Interpark Ticketing
I have received a lot of questions about ticketing in South Korea. I have experienced ticketing with Interpark, Yes24, and Melon Tickets. Of all the ticketing I have experienced probably I have only failed twice - Byeon Woo Seok's ticketing (KR Interpark) and DAY6 Christmas Concert 2023 (Yes24 Global).
But I won't be talking about these ticketing sites now. I'll be creating a separate blog about this on the next few weeks (or months depends on my schedule lol). For this blog, I will be talking about the difference of Global Interpark and Korean Interpark. Both of them may be the same Interpark but they have a lot of differences.
Global Interpark
https://www.globalinterpark.com/en |
Global Interpark is the international version of Korea's Interpark. This website offers English, Japanese, and Chinese languages. As far as I know, all the concerts in the Korean Interpark are also available in the Global Interpark. There are just some events like pop-up events that are not available for purchase on the Global Interpark.
Since it offers different languages, it is easy to navigate for foreign fans.
Update as of July 1, 2024: Global Interpark now requires everyone to verify their identity on the website in order for you to buy a ticket on the website.
Before, it was not yet required to verify their identity. But I guess after Caratland's ticketing, they decided to push through with this verification since a lot of people are using different abnormal ways to buy tickets.
Pros of using Global Interpark:
1. If you're a foreigner who doesn't know Korean, using the Global Interpark is easier since everything is in English (or Japanese or Chinese). You will have an easier time understanding what is written.
2. Regarding with payment, Global Interpark accepts credit cards issued outside of South Korea - VISA, Mastercard, JCB, Amex and Unionpay. So, you can use your cards in your country.
3. You can just claim your ticket on the venue. So, you wouldn't feel afraid when the tickets are shipped.
Cons of using Global Interpark:
1. It crashes so much. I remember my friends were not able to secure tickets on Caratland 2024 because Global Interpark keeps crashing and they can't even queue.
2. You have the whole world against you.
Korean Interpark
https://tickets.interpark.com/contents/genre/concert |
Korean Interpark is the website that Koreans use. And yes, it's pure Korean. And if you change the language, it will redirect you to the global site. I like booking tickets here because it has a countdown option unlike in the Global Interpark wherein you're going to need another site for the countdown.
Update on Korean Interpark:
From July 8, 2024, Interpark Ticket Service's self-identification policy will be changed to prevent fraudulent reservations.
- You can authenticate yourself at any time through the 'Membership Information Modification Page>Certify Now', and your self-authentication is valid for one year from the final self-authentication completion date.
- Customers who have expired self-authentication can proceed with the reservation only by re-authentication, so please double-check your self-authentication status.
Since there has been a lot of bot reports recently, Interpark is trying its best to strengthen its security.
Pros of using Korean Interpark:
1. It's way faster than Global Interpark. I remember when I was trying to secure for SEVENTEEN's Caratland 2024, I already got a queue but my friends from the Philippines only received error notice.
2. For the payment, there is an option to use the 무통장 wherein Interpark will create a virtual bank for you and you can pay for the ticket within 24 hours after reserving it.
3. This is not confirmed tho... but based from my friends' stories, sometimes there are seats available for the Korean Interpark but was not available for the Global Interpark.
Cons of using Korean Interpark
1. If you're an international fan and is not living in South Korea, you will not be able to create an account. Only those living in South Korea can create an account here in the Korean Interpark since it requires your Registration ID, phone number, and address. And every details should match.
2. For the payment, you cannot use credit cards issued overseas. You can only use the Korean credit cards.
Global vs. Korean Interpark
I have experienced ticketing with both websites. Although I have experienced the lowest queue number in Global Interpark (around 2000+ for Caratland 2023), I can still say that Korean Interpark is much better. My queues in the Korean Interpark for Seventeen events are usually around 70k-250k but I was still able to get tickets.
Korean Interpark loads much faster than the Global Interpark which gives you a higher chance of getting low queue number. There is only one queue number with Global and Korean Interpark. It's not a separate queue number. But there is a higher chance to access the site earlier in the Korean Interpark.
How are other people who don't live in South Korea be able to get Korean Interpark? I personally don't know the answer to this one. I also don't know how they were able to get those when they need a lot of details that matches. So better, ask those people.