hankyoreh

The price of a single premium seat at the New York Philharmonic Orchestra's November 15-16 concert in Seoul is 250,000 won (US$260), yet every single ticket for both nights sold out a month before the concert. That price is nothing compared to the 400,000 won commanded by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra this year, with tickets sold out two weeks prior to curtain call. Who is snatching up such expensive tickets?

Ji Gyeong-seok, 32, a resident of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, never misses any small classical concerts held in Chuncheon, and when renowned foreign orchestras perform in Seoul, he attends without fail, staying at his relative's house that night. How many fans are as devoted as Ji is?

According to industry estimates, the number of devout classical music fans in South Korea is 30,000. Among them, the number of die-hard fans, who will watch a concert regardless of price, is estimated at about 3,000. Those who pay membership fees to the Seoul Arts Center or the National Opera Company of Korea number about 2,000-4,000, or square in the middle of the "die-hard" fan base estimate.

Those numbers still do not explain why every single seat is selling out at high-profile concerts. The industry has taken note of this phenomenon, too: the ticket prices for popular performances are increasing. When the world's famous orchestras such as that from Berlin, Vienna and New York, visit Korea, the situation is underscored.

Regarding such expensive ticket prices, promoters of these concerts cite the guarantee fee needed to be paid to orchestra members, as well as expenses during their stay.

But according to industry officials, the real secret behind the precipitous rise in ticket prices is that cultural performances are becoming more and more preferred by large companies as a new form of entertainment for workers and clients alike. More companies are using tickets to these cultural performances as gifts to clients, as an orchestra seat costs less than the conventional way of catering to businesspersons, usually involving lavish dinner and expensive liquor. Also, clients given a ticket to a cultural event feel less of a social burden than if they had to sit through a long dinner with company members. However, in order to appear generous, companies demand the most expensive seats for their clients. Promoters have caught on, and are continually raising prices.

The nation's classical music fans worry about skyrocketing ticket prices, and in the long run, the trend will prove an obstacle for widening the interest base in the genre, stymieing the development of future classical music fans. Yu Gyeong-suk of Ticket Link, an online ticket sales company, said, "When young people enjoy classical music, the layer of fans thickens, but now, in most cases, only rich people in their 40s and 50s are purchasing tickets, as gifts."