Paid for VIP, Got an Obstructed View? Concert Ticket Prices Under Fire

Fans who paid approximately $129 (176,000 won) for VIP seats at AKMU's concert in Gangneung say they could barely see the stage. Their complaints center on floor seating with no elevation between rows, leaving audience members struggling to see past the people in front of them.

The duo, made up of Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee Su-hyun, brought its 2026 nationwide concert tour, "Paradise of Rumors," to a speed skating stadium in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on Nov. 7.

After the show, complaints about the seating layout spread across social media, with attendees sharing photos of their views. The complaints centered on the floor VIP section, where chairs were arranged on a flat surface with no elevation between rows. Fans said people seated in front blocked their views, making the performance difficult to watch.

One attendee shared a photo from their seat with the caption, "Experiencing the obstructed view from a FLOOR 6 VIP seat." The photo shows the stage largely blocked by the heads of audience members seated in front. Another photo from the same attendee shows little height difference between the stage and the seating area.

Ticket prices have added to the frustration. According to Yes24, the show's official ticketing site, VIP and standing tickets for the Gangneung concert cost approximately $129 (176,000 won). R seats were priced at $121 (165,000 won), while obstructed-view seats cost $113 (154,000 won).

VIP tickets were therefore about $16 (22,000 won) more expensive than obstructed-view tickets. With some VIP ticket holders saying they could barely see the stage, questions have been raised about whether the seating categories and prices were justified.

One fan who attended the concert from Floor Section 4 questioned the VIP designation. "Is this really a VIP seat?" the attendee wrote, adding that the stage was completely out of view and that even the screens became impossible to see whenever people in front stood up.

"The production was good, but the sound was disappointing too," the fan wrote. "With no height difference between the seats, it felt like riding Seoul's Line 9 subway."

Seoul Subway Line 9 is notorious for its crowded trains, particularly during rush hour.

Another attendee claimed that some audience members left less than an hour after the concert began because of the poor visibility.

"Some people gave up and left less than an hour after the show started," the attendee wrote.

The fan, who had traveled from Seoul to Gangneung for the concert, expressed disappointment at being unable to see the stage properly despite making the trip.

AKMU launched the tour with three concerts at KSPO DOME in Seoul's Olympic Park from Oct. 9 to 11.

The duo is scheduled to perform in Daegu on Nov. 21 and 22, followed by Daejeon on Dec. 5 and 6, Busan on Dec. 19 and 20, and Gwangju on Dec. 25.

Encore concerts are also scheduled for Jan. 2 and 3, 2027, at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

With several concerts still ahead, the complaints in Gangneung have drawn attention to how seating arrangements and stage visibility will be handled at the remaining stops on AKMU's tour.