Recently, HYBE officially announced BTS's expected world tour, scheduled to kick off in April 2026. This information quickly attracted great attention from the global fan community. However, besides excitement, tour ticket prices have become a hot topic of controversy on social networks.
According to the announcement, for the opening performances in Goyang (Korea), soundcheck tickets are priced at 264,000 won (about 180 USD), regular R-class tickets are at 220,000 won (about 150 USD) and regular S-class tickets are 198,000 won (about 135 USD).
Meanwhile, in the Japanese market, ticket prices are listed significantly higher, with VIP tickets up to 45,000 yen (about 285 USD), SS seats 35,000 yen (about 220 USD) and S seats 25,000 yen (about 160 USD).
Immediately after the ticket price information was spread, a series of comments appeared on social networking platforms expressing outrage. Many netizens believe that this price is too high, even far exceeding the affordability of many long-time fans.
Some harsh opinions suggest that HYBE is lacking consideration for business ethics, while others cannot hide their disappointment when saying that BTS concert ticket prices are increasingly "escalating" with each tour.
Besides the wave of criticism, there are also more neutral opinions, saying that high prices can go hand in hand with spectacular production quality, especially when the tour is promoted with a 360-degree stage and large-scale staging. However, the debate has not shown signs of cooling down as many fans believe that protecting high prices is difficult to convince, especially in the context of a volatile global economy.
Currently, HYBE and BTS have not yet given an official response to the mixed reactions from public opinion. However, with the global attraction of the leading K-pop group, this tour is predicted to still quickly "sold out", although the selling price is causing much controversy.
