"Pre-sale ticket system, isn't that a reverse discrimination?"
On the 14th, all tickets for the three performances of SNSD Taeyeon's Seoul concert 'TAEYEON CONCERT - The TENSE' in Seoul sold out during the pre-sale exclusively for official fan club members. Taeyeon once again proved her power, living up to her nickname '믿듣탱' (NB: Taengoo who you can trust/Trustworthy Taeng).
However, two days after the pre-sale, on the 16th, complaints arose among fans who tried to purchase tickets through general sales. They argued that the pre-sale system discriminates against fans who are not members of the official fan club.
Despite being a pre-sale exclusively for fan club members, the ticket queue for Taeyeon’s concert exceeded 100,000 people. Typically, when seats for fan club members are sold out, only restricted-view seats or canceled early-sale tickets are opened for general sale. Given that the Olympic Gymnastics Arena, where the concert will be held, has a total capacity of 14,730 seats, getting tickets through general sales is almost impossible.
One netizen commented, "Isn't this a system where you have to join the fan club to go to the concert?" They added, "Why don't they just raise the ticket price (including the fan club membership fee) and give general fans a chance first? The membership fee for the official SNSD fan club, which is required for the concert pre-sale, is 30,000 KRW and is valid for one year. Even if you fail to get tickets during the pre-sale, the membership fee is non-refundable. Another netizen said, "It's essentially charging a fee for trying to get tickets, which is unfair to people who just want to go to the concert."
Source: https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/144/0001013064
(NB: The post in Theqoo only quoted the article to this point. Below is the part from the original article that isn't quoted by the OP in Theqoo)
It's not just Taeyeon's concert. Recently, most artists' concerts like BTS, The Boyz, Aespa, etc have been held with pre-sales for fan club members, and the remaining seats are then sold through general sales.
For Taeyeon's concert, it was stated that, "General sales will be conducted only for the remaining seats after the fan club pre-sale, and if the pre-sale for fan club members is sold out, there may be no seats available for general sales."
However, there are also differing opinions. One netizen, identifying as a fan of Taeyeon, argued, "It is only natural for fans of the artist to be given priority. With the fan club membership, we can communicate with the artist and purchase various merchandise. I believe it's a good system that allows fans who have actively supported the artist to secure tickets more easily."
Pop culture critic Ha Jaegeun analyzed, "From the agency's perspective, they have no choice but to give more opportunities to fans who passionately support the artist's activities," and added, "It's also their way to prevent people from reselling the tickets using macro systems. He continued, "Of course, it's possible to separate seats for general sales, but prioritizing fans who actively consume the artist's content is beneficial for strengthening the fan base."
Isn't it better to pay 30,000 won a year for a pre-sale opportunity rather than increasing ticket prices? You can also get pre-sale tickets for encore concerts and fan meetings.
-ㅋㅋ Are you new to concerts? Why are you even mentioning Taeyeon's name there? People are making a fuss over everything.
-Did the journalist fail to get tickets?
-Reverse discrimination? What does that even mean? I don't understand.
-Just join the fan club;
-What is this nonsense? Has the journalist never tried ticketing?
-Today is the general sales, so try again, and calm down.
-Looks like the journalist didn't want to pay for the fan club membership fee and tried to get tickets for Taeyeon's concert but failed.
-Oh Gosh... You dumbass.
-Looks like the journalist was angry after preparing for the ticketing at 8PM yesterdayㅋㅋㅋ The general sales is today.
-Did you fail to get tickets? What kind of nonsense is this?
-I mean... Why do you think they have official fan clubs for?
-It's not reverse discrimination, it's called fan club privilege. If you want to go to the concert, join the fan club.
-Did he even consider thinking first before writing this article?
-Another person who doesn't know what they're talking about...