We can't just send our kids to our children... Parents' backs are breaking because of the cost of K-pop concerts

The Psy's Show was that expensive? Wow

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Hyeong-bin = "All my close friends are going, so I can't not send my child... But is it really this expensive?"

Office worker Yoon Seon-yeong (45) recently bought tickets for her high school freshman child who asked her to go see singer Psy's 'Hot Show' and pretended to be calm, but inside she was very surprised.

The most common standing room ticket costs 165,000 won, and even with the 20% student discount, it is still well over 130,000 won. Yoon said with a sad face that if you include the money needed for meals that day and transportation, it is inevitable to spend about 200,000 won.

Yoon said, "A few years ago, expensive padding was notorious as a 'backbone breaker' (an expensive product that was so burdensome that it would break your back) and was something you only had to buy once, but concerts are repeated several times a year, every year."

According to the statistics of this year's Humduk Show ticket holders posted on Interpark Ticket on the 17th, teenagers account for about 5% of the total. Compared to 2022, when teenagers accounted for 1-2% of ticket holders, this is more than double.

The ticket sales prices for concerts of K-pop idols, whose main customer base is those in their 10s and 20s, are not much different, with general seats costing 150,000 won and VIP seats costing around 200,000 won. The prices for these concerts have risen by 30-50% in recent years, and are now comparable to the prices for concerts by foreign pop stars in Korea.

NCT 127 Tokyo Dome Concert [Provided by SM Entertainment. Resale and DB prohibited]

Ticket prices for the group Seventeen's concert held at Seoul World Cup Stadium in April this year ranged from 132,000 won to 198,000 won. NCT Dream's concert at Gocheok Sky Dome in May also ranged from 154,000 won to 198,000 won. The concert prices for these groups in 2019 were all 121,000 won.

As K-pop's global popularity has driven up idol salaries, the demand for festivals and concerts, which had been suppressed during the COVID-19 pandemic, has exploded, sending ticket prices soaring at a frightening rate.

The problem is that the cost of viewing performances for minors without economic power is entirely passed on to their parents.

Parents unanimously agree that the entertainment industry's tricks of enticing children with not only silk performances but also fan meetings, albums, and merchandise of these singers are like pouring water into a bottomless pit.

Ms. Lee (47), a parent with a middle school student, said, "I can't just stop them from buying things, and I sometimes buy them what they want because I'm worried that they might get money the wrong way, but it's burdensome," adding, "Even considering inflation, I think prices have gone up too much compared to the past."

Another parent, who spent 400,000 won to buy a ticket on the black market for his child who was discouraged after failing to get a ticket, said, "My child says that his 'fandom' at the concert motivates him for his studies, but I am skeptical because I feel like it doesn't instill proper economic sense in him."

The industry's position is that the overall cost of stage installation, venue rental, and appearance fees have risen significantly compared to a few years ago, and concert prices have inevitably increased. It is also said that the cost of safety management for large crowds has increased significantly since the Itaewon disaster.

An official from an entertainment agency argued, "Even if the price goes up, there isn't much difference in net income compared to the past," and "Considering the criticism about ticket prices, if we maintain the performance price, there will inevitably be an aspect where we have to make up for it with revenue from merchandise sales, so there may not be much difference in fan spending."

Experts say that improving the commercialized performance and idol culture that relies too much on fandom is the starting point for cooling down the overheated trend.

Kim Jeong-seop, a professor at Sungshin Women's University's Graduate School of Culture, Industry and Arts, pointed out that "the biggest problem is that the center of the industry has shifted from people and music to systems and capital."

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