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Temples, churches and universities in Busan offer free and discounted accommodations for visiting BTS fans

Published: 29 May. 2026, 11:09

BTS performs at the Busan Asiad Stadium on Oct. 15, 2022. [NEWS1]

Temples, churches and universities in Busan are offering free or heavily discounted accommodations to BTS fans traveling to the city for the band's concerts next month after some hotels and guesthouses were found to be charging significantly more than their normal rates during the event.

As of Thursday, 15 institutions are taking part, offering approximately 100 rooms for 415 guests on the nights of the “Arirang” world tour concerts on June 12 and 13.

Beomeo Temple in Geumjeong District was the first to propose its temple stay program as a free housing alternative, followed by Hongbeop and Seonam temples. The initiative spread to churches, with seven congregations — Sooyoungro Church, Bujeon Church, Podowon Church, Gimhae Jungang Church, Segyero Church, Moriah Evangelical Holiness Church and Geoje Church — opening their doors to visiting fans. The Catholic community has also done the same, providing rooms at the Pureun Namu education center free of charge.

Universities and public institutions have joined the initiative as well. Pusan National University, Korea Maritime & Ocean University and Kosin University are offering guesthouse and dormitory rooms at standard rates, as are the Transportation Corporation Academy in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang, and the Busan Youth Hostel Arpina.

Venerable Seoksan of Beomeo Temple, who originated the initiative, said that the temple decided to offer free temple stays “to show Busan's spirit of compassion and as an act of offering.”

“I hope that this spread of [fairly priced] accommodations will help improve the image of not just Busan but Korea as a whole,” he added.

Two screen captures, taken at different times, of the same accommodation listing in Busan [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Additionally, the Busan city government is running a “Fair Accommodation” campaign through its Visit Busan website, accepting reservations for free and discounted rooms. The city is also planning events — including welcome celebrations at its airport, a food festival and discount promotions tied to local brands — to coincide with the concerts.

The campaign was triggered by a surge in accommodation prices that drew widespread criticism. A survey by the Korea Consumer Agency found that accommodation prices in Busan during the BTS concert period rose by as much as 7.5 times compared to the previous week. One hotel, for instance, raised its room rate from the usual 450,000 won ($300) to 2.75 million won on the nights of the shows, and a motel that normally charges around 70,000 won was listed at 1.43 million won.

There were also allegations that some establishments canceled existing reservations, citing renovations or other reasons, before relisting the same rooms at inflated prices.

President Lee Jae Myung, who visited Busan on Wednesday, was sharply critical of the practice. “If price gouging for accommodation happens every time a large event takes place, the overall image of Busan will suffer greatly,” he said, warning that “if a video of tourists being ripped off gets posted on YouTube, the damage will spread in an instant.” He also suggested that the names of offending businesses be made public.

Similar concerns in other tourist-heavy areas have encouraged local authorities to take action.

People crowd Haeundae Beach in Busan as day time high rose nearly 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) on May 17. [YONHAP]

The city of Donghae in Gangwon has been operating a price-gouging reporting center since May 15, ahead of the Gangwon State Sports Festival in June. Jeju Island has also frozen rental fees for beach umbrellas and deck chairs for the third consecutive year at 20,000 won and 30,000 won, respectively, across all 12 of its beaches.

At the national level, the government announced in February a “Safe Price” system for the tourism sector, under which accommodation operators would be required to register their rates in advance for peak and off-peak periods, with legislation to be pursued in the first half of this year.

According to experts, the fair accommodation movement should be used as a springboard for broader action. “The Buddhist community has set an example of responsible civic behavior in tourism. This should be the catalyst for a large-scale campaign to foster mature civic consciousness,” said Oh Chang-ho, a professor of tourism and convention studies at Youngsan University.

Choi Kyu-hwan, a professor of tourism management at Dong-A University, called on the city to take stronger legal action. “Busan should amend its own municipal ordinances to create a legal basis for sanctioning price gouging and take firm administrative measures,” he said.

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.
BY LEE EUN-JI [[email protected]]