2010 Dream Concert Encounters Problems!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

"SNSD only gets 3 sections? We're more popular... Why do we have less number of seats than Super Junior fans?"

A month before the 2010 Dream Concert is to be held on May 22, tensions are already rising.

At the Dream Concert, many popular artists come to the same venue and perform, making it unique. Since it only comes once a year, this is seen as an opportunity for fans to give their favorite singers strength, becoming one. On April 22, tickets went on sale at 7PM and were sold out within one hour, as a result of fans who wanted to go support their favorite singers.

Instead, problems are arising with the division of seats. At first, there isn’t any assigned seating arrangement for fans of one artist. Instead, the organizers contact the entertainment companies, assigning them sections so the the entertainment companies can report this to the respective fan clubs through their official websites.

Fan clubs that receive less sections argue, "Is the singer whom I love so much only worth this much? The division of seats are not a true reflection of the total fan club members."

SNSD fans have been assigned sections A~C for the Dream Concert, while label mates Super Junior received thrice the amount of seats.

Although it is stated, "Please book your seats in these sections," it is actually stating that fans of a certain artist are assigned to that section. SS501's official website stated, "Regions S~X have been assigned to us."

After all the tickets for the Dream Concert have been purchased, fans create an online message board war. Some SNSD fansites requested for their seats to be reassigned since fans "didn’t know how they were divided". Four fansites told fans to sit in Super Junior's section if there wasn’t enough room, making Super Junior fans complain that there weren’t enough seats for them. ELFs also responded saying,"It's only correct to book according to the assigned seats. Please maintain order."

Meanwhile, fans of Lee Hyori and Rain only have one section each. Wonder Girls have two sections. Fans aren't content with their seat arrangements.
In response to these arguments, organizers stated,

We have only followed the requests from the fan clubs and the companies. There are no rules saying that only fans of particular artists can sit in any given one area. If there are requests beforehand, we would take those into consideration but there is no need for us to assign certain regions. We have been doing this event for 16 years and thanks to the stability of the fandom culture, we are hoping that we get lots of support. We will always be ready for any fights that may break out between fans at the concert.

One fan club member worriedly posted, "In a concert like Dream Concert, we are not there to see the singers but to support them with other fans. If the entertainment company and the fan club cannot control the amount of seats they get, the fights over seats that may break out can turn into a battle of emotions and turn the site into chaos."

With these tensions building up, what do you think will come out of the 2010 Dream Concert? Will peace be restored between fan clubs before the concert is held?

Source: Shin Eunjung/sej@kmib.co.kr
Translation: Kimbap @Kpoplive.com