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By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
When Frank Preissner read about the upcoming concert of rock band the Scorpions a few weeks ago, he wanted to buy some tickets to see them.
But when he checked the online ticketing Web site, the German executive found all the information was in Korean. With only a basic knowledge of Korean, he had a hard time reading the information and couldn't buy a ticket.
Preissner told The Korea Times that it was already hard enough to get information about upcoming events in English, but it got even more frustrating when he could not buy a ticket online.
His experience is common among foreigners who are living in Korea. For years, Seoul's foreign community has always complained about the difficulty of finding out about up-coming concerts, musicals, movies and other events. Most of the Web sites only offer information in Korean.
Though Korea has a significant and growing foreign population (175,000 foreigners registered as living in Seoul), and more foreign acts holding concerts in Seoul, information about events in English is limited.
In the past few weeks, The Korea Times has received numerous e-mails from foreign residents asking where they can purchase tickets for upcoming concerts by American stars Beyonce and Linkin Park.
Many have complained the online ticketing Web sites such as Interpark and Ticketlink do not provide any English information, making it difficult for foreigners to buy tickets online.
"I don't understand why the ticketing Web sites are all in Korean. Koreans should assume that all foreigners are guests in their country and would want to learn more about culture through pop concerts and shows. Even if the shows are in Korean, there might be some foreigners who are interested," Preissner said.
Lack of Promotion
Online ticketing sites such as Interpark, Ticketlink and Auction are all in Korean. In the past, foreigners could not even register on the Web sites, since their resident ID numbers were not recognized by the system.
Now, foreign residents can register on the Web sites but they first have to fill in the forms and read the instructions that are all in Korean. For now, the only options for foreigners are to study Korean or to ask a Korean friend to help them use the sites.
When contacted by The Korea Times, a spokesman for Interpark said the company does not have any plans of opening any section in English. He said foreigners could call the Interpark hotline to reserve tickets, although the operator cannot speak much English.
On the other hand, Ticketlink said they have plans to create an English section but could not give a definite timetable on when it would open.
A concert promoter told The Korea Times that "the general consensus among ticket sellers is that the expatriate market , despite their loyalty to popular concerts or musicals in English, is not that big."
The concert promoter said Korean promoters could follow the Japanese example, which is to create a special section with information in English on Web sites. Foreigners can make reservations by fax or e-mail.
Another issue is the high cost of marketing and promotions that are geared to foreigners. The concert promoter said it takes a lot of money and effort to come up with English posters to be posted around Itaewon and Gangnam.
More often than not, foreigners get their information about upcoming concerts and shows from English Web sites like The Around Town section in Korea Times, www.korea4expats.com, www.seoulselection.com and Internet forums. However, this is also limited to mostly big-name concerts and high-profile events.
One foreign resident in Seoul, who declined to be identified, said there seems to be an assumption that foreigners are not interested in shows by local performers, so there is no effort to promote these. "How can Korea talk about attracting foreign tourists and at the same time cut them off from access to all these entertainment options," she said.
K-pop Tourism
Even as K-pop stars are gaining popularity around Asia, it seems the Korean entertainment companies and concert organizers are unaware of the demand for tickets to K-pop concerts among foreign fans.
Paola Ebora, a Filipino fan of TVXQ, went to Seoul last week to watch the Korean boy band's concert along with friends from other countries.
As a tourist, Ebora found it difficult to log on the Web site www.auction.co.kr to purchase tickets, since only Koreans and foreign residents in Korea can sign up. She had no choice but to rely on Korean friends to purchase the tickets for her.
Ebora tried to contact the Web site and ask them if they would directly sell the concert tickets to foreigners. However, her request was turned down.
"They said that they can't do such favors as it is against their company policy and it would be unfair to the other people who are booking their tickets through the ticketing company," she said. "But it is so unfair, since they know that foreign fans cannot buy the tickets online, and there's no other way we can get the tickets."
Another fan from Singapore, who did not want to be identified, noted it is "curious that Korea is promoting Hallyu around Asia, but why is it is hard for foreign fans to go to K-pop concerts? Shouldn't they try to make it easier if we want to watch the Korean concerts??
The difficulty in procuring concert tickets has led some die-hard foreign fans to buy tickets from scalpers who double or triple the original price.
There is also the impression among foreign fans, that some K-pop concert organizers favor Japanese fans. Some organizers have special deals for Japanese fans, while some Japanese tour operators provide the concert tickets with a tour package.
"They say they don't allow special ticketing but how come some Japanese fans get a lot of tickets? I've been to many K-pop concerts and events and there's always that group of Japanese fans in the front row," Ebora said.
In recent month, some concert organizers have noticed the popularity of K-pop stars among foreign fans. Organizers of pop star Rain's concert tour had provided information in English and ticket access for fans from all over Asia.
Good Entertainment Media group, which manages popular boy band Shinhwa, is one of the few entertainment companies that put out concert information in English for foreign fans on its home page (www.goodenter.com).
For Shinhwa's concert last year, the concert organizer sold tickets to fans from Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan and Thailand who traveled to Seoul. However, the ticket prices are slightly higher than the tickets sold to Korean fans because of the transaction costs and taxes.
Progress
Recently, concert promoters for foreign acts Black Eyed Peas and Christina Aguilera included e-mail addresses and hotlines where foreigners could make inquiries and reserve tickets in English.
However, the majority of the concerts still do not have any information in English.
In the end, Preissner did manage to buy a ticket for the Scorpions concert, but through a ticket booth at the Youngpoong Bookstore in downtown Seoul.
He said he would like to watch some Korean shows and concerts, but only if he can find information in English about them. "I think the Koreans are underestimating the interest of foreigners in cultural events. When all the information is in Korean, it's like they are not acknowledging there are foreigners here," he said.
cathy@koreatimes.co.kr
