Scalper boasts of making $10,000 from reselling ‘The Odyssey’ IMAX tickets
An online user claimed to have earned 14 million won ($10,000) in just over 50 days reselling sought-after IMAX tickets for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.”
A visitor stands in front of a promotional poster for the film "The Odyssey" at a movie theater in Seoul on Sept. 1.YONHAP
Fourteen million won ($10,100) in just over 50 days — that’s how much one online user claims to have made by scalping coveted IMAX tickets for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.”
A post titled “Yong IMAX ‘The Odyssey’ earnings from Aug. 1 through today” appeared on an anonymous online community on Tuesday.
“Yong IMAX” refers to the IMAX theater at CGV Yongsan I’Park Mall in Yongsan District, central Seoul. The theater is beloved by Korean IMAX fans for its enormous screen size and its ability to show films in the full IMAX format. Demand has been particularly intense for “The Odyssey,” which was shot entirely with IMAX film cameras.
The writer posted transaction records showing ticket purchases through CGV’s official booking platform and subsequent sales on secondhand marketplaces. The records show a net profit of more than 14 million won.
“I just totaled up my transactions, so whether you believe it or not is up to you,” the writer said. “I think my automated ticket-buying program performs better than anyone else’s. I’ve hardly seen anyone make more [profit] than me. I think this is about as much as anyone could make.”
Although the contents of the post could not be verified, the post spread across social media and drew widespread criticism before it was deleted as of Thursday.
“Imagine bragging about scalping tickets,” one online user commented. Other users complained that such scalpers were the reason ticket prices were so high and demanded tougher regulations.
Customers book tickets for the film “The Odyssey” at the box office in CGV Yongsan I’Park Mall in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Aug. 28.NEWS1
“The people selling scalped tickets are a problem, but so are the people buying them,” some users pointed out.
Tickets for “The Odyssey,” which originally cost around 20,000 won, have been listed on resale platforms for as much as 100,000 won per seat — five times the original price.
Amid rampant scalping, CGV recently limited customers to four tickets per booking and said it would continue monitoring purchases made through “suspicious methods.”
The Korean Film Council also accepts reports of suspected scalping involving premium theaters, notably IMAX, 4DX and Dolby Cinemas.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
