Busan is moving to rein in hotel price spikes before BTS brings its ARIRANG world tour to the city on June 12 and June 13. The June 13 show falls on the group’s debut anniversary, a date expected to pull fans from across Korea and overseas.
The Fair Trade Commission and the Korea Consumer Agency checked 135 Busan hotels and motels after complaints that some rooms were being marked up far beyond normal levels. Average room rates during the concert week were more than double the weekends before and after the event, while motel prices more than tripled and hotel prices nearly tripled. Some properties went further, setting rates more than five times higher than usual.
The sharpest examples are hard to miss. A room that typically cost 60,000 won a night reportedly jumped to 760,000 won during the concert period. Other rooms priced at 100,000 won climbed to 750,000 won, and some 300,000 won rooms reached 1.8 million won. For fans who have already booked travel to Busan, the numbers have turned a concert trip into a fight over whether they can stay at all.
One fan said a reservation made months earlier was canceled after the concert was announced, with the property citing overbooking or remodeling before reselling the room at a higher price. That complaint has echoed across fan communities, where some users have vowed to keep their money out of the city altogether. Online comments have included, “I won’t spend even 1 won in Busan,” “I’ll even buy water in Seoul and bring it,” and “Zero spending in Busan!”
The Busan Metropolitan Government has launched joint inspections to curb price gouging, and city officials are warning businesses against excessive hikes while planning targeted checks of accommodations that draw visitor complaints. The crackdown comes as the city prepares related events around the concerts and braces for a surge in domestic and global visitors tied to BTS’s anniversary week.
The issue now is whether the inspections will be enough to stop last-minute profiteering before thousands of fans arrive, or whether the city will enter one of its biggest tourism weekends already carrying a public backlash over rooms that became unaffordable almost overnight.
