesthouse, which typically charges 70,000 won per night in February, was found listing the same room for 600,000 won in June.

“We haven’t contacted any guests to cancel confirmed bookings,” an employee at a lodging business in Busanjin District said. “That would be excessive. But room prices naturally rise during big events such as BTS concerts.”

Booking pressure has spread to other cities where BTS will perform in the coming months.

Hotels near Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul are already fully booked ahead of the March concert, with demand spilling over into nearby Myeongdong and Euljiro.

In Goyang, Gyeonggi, where concerts are scheduled for April, all 1,200 rooms near Goyang Sports Complex have been booked. Lodging platforms listed nightly room rates for these properties at between 600,000 and 730,000 won.

In response to the growing controversy, the Busan Metropolitan Government held a joint meeting on Friday with district governments, consumer groups and hospitality businesses from seven districts, including Haeundae, Suyeong and Busanjin.

New Year installations stand at Haeundae Beach in Busan on Dec. 29, 2025. [YONHAP]

Proposals under consideration include expanding access to public lodging facilities, offering incentives to “price-friendly” businesses and temporarily opening university dormitories and public training centers during large-scale events.

President Lee Jae Myung previously addressed the issue of excessive lodging prices in Busan in a social media post on Jan. 16, calling the practice “a malicious abuse that destroys market order and causes serious harm to everyone” — one that authorities “must eradicate.” His remarks prompted central government ministries to begin preparing countermeasures.

Officials from 10 government bodies, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Justice, attended a meeting on Friday to discuss strengthening cooperation between central and local governments and ways to eliminate prices that far exceed the level of service provided.

The government plans to announce a comprehensive set of measures to address price gouging within the first quarter of this year.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM MIN-JU [[email protected]]