Korea first, global fans second? K-pop ticketing shift stirs international backlash.

Boy band Stray Kids will give Korea-based fans first access to tickets for the Seoul kickoff of its latest world tour, “Run It,” before opening reservations to international fans, a shift in the group’s usual fan club presale system that has sparked backlash among some overseas fans.

Stray Kids will launch “Run It” with five shows at KSPO Dome in southern Seoul on July 25, 26 and 29 and Aug. 1 and 2, JYP Entertainment announced Tuesday.

Until now, ticket sales for the group’s concerts have generally opened first to paid members of the group’s official fan club, STAY, regardless of whether they were based in Korea or overseas, before later opening to the general public.

Starting with the “Run It” series, however, fan club presales will be split into two rounds: Korea-based fans will be able to reserve tickets first on Monday, followed by global reservations on Tuesday.

The ticketing platform NOL Interpark operates separate domestic and global reservation pages for fan club presales. The domestic page requires both fan club membership verification and NOL Interpark’s local identity verification process, which typically requires Korean credentials such as a Korean phone number.

The move comes as other major K-pop agencies have begun introducing domestic-first ticket presale systems this year amid growing calls from local fans.

HYBE boy band Enhypen introduced a Korean-first ticket presale system for its “Blood Saga” world tour in May, which was welcomed by domestic fans online, followed by similar systems implemented by HYBE labelmates Cortis and Le Sserafim, as well as SM Entertainment for the Korean stops of Red Velvet, NCT Dream and aespa.

“Korean fans have long been demanding such measures,” said a source from a K-pop agency who requested anonymity. “The complaints have not only been about scalping but also seat availability for local fans.”

Supporters say such measures could help prevent overseas-based scalpers from hoarding seats and reselling them at inflated prices, while also easing competition for domestic fans, who have complained of increasingly fierce competition for seats at concerts held in Korea.

“It’s not about discriminating against overseas fans, but about giving priority to local ones,” one user wrote in Korean on X on Tuesday, in a post that received more than 1,000 likes. “Korea usually gets only one stop — Seoul — and I hope overseas fans can also get their own prioritized ticketing rounds at their respective local stops.”

However, the move triggered strong backlash from overseas fans, who argued that the distinction was discriminatory because they had paid the same membership fees without being informed in advance that presale access would be divided by region.

“I don't think this is a good solution to make the process smoother, [as] scalpers are going to still exist after this new policy,” said a Seoul-based, Colombian fan who has been supporting Stray Kids since its debut in 2018 and attended the group’s concerts multiple times, pointing out that the membership should grant a fair chance for everyone. “International fans don’t have the same opportunities to see Stray Kids like us, fans who live in Korea, have. They’re already at a disadvantage, so giving them even more obstacles to see Stray Kids feels unfair.”

The shift comes as the Korean government is doubling down on its efforts to root out ticket scalping. Revisions to the Public Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act passed the National Assembly’s plenary session on Jan. 29 and will take effect on Aug. 28. The revisions ban all forms of illegal ticket resale, regardless of whether macro programs are used, and allow authorities to impose fines of up to 50 times the resale amount. Ticketing agencies and platforms will also be required to take measures to prevent illicit transactions.

BY SHIN HA-NEE  [[email protected]]