On the 25th (local time), BTS won the grand prize “Artist of the Year” at the αмєяι¢αn Music Awards (AMAs), widely regarded as one of the three biggest mainstream music award shows in the United States alongside the Grammy Awards and the Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs). This marks the second time BTS has won the prestigious category since becoming the first Asian artist to achieve the feat in 2021 with their global English-language нιт Butter. The victory once again solidifies BTS’ irreplaceable status in the international music market, especially following the group’s hiatus due to mandatory military service.

After the AMAs ceremony in Las Vegas concluded, BTS held a livestream on the fan platform Weverse to share their thoughts with ARMYs around the world. While discussing the hat-trick of awards they had just won, the members υиєχρє¢тє∂ly spoke candidly about the controversies surrounding accommodation services in Busan — the city the group will return to next month to hold a concert celebrating their 13th anniversary.

In particular, leader RM did not hide his disappointment while addressing the recent negative reports. He shared: "Ahead of this Busan concert, there have been way too many news reports about accommodation venues. I really wish they wouldn't do that." The idol also expressed regret, saying businesses should think long-term rather than focusing only on short-term profit: "Shouldn't people look at the bigger picture for everything? Busan has been so hip lately and rising as the Miami of кσяєα."

SUGA agreed with RM, emphasizing that Busan has recently become a tourist destination with an incredibly great atmosphere. Meanwhile, Jimin — who is originally from Busan, shared his honest thoughts: "Since people are coming to Busan after a long time, I want them to leave with only good memories. Of course, I understand that money is important, but this is just way too extreme."

Notably, Jungkook even used the Busan dialect to express his frustration directly. The singer said, "Cut it out," and "They shouldn't be doing that." RM then continued by stressing that even BTS themselves had no power to directly intervene in the extreme price hikes: "Even if we want to solve this ourselves, there's no way for us to do it. While there can be a price difference between peak and off-peak seasons, let’s keep it within reasonable limits, seriously."

Finally, the leader concluded: “Let’s be moderate about this, seriously. Let’s not do this among ourselves, as South кσяєαns!”

The group’s concert, part of their world tour titled “BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’ IN BUSAN,” is scheduled to take place on the 12th and 13th of next month at Busan Asiad Main Stadium. However, ahead of the event, accommodation prices in Busan have skyrocketed to ѕнσ¢кing levels specifically during the concert period.

According to local media reports, numerous two- and three-star hotels in the Busanjin District have raised their prices multiple times over. For instance, the room rate for a stay on June 12th at Hotel A in Seomyeon was 745,000 KRW (approx. $550 USD), which was more than 4.5 times more expensive compared to the 5th (164,000 KRW/ $120 USD) and the 19th (160,000 KRW/ $118 USD) of the same month. Hotel B in Yangjeong-dong also charged 557,000 KRW ($410 USD) for a stay on June 12th, whereas the rates for the preceding and following Fridays were merely in the 50,000 KRW range ($37 USD), marking a nearly tenfold difference.

According to an earlier survey conducted by South кσяєα’s Fair Trade Commission, average accommodation prices during the concert weekend were 2.4 times higher than neighboring weekends, while motel prices surged as much as 3.3 times. Although the Busan city government has formed an inter-agency task force to investigate unreasonable price increases, authorities still lack effective punitive measures due to insufficient legal grounds to directly regulate accommodation prices.

Amid the growing backlash, the кσяєαn Buddhist Cultural Affairs Administration also decided to support fans by opening free templestay programs in Busan and the Gyeongnam region. Meanwhile, the international ARMY community has spent days calling for boycotts of accommodations accused of excessive price gouging, with some fans even declaring they would refuse to spend any money in Busan during the concert period.

BTS speaking out directly about the issue quickly drew major attention from fans and netizens alike. Many believe the members are not only standing up for their fans, but are also genuinely concerned about Busan’s image as a tourist destination. Netizens flooded online communities with strong comments supporting the idols’ opinions:

- BTS said f*ck capitalism once again. Being directly called out by BTS kmgfff the embarrαѕѕment would choke me to de*th

- So sad to know that they realize how the industry take advantage of the fandom of their own greed :(

- The SK gov, media & businesses that want to profit off BTS but don’t even give the minimum respect & credit to them is embarrαѕѕing

- Busan hotel owners, are you not fcking embarαѕѕed for calling yourselves out by THE namjoon? have some shame!!!!

- BTS always puts ARMY first, and this is exactly why people respect them so much. They didn’t stay silent even when the issue had nothing directly to do with them

- Jimin sounding genuinely upset about Busan honestly broke my heart. You can tell he really wanted fans to leave his hometown with happy memories

- RM was absolutely right. There’s a difference between peak-season pricing but hotel owners can’t shamelessly take advantage of fans to such a disgusting extent. They should at least have some basic decency left

- Jungkook using the Busan dialect to tell people to stop was both hilarious and iconic. Even BTS themselves are frustrated with this situation

- The fact that BTS addressed this publicly says a lot. Most artists would avoid the topic completely, but they chose to stand up for fans instead