Ticket scalping surges ahead of Seoul fireworks festival amid legal loophole
Fireworks light up the sky above the Han River during the Seoul International Fireworks Festival, Sept. 27, 2025. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Fireworks event not classified as performance, leaving ticket resales beyond regulators' reach
Ticket scalping is once again rampant ahead of the Seoul International Fireworks Festival, with tickets being resold at steep markups just a week before the annual event at Yeouido Hangang Park.
The government has moved to tighten laws against ticket scalping, but fireworks festivals fall outside the scope of existing regulations, leaving authorities with no legal grounds to crack down on resales and allowing the problem to persist year after year.
The festival, now in its 22nd year, is scheduled to take place Saturday. The annual event draws around 1 million spectators each year.
Since 2024, Hanwha, the organizer of the festival, has been setting up designated viewing areas at Yeouido Hangang Park, offering seats through a lottery for spectators seeking a closer view of the fireworks.
This year, Hanwha offers 700 paid seats at Nodeul Island, dubbed the Orange Play Zone, priced between 110,000 won ($79.70) and 220,000 won depending on the viewing area.
Numerous festival tickets were listed on secondhand trading platforms at prices well above face value as of Sunday.
One seller offered two tickets, originally priced at 220,000 won each, for a combined 700,000 won. On another platform, tickets to the Nodeul Island viewing area were being offered for between 250,000 won and 450,000 won each.
The markups extended beyond official festival tickets, with secondhand platforms reselling food and beverage packages offered by the Starbucks store at Yeouido Hangang Park and nearby high-rise hotels at inflated prices.
Some users were also seeking to profit from the festival by offering access to lesser-known viewing spots.
Online posts include offers to rent out apartments near the Han River, while others were charging a fee to secure prime viewing spots along the river in advance.
With the popular festival drawing massive crowds each year, such practices have become a recurring problem.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young speaks during a meeting on measures to combat ticket scalping at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Jongno District, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
Amid growing concerns over widespread ticket scalping, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is seeking to tighten regulations through revisions to the Public Performance Act. The revised law, which took effect Friday, bans scalping regardless of whether automated software is used and allows fines of up to 50 times the profits from illegal ticket resales, according to the ministry.
Fireworks festivals, however, remain outside the tougher rules. Under the act, they are not considered "performances" — defined as live presentations of artistic works such as music, dance, play, musical and other forms of entertainment — meaning restrictions on ticket resales do not apply. Even cases such as two 220,000 won tickets being offered for a combined 700,000 won cannot be penalized under the law.
The scalping problem has also spread to cinemas. Tickets to IMAX screenings of Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," which opened Aug. 5, have been listed on secondhand platforms for more than 100,000 won each — far above the roughly 20,000 won face value — driven by strong demand for the film's IMAX format. Films are also not covered by the new anti-scalping rules.
As a result, calls are growing for measures to close the regulatory gap, including the creation of a unified reporting system that would cover ticket scalping at events that are not regulated under the current law.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young said the ministry would pursue legislation to extend the ban to cinemas.