Hotel Rates in Incheon Surge Following the Announcement of Jin's Encore Concert, Sparking Outrage Among ARMYs

 

On the 2nd, Jin announced on the fan platform Weverse that he would be holding a solo encore concert for fans on the 31st of this month and the 1st of next month at Inceon Munhak Stadium in Michuhol-gu, Incheon.

Since June this year, Jin has met fans through 18 concerts across nine cities, starting in Goyang and continuing in Japan, the United States, and Europe. The two encore concerts in Korea, scheduled for early November, are regarded as the grand finale of this journey.

 

While fans were overjoyed by the news of Jin's solo concert and the chance to see him again soon, a series of other developments dampened the excitement within the fandom. These issues directly affected those planning to attend the event and quickly sparked widespread outrage on social media.

In particular, several fan reported that accomodation proces near the concert venue had skyrocketed immediately after the announcement of Jin's concert.

One ARMY, who claimed to be a direct victim of the price surge, went viral on X (formerly Twitter) and Korean online communities after sharing her experience. The OP explained that she had received a call from the hotel cancelling her confirmed reservation.

She wrote angrily, saying, "Wow, I'm getting pissed off. My booking was confirmed, but I got a call saying the price was wrong and they'd cancel it for me... Yah, you crazy bastard. Even during the holidays, it shouldn't be more than 80K won. What? 1,070K won? You're crazy. What kind of error is this? Thye've been charging that price all along. They're just trying to rip people off because Seokjin having a concert. Let's see who actually cancels."

What made it even more shocking was that, according to the screenshots she posted, the original room rate had been 50,000 won with sicounts applied—but suddenly jumped to an outrageous 1.07 million won (approximately 761 USD).

 

 

 

 

 

The attached images also showed that nearby accomodations were priced at around 900,000 won (approximately 640 USD) for the same dates as Jin's concert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other netizens pointed out that hotel prices around the concert area in Incheon continued to rise naturally following the announcement of the BTS superstar's encore show. There is little dounbt that local hotel owners intentionally raised their rates overnight, taking advantage of the surge in fan demand during the concert period.

 

This is not an isolated case in Korea. According to a survey conducted by the Korean Consumer Agency in October last year, which reviewed 347 lodging facilities listed on booking platforms, room rates near the popular outdoor concert "Waterbomb" increased 52.4%, rising from an average of 140,000 won to 218,000 won (approximately USD 99.50 to USD 155).

 

Similarly, weekend room prices at 28 out of 41 accomodations (68.3%) near the five venues of singer Psy's "Drenched Show" were reported to have risen 50% from an average 106,000 won to 157,000 won (approximately USD 75.33 to USD 112).

 

Cases involving "business unilaterally canceling reservation or demanding additional charges due to price fluctuations" acocounted for approximately 60.5%.

 

 

 

 

 

However, even those increases were nowhere near as shocking as the price spikes seen in Incheon this time. This explains the explosive backlash from fans and netizens. Many fans who had planned long-distance trips couldn't help but express their disappointment over the skyrocketing accomodation costs.

 

 

Comments:

 

1. It's the same everywhere near concert venues these days, Heavier penalties are needed.

 

2. They should confiscate the extra profits.

 

3. Business owners are ruining what used to be a thriving market built around K-Pop and K-events.

 

4. Hul, the usual price is around 45K won and it went up 20x.... That's insane. How can it go that high?

 

5. Even if she took a taxi to sleep somewhere else, it wouldn't be as expensive ㅋ. Wow, seriously, they've lost their shame.

 

6. Wow, from 80K to 1M won... Just take a taxi and go home.

 

7. That shouldn't be legal. They should have to prove they have a valid reason for canceling—and it shouldn't just be to resell at a higher price, but only if the rooms will actually be unusable on those days.

 

8. They're despicable... If they charged more to people who booked after the announcement, it would still be scummy, but at least understandable because of the concert. But canceling her booking with a lame excuse like that? That's too much. Hope she goes viral and that place gets in trouble.

 

9. They do it all the time in the U.K. too when artists come. So crazy.

 

10. It seems like every time there's a concert, accomodation owners lose their conscience.

 

11. If K-ARMYs book hotels through Booking, will it prevent such a problem? Unethical businesses should be boycotted.

 

12. In cases like this, don't just let it slide—you should definitely report to the Consumer Protection Agency.

 

13. During the Busan concert, all the accomodations were like this too—and now it's happening again. Why do people treat each other like this, even among Koreans? I really wish there were a legal cap on how much they can charge per square meter. A lot of foreign ARMYs will be coming too—this is such an embarrassment for the country. I also had my hotel canceled during Busan concert and ended up paying several times more.