Photo Credit: Markus Spiske
Fans are outraged by a huge portion of seats for BTS’ shows in Seoul being marked as “restricted view,” despite promises of 360-degree enhanced views.
BTS had no sooner announced their reunion and world tour than fans had multiple panic-inducing moments. It can be hard enough just to secure tickets for a tour in such high demand—but what if the seats don’t even provide an unobstructed view of the action?
Fans noticed that a large portion of seats on the official seating chart for the three shows at Seoul’s Goyang Sports Complex are marked as “restricted view.” That means that the stage or performers are not fully visible from these locations due to obstructions like equipment, screens, or the layout of the stage.
This was especially apparent when a fan shared an edited seating map on social sites, in which all restricted-view areas were marked out. With those areas omitted, it became readily apparent that only a limited number of seats remained that actually provided an unobstructed view of the stage.
“Why are there so many view-restricting seats?” asked one fan.
Ironically, it turns out that the so-called 360-degree stage configuration—which organizers say is designed to enhance the viewing experience while providing more seating—creates a lot of obstructed views.
“When it’s a 360-degree performance, the stage equipment and the electronic billboard on it are doubled, so there’s a lot of pillars and speaker equipment,” another fan explained.
And that’s on top of the tour’s exorbitant ticket prices, which are made even more expensive thanks to the unique seating setup.
“Then why even do 360 degrees?” another person chimed in. “They raised the seat prices and added more premium seats—are they just keeping the [prices] the same?”
BTS’ forthcoming tour marks their first full global circuit since they finished up their Permission to Dance on Stage run in Las Vegas in 2022. The tour kicks off in Goyang in April before traveling across North America, Europe, South America, and Asia, with a total of 79 shows across 34 cities. More dates in Asia are expected to be added in the coming weeks.
