‘It’s an insane amount of money’: fans feel shortchanged by K-pop ticketing as idols finally hit the UK

Last year, the biggest acts in K-pop largely bypassed Europe on tour, to prioritise the more lucrative US market, which saw BTS hold four shows in Las Vegas. For newer groups held back by the pandemic, local Asian markets were the obvious springboard. But in the coming months, some of the biggest names in the genre will finally visit the UK, to the delight of their devoted British fans. This week the boyband Ateez will headline the O2 Arena, while fellow boyband NCT Dream has just announced a long-awaited London show, and reigning girlband Blackpink will headline their own one-day festival as part of the BST Hyde Park concert series.

But British K-pop stans fear they could miss out on seeing their idols due to the self-contained industry swerving towards short notice on ticket releases. The announcement of tour dates and ticket drops are commonly days apart, leaving some fans without enough time to save money for tickets, travel and hotels: K-pop-rock group the Rose announced their London tour date one day ahead of the pre-sale, and four days ahead of the general sale. “It’s just not enough of a chance to get organised,” says fan Gabii Rayner.

While some western artists adhere to similar timelines, the perception of speed comes from K-pop’s tendency to issue fans with a detailed timeline of forthcoming events – which does not typically include tour announcements and ticket sales. “The K-pop industry tends to be more explicit about their promotional schedule, and how they promote their music,” says music critic and journalist Michelle Hyun Kim. “That may be why it feels so fast.”

There are several possible reasons for the haste: from rescheduling dates that were postponed as a result of Covid to maintaining the edge in a fiercely competitive industry as well as increasing cashflow.

Fans believe that these short time frames have enabled scalpers who can afford to pay high prices upon initial ticket releases, which in turn causes resale prices to soar. “Some of the cheapest Blackpink tickets were half a month’s rent,” says fan Amy Britton. “I’d have loved to have been there, but to put it into perspective, I could have either paid to have a roof over my head for a month or paid to see Blackpink on stage for two hours. It’s an insane amount of money.”

Some idols have moved to provide accessible options for fans: BTS livestreamed their Wembley concert in 2019, and a massive concert in Busan was recently screened in UK cinemas. Ateez offered fans a far bigger window to purchase tickets to their UK tour, and have repeatedly returned to the UK, reassuring fans that they needn’t go into debt for a now-or-never shot at seeing their favourite group: tickets for all sections of their O2 Arena gig were still available at time of writing.

Yet the fast-paced nature of ticket drops has proved beneficial to many other K-pop idols by maintaining demand in an incredibly competitive industry – one also rife with disbandments and hiatuses as a result of military service. It’s an approach that germinated in the 2010s, says K-pop journalist Hee-ah Park. “With so many teams [bands] debuting, idols had to hurry to release albums and promote their activities. If the time between the last album and the new album is prolonged, it will be forgotten from the memories of fans and the public, allowing other teams to rise,” says Park.

Tours also carry high production costs, which create big overheads for labels. Protracted ticket sale periods aren’t always a feasible strategy, despite their advantages for fans. “For some small and medium-sized agencies, starting ticketing quickly is a way to increase cash liquidity,” says Park.

Yet even for those who can secure tickets to UK-based K-pop events, there is still a fear of cancellation, particularly when it comes to festivals, which host multiple idols with fast-moving schedules. Due to the pace of the industry, idols are often confirmed after tickets go on sale, and some have been forced to drop out due to logistical issues such as not receiving visas in time. As a result, some fans have been reticent to spend money on these types of events.

Last year’s MIK festival, which took place in London, was mired in controversy. Organisers began marketing the event before it had secured a licence from Southwark council, sending fans into panic that they’d bought tickets, travel, and hotels for an event that might not go ahead – and sparking disputes from residents. The event went ahead as advertised, although this year’s ticketholders to MIK festival in Paris have similarly faced uncertainty, with a complete lineup change a month before the event, to the disappointment of many fans: organisers did not respond to repeated requests from the Guardian’s Consumer Champions section for comment after a letter from a dissatisfied reader.

In November, the K.FLEX event at the O2 Arena was officially cancelled out of respect to South Korea’s mourning period following the Halloween crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon neighbourhood. However, fans were quick to share screenshots on social media showing the majority of seats at the O2 still available just weeks before the event, accusing organisers of using the disaster to pull out due to poor ticket sales and bad management. David Ciclitira, chairman of the Live Company Group promoting the event, told the Guardian that he stood by the official reason for the cancellation and that all ticket holders were reimbursed. The planned lineup will appear at the forthcoming K.FLEX event in Frankfurt, ahead of a three-day festival in the UK in September – with tickets due on sale in April.

Some UK fans have accepted that quick ticket releases and high prices mean they will miss out on seeing their favourite acts live: fan Vincent Li sold his ticket to see Ateez because of travel and hotel costs.

However, Li understands the combination of devoted fans and a highly lucrative industry makes change unlikely. “At the end of the day, there will always be people that will still buy tickets, even from touts at inflated prices, because the demand will always be there.”