"Even the reporters paid an extra 90,000 won"... Busan, which embraced BTS, left ARMYs lost amid price gouging [BTS in BUSAN]

*This content was translated by AI.

In the end, the city failed to curb price gouging.

Although Busan City pledged to resolve the controversy over price gouging at accommodations related to BTS's Busan concert, tourists continue to face inconvenience.

BTS (RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, Jungkook) will hold "BTS WORLD TOUR 'ARIRANG' IN BUSAN" at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium on the 13th, following their performance on the 12th.

Earlier, anticipating a massive influx of crowds, Busan City formed a joint inspection team and vowed to take strong action against unfair price hikes and unilateral cancellations by accommodation providers. It also strengthened compensation standards for consumer damages through its "Implementation Status and Future Plans for Eliminating Price Gouging."

Accommodations were also provided by religious institutions and local universities. As a result, lodging capable of housing approximately 2,000 people was arranged across Busan.

However, even this has sparked complaints among some overseas tourists. Critics pointed out that it is regrettable to have to stay in church dormitories or university dorms after traveling from faraway countries to watch a performance by a globally popular artist.

Some accommodation providers' bold business tactics, aiming to capitalize on the concert boom, cleverly and lightly mocked the city's inspection efforts.

For example, one accommodation in Busan could previously be booked for around 60,000 won per night, but during the period of the BTS concert, the nightly rate was displayed at a staggering 760,000 won. Additionally, some providers unilaterally canceled existing reservations under the pretext of overbooking and then accepted new bookings at higher prices, pushing fans' anger to its peak.

There is no need for elaborate statistics to prove how ineffective the inspections have been. Even reporters sent to verify the on-the-ground reality could not avoid price tags that were significantly higher than usual. For this on-site investigation, a room booked directly in downtown Busan cost approximately 90,000 won more than on a typical weekend. Despite making reservations relatively early in response to the concert news, they could not escape the blade of price gouging.

Given this situation, it is difficult to even imagine the financial and psychological pressure that latecomers seeking accommodations or overseas and out-of-town fans unfamiliar with the area had to bear.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization's "Korea Tourism Data Lab" report released on the 10th, of the 368th tourism-related complaints received nationwide last month, 50.3% (185 cases) were filed in Busan. This means more complaints came from Busan alone than from the rest of the country combined. Compared to the 239th complaints received in Busan last year, this represents a 77.4% increase.

Breaking down the complaints received in Busan last month by type, "general accommodations" accounted for the largest share at 133 cases, involving unilateral cancellations and excessive penalty fees. This was followed by "hotels" (21 cases) for unilateral cancellations and issues with service or hygiene, "airports and aviation" (9 cases) for airline operations and inadequate airport facilities, and "taxis" (7 cases) for refusal to use meters and reckless driving.

The proportion of foreign and domestic tourists was 83.8% and 16.2%, respectively, indicating that foreign tourists made up a significantly larger share.

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*This content was translated by AI.