Fireworks light up the sky above the Han River during the Seoul International Fireworks FestivalSept. 27, 2025. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Ticket scalping is once again rampant ahead of the Seoul International Fireworks Festival, with tickets being resold at steep markups just a week before the annual event at Yeouido Hangang Park.
The government has moved to tighten laws against ticket scalping, but fireworks festivals fall outside the scope of existing regulations, leaving authorities with no legal grounds to crack down on resales and allowing the problem to persist year after year.
The festival, now in its 22nd year, is scheduled to take place Saturday. The annual event draws around 1 million spectators each year.
Hanwha, the organizer of the festival, sets up designated viewing areas at Yeouido Hangang Park, offering seats through a lottery for spectators seeking a closer view of the fireworks. It also began selling tickets for seats two years ago.
This year, Hanwha has created Nodeul Island as the Orange Play Zone, offering 700 paid seats priced between 110,000 won ($79.70) to 220,000 won, depending on the viewing area.
Numerous festival tickets were listed at prices well above face value on secondhand trading platforms as of Sunday.
One seller offered two tickets, originally priced at 220,000 won each, for a combined 700,000 won. On another platform, tickets to the Nodeul Island viewing area were being offered for between 250,000 won and 450,000 won each.
The markups extended beyond official festival tickets, with food and beverage packages offered by the Starbucks store at Yeouido Hangang Park and nearby high-rise hotels also being resold at higher prices on secondhand platforms.
Some users were also seeking to profit from the festival by offering access to lesser-known viewing spots.
Online posts include offers to rent out apartments near the Han River, while others were charging a fee to secure prime viewing spots along the river in advance.
With the popular festival drawing massive crowds each year, such practices have become a recurring problem.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young speaks during a meeting on measures to combat ticket scalping at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Jongno District, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
Amid growing concerns over widespread ticket scalping, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is seeking to tighten regulations through revisions to the Public Performance Act.
The revised law, which took effect Friday, bans scalping regardless of whether automated software is used and allows fines of up to 50 times the profits from illegal ticket resales, according to the ministry.
Fireworks festivals, however, remain outside the tougher rules, leaving authorities with no legal grounds to crack down on ticket scalping.
Under the act, fireworks festivals are not considered “performances,” which are defined as live presentations of artistic works such as music, dance, theater, musicals and other forms of entertainment.
As a result, restrictions on the resale of performance tickets do not apply.
Under the revised act, repeatedly or commercially selling two or more tickets above face value, or a single ticket for at least twice its original price, can result in financial penalties.
But these rules also do not cover fireworks festivals. Even cases such as two tickets originally priced at 220,000 won each being offered for a combined 700,000 won cannot be penalized under the law.
As a result, calls are growing for measures to close the regulatory gap, including the creation of a unified reporting system that would cover ticket scalping at events currently outside the law.
