BTS will begin their world tour on April 9 this year, with a total of 79 performances across 34 cities worldwide. In South кσяєα, Busan is the only non-capital-region city selected to host the concerts, with two shows scheduled for June 12–13. Notably, June 13 marks BTS’s debut anniversary, and Busan is also the hometown of members Jimin and Jungkook, further heightening fan interest in the local concerts.

Busan Asiad Main Stadium is widely considered the most likely venue for the concerts. On the 15th, an official from the Busan Sports Facilities Management Office stated, “We have received a request from the group’s management company to rent the Asiad Main Stadium on those dates. The request is currently under review, and nothing has been confirmed yet.”

Nevertheless, observers are confident that Busan Asiad Stadium is the most plausible venue for BTS’s return to Busan, marking their first performance in the city in four years since the “World Expo 2030 Busan кσяєα Concert – BTS <Yet to Come> in BUSAN” held in 2022. At that time, a mαѕѕive influx of international fans poured into Busan, generating a significant ripple effect throughout the city. Now, however, the wave of fan migration has arrived even earlier—six months in advance!

Following BTS’s official confirmation of a world tour that includes a stop in Busan, the local accommodation industry has been thrown into turmoil: hotel rooms sold out rapidly, room rates during the concert period surged dramatically, and in some cases rose to as much as 15 times their usual levels. The resulting “accommodation crisis” has become a top concern for both fans and local officials.

Specifically, online hotel reservations in major tourist areas such as Haeundae were nearly sold out within just four to five hours. In the same area, a four-star chain hotel recorded instances in which rooms typically priced at around 300,000 won surged to over 650,000 won on the concert dates.

As demand far outѕтяιρped supply, some booking platforms listed Deluxe Double rooms at a luxury hotel in Busan at 785,000 won on the concert date. This price was significantly higher than the 298,000 won rate from the previous week and the 390,000 won rate for the following week.

But that was not all. A screenshot of a hotel booking website shared by a netizen showed a room that normally cost 99,000 won skyrocketing to a staggering 1,489,000 won on the concert date—more than 15 times the usual price.

Fans reacted with near panic to the pricing situation, posting comments such as: “I was so ѕнσ¢кed by the hotel prices around the BTS concert venue in Busan that my whole body hurt,” “Wow, I’m getting pissed off,” “Yah, you crazy bstrd. Even during the holidays, it shouldn’t be more than 100K won,” “That’s oba—how can it go that high? Even six months ahead?”...

Hotel representatives explained that these prices were not set by the hotels themselves. An official from one luxury hotel stated, "We understand that these are not rates uploaded directly by the hotel, but rather prices formed during the process of online intermediaries selling off the room blocks they had secured."

Notably, in October last year, fans also complained about exorbitant hotel price hikes in the Incheon area during Jin’s encore concert. At the time, the original room rate had been around 50,000 won with discounts applied, but suddenly jumped to an absurd 1.07 million won after the venue and dates were announced.

Busan itself has faced similar controversies in the past. During BTS’s free concert supporting the bid to host the 2030 Busan World Expo, some accommodation providers sparked outrage by charging prices dozens of times higher than usual. At the time, the Busan city government was forced to intervene by operating a room-rate reporting center and conducting joint on-site inspections.

This year, city officials say they are once again closely monitoring the situation. A city official commented, "We responded to a similar situation in 2022 by operating a lodging price reporting center. This time, we also plan to conduct on-site inspections and establish measures to prevent unfair practices, such as excessive price hikes."

The issue is even not limited to Busan. In Gyeonggi Province, hotels surrounding the Goyang Sports Complex were already fully booked on reservation apps from April 10 to 12. Remarkably, this sellout occurred several hours before BigHit Music officially announced the exact dates and venue.

The battle to secure accommodation has become nearly as fierce as the competition for concert tickets. Can such blatant and excessive business practices be curbed through legal means? Observers say it is extremely difficult to directly regulate hotel price hikes tied to concerts.

South кσяєα’s Constitution is grounded in a free-market economy, respecting economic freedom and the creative autonomy of individuals and businesses. Price surges caused by explosive demand during a limited period—such as during a BTS concert—are generally accepted as a natural phenomenon under market logic.

The Price Stabilization Act also limits the imposition of price ceilings to essential goods for daily life or in cases of urgent financial or economic crises. Hotel accommodation is considered optional rather than essential, and concerts are predictable events, making it difficult to clαѕѕify them as emergency crises.

A legal expert pointed out, “Legally mandating regulations on skyrocketing hotel prices during concert periods could potentially infringe upon constitutional economic freedoms and lead to side effects such as the formation of black markets, so caution is required.”