On this day, Busan hotels reaching full capacity and skyrocketing their prices following BTS's announcement of two concerts scheduled around June 13th—the group’s debut anniversary became a trending topic across media and social platforms. One netizen shared a screenshot from a hotel booking site in Busan, showing that a standard room usually priced at 99,000 KRW had soared to a staggering 1,489,000 KRW for the concert dates—15 times its normal rate.
Another report from a fan revealed that a four-star chain hotel in Haeundae increased its room rates from the typical 300,000 KRW to over 650,000 KRW during the concert period. Some online booking platforms listed Deluxe Double rooms at a luxury Busan hotel for as high as 785,000 KRW, significantly higher than the 298,000 KRW charged the previous week and the 390,000 KRW charged the week after.
As if the price hikes were not enough, some hotels even requested that guests with existing reservations cancel their confirmed bookings, citing the absurd excuse: “With the release of BTS’s Busan concert dates, we’ve received tons of reservations at the same time. Because we received more reservations than rooms, there are none available.”
The severe price escalation and room shortages led to widespread public outrage, both domestically and internationally, which spread rapidly across social media. Following mαѕѕive feedback and urgent demands for a resolution, President Lee Jae-myung issued an official statement via his X (formerly Twitter) account on the 16th, αѕѕerting: “Malicious practices that disrupt market order and cause serious harm to everyone must be eradicated. The losses must far outweigh any unfairly gained profits”.
Following the President’s statement, the Busan authorities could no longer delay and immediately intervened to address the situation. According to кσяєαn media reports on the 18th, the Busan metropolitan government announces that the city will launch a large-scale crackdown on unfair trade practices by accommodation providers.
In cooperation with joint inspection teams from district and county governments, the city plans to conduct on-site inspections of accommodation facilities reported online, while continuously accepting online reports and carrying out field inspections through the “QR Reporting System for Price Gouging.”
The QR reporting system for price gouging allows domestic and international tourists to scan a QR code and immediately report cases of excessive pricing. Reported information is promptly forwarded to the relevant local governments and related agencies through the кσяєα Tourism Organization. The system has been operated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism since October last year and is currently displayed via notification banners on the official Busan city website.
The city distributed promotional QR code stickers and posters in November last year and has actively promoted the system through district and county offices as well as the Busan Tourism Association. Starting next week, it plans to simultaneously conduct inspections of business compliance requirements and guidance activities. Currently, tourist accommodation facilities are subject to regular inspections by district and county authorities, and unfair practices such as charging unreasonable fees or failing to honor reservation conditions are also reflected in hotel rating evaluations.
The city will also convene a tourism readiness inspection meeting with relevant agencies to hold in-depth discussions on fundamental measures to address excessive increases in accommodation prices. In addition, once the venue for the BTS World Tour concert in Busan is finalized, the city plans to help disperse concentrated bookings at nearby accommodations by providing information, via official social media channels, on lodging-dense areas with good access to the concert venue and public transportation.
Mayor Park Hyung-joon stated, “We are looking toward an era of five million foreign tourists visiting Busan,” adding, “By visiting sites in person, we will ensure that tourists coming to Busan can stay longer and create lasting positive memories.”
He further emphasized, “Through online reporting via the QR price-gouging reporting system and joint on-site inspections with district and county governments, we will prevent unfair accommodation trade practices and thoroughly review our tourism readiness.”
When a global cultural event such as a BTS concert is exploited for illicit profiteering, it not only causes economic harm to fans but also damages South кσяєα’s reputation for hospitality and undermines the credibility of its tourism industry. The Busan city government’s newly announced measures are therefore necessary at this time.
The announcement has temporarily reαѕѕured fans and helped quell the anger that had been building over the past several days. Fans now hope that these measures will prove effective and genuinely resolve the instability in accommodation prices in Busan before the concert takes place.
