Selling 'Free' Admission Tickets at a Premium...Concerns Ahead of Cheongwadae Opening

Promotional material related to the opening of the Blue House posted on the streets of Myeongdong, Seoul. Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Se-eun] As the opening day of Cheongwadae on May 10 approaches, concerns are being raised over the resale of admission tickets at inflated prices and traffic congestion issues.

Earlier, the Presidential Transition Committee announced that Cheongwadae would be opened at noon on the 10th, the first day of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's inauguration, and began accepting online applications for Cheongwadae visits from April 27. The number of applicants surged from the first day, causing site access delays, and exceeded one million within three days.

Since visitors are selected by lottery among the applicants, posts selling Cheongwadae admission tickets have recently appeared on online secondhand marketplaces. These posts offered "2 to 4-person admission tickets for up to 100,000 won" or stated "I was going with acquaintances but can no longer go, so I am transferring the tickets."

The background behind the flood of resale posts on secondhand markets, despite the original intention of offering free applications to return Cheongwadae to the public, is criticized as being encouraged by the announcement that only barcode tickets will be checked upon entry to Cheongwadae without separate ID verification.

Additionally, on the opening day, about 26,000 visitors are expected to tour Cheongwadae, which will likely bring large crowds and a significant number of vehicles. Consequently, voices expressing concern over severe parking shortages and traffic congestion near Cheongwadae, which lacks parking facilities to accommodate tens of thousands of people, are also emerging.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.