Fans are in a state of confusion as advertising fees at subway stations on Seoul's Line 2, where many support ads for K-pop idols, actors, and characters are displayed, have been significantly increased.

At Samseong Station, where many ads celebrating celebrity birthdays are posted, the unit price for large advertisements measuring 4.5 meters has been raised from approximately 4.5 million won (about 430,000 yen) to the 7 million won range.

Samseong Station, Gangnam Station, and Hongik University Station, which used to attract many tourists before the COVID-19 pandemic, are subway stations where celebrity fans actively place support ads due to their high floating population.

For 4.5-meter large advertisements, the unit price at Gangnam Station and Hongik University Station is also in the 7 million won range, similar to Samseong Station. Euljiro 1-ga Station, Konkuk University Station, Jamsil Station, and Gyodae Station are around 5 million won, Wangsimni Station, Seonreung Station, and Yeoksam Station are around 4 million won, and Ewha Womans University Station, Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station, and Seocho Station are around 3 million won.

Following the substantial price increase, fans are changing the stations where they place their support ads. Fans of actor Shin Ha-kyun, whose birthday is in May, had planned to place an ad at Samseong Station but have decided to change it to another station.

Advertisements displayed on Seoul's subway Line 2 are handled by an advertising agency that contracts with the Seoul Transportation Corporation through bidding. The Seoul Transportation Corporation does not intervene in the determination of advertising prices. The advertising agency for the major stations on Line 2 recently changed, leading to a significant increase in prices.

The number of idol and celebrity ads displayed on Seoul's subway system was only 76 in 2014, but it surged after 2016 with the popularity of Mnet's audition program series "Produce." In 2019, a total of 2,166 ads were displayed. BTS had the most with 227 ads, followed by EXO with 165, and Wanna One with 159. Among girl groups, IZ*ONE had the most with 40 ads.

Article Source: ⓒYONHAPNEWS

These are English translations of articles from our GTTOUR Japanese website.