The day when the consideration expected turned into discomfort. A gap has arisen between the event organizers and BLACKPINK fans, leading to a flood of complaints.
As the domestic performances of BLACKPINK's world tour concluded, complaints about some obstructed view seats have continued. The organizers installed large screens for distant audiences, but for fans who wanted to see the live performance, it was merely a barrier.
BLACKPINK held the 'BLACKPINK World Tour Deadline' concert at Goyang Sports Complex in Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, on the 5th and 6th. About 78,000 people attended over the two days, proving the global interest in the group.
However, during this process, some audience members watched the performance from seats with limited views, leading to dissatisfaction. The problematic seats were located in the 'N3' section, which is at the very back of the venue and opposite the artist's stage. This section is one of the few places, excluding the ground seats, where the stage can be viewed directly. Due to the distance, audience members noted that the only advantage was the ability to see the entire venue from a distance, even if it was not a popular spot.
According to industry confirmations regarding the concert's execution, the organizers installed large screens considering that fans could not see the artists up close due to the distance. However, this led to more complaints than satisfaction, as the oversized screen made it impossible to see the artist's stage directly.
Audience members in that section expressed their frustrations, saying, “There’s nothing to review. I just couldn’t see,” “I wanted to see the real thing but only watched on TV,” and “I feel like I wasted my money.” Despite the clear obstruction of view, these seats were classified as regular seats, not obstructed view seats, and sold for 132,000 won. Obstructed view seats were priced at 99,000 won.
On the ticket sales website, there was a notice stating that some seats might have limited views due to structures and stage equipment. However, audience members in the 'N3' section noted that there was no such notice for those seats, and even considering the guidance, the obstruction was excessive.
The consideration from the organizers and the agency through the large screen ended up causing discomfort rather than satisfaction for the audience. Furthermore, some of these audience members are now arguing that they should receive refunds for their concert tickets. They are even considering reporting to the Korea Consumer Agency.
According to the Consumer Dispute Resolution Standards for Performance Industry (announced by the Fair Trade Commission), if viewing is difficult due to the fault of the organizers, a full refund of the ticket price is possible, along with compensation of 10% of the admission fee as damages. In fact, during a concert by pop singer Bruno Mars in 2023, refunds were issued to audience members in 'wall view' seats who could not see anything due to being blocked by a wall.
In relation to this, the agency YG Entertainment has not made any specific statements but is reportedly aware of the situation internally.
Following the Goyang performance, BLACKPINK will embark on a world tour covering 31 performances in 16 cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, New York, Paris, Barcelona, London, Kaohsiung, Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today Reporter]
