Fans of Wanna One are frustrated at high ticket prices offered by scalpers for the K-pop idols' concert in Bangkok.
The tickets for the Korean supergroup were snapped up moments after they became available for online purchase at wannaone1theworldinbkk.com at 10am on Saturday. The tickets for the boy band's two shows at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani on Aug 4 and 5 were sold out within minutes. The server collapsed under the weight of website traffic.
Shortly afterwards, scalpers began offering the tickets for sale on social media, especially on Twitter with the hashtag #WannaOne1TheWorldinBKK.
The official ticket prices for the concerts range from 7,500 baht for the best seats near the stage to 2,500 baht at the back of the arena. The most sought-after tickets were in the standing areas priced at 5,500 and 6,500 baht.
But the prices offered by scalpers have been hair-raising. A 5,500-baht standing ticket is for sale at 13,000 baht or more. Some of the best seats are offered at 18,000-20,000 baht.
20,000 baht a (K-)pop
"So, people who really want a ticket like me weren't lucky enough to get just 1 ticket, but those who use tickets to make money got ithem. I'm crying TT_TT," one fan tweeted.
"Don't buy them. Sellers will slash the prices before the concerts if some cannot be sold," suggested another.
On Monday afternoon, Twitter messages were still piling up on "Wannable", the band's fan club feed, from fans who "wannago" and scalpers who "wannagetrich" at their expense.
The fight for tickets has made #WannaOne1TheWorldinBKK among the top-trending hashtags on Twitter in Thailand. More than 10 million messages were tweeted on Sunday, and more than 600,000 by Monday evening.
Wanna One is probably the most popular K-Pop band in Thailand, a supergroup featuring 11 stars from several different record companies in South Korea.
Their world tour kicked off in Seoul on June 1, and includes a two-day stop in Bangkok - the final concerts before the supergroup disintegrates and the various stars resume working on their own projects.
Video clip from @WannaOne1TheWorldinBKK Facebook account
