'The Odyssey' IMAX Tickets Fetch 100,000 Won as KOFIC Cracks Down

After tickets for premium-format screenings of director Christopher Nolan's new film 'The Odyssey' began trading for more than 100,000 won following its release, the Korean Film Council launched a sweeping investigation into the distorted scalping market.

The Macro Trap Sweeping Up Tickets as Fair Growth Center Launches Year-Round Monitoring

The Korean Film Council said on the 19th that it would accept year-round reports of ticket scalping, focusing on high-demand premium theaters such as 'IMAX' and 'Dolby Cinema'. The emergency measure comes as illegal resale of prime seats for 'The Odyssey' at markups of tens of thousands of won has surged, driving audience frustration to a peak.

The suspected abuse of 'macro programs'—which use repeated inputs to secure large numbers of tickets in advance—is growing more apparent after numerous sellers were caught monopolizing 10 or more tickets for a single screening. Such practices, which undermine legitimate booking systems, have been identified as a threat to the foundation of the film industry.

The Korean Film Council will therefore closely track illegal-sale listings and suspected bulk-booking cases appearing on secondhand trading platforms and social media. Moviegoers who witness illicit transactions can report them to the dedicated email address, justice@kofic.or.kr, after securing the following supporting evidence.

The Korean Film Council's Fair Growth Center called the acquisition of illicit profits by a small number of scalpers "a serious crime that deprives the majority of moviegoers of their legitimate right to enjoy culture and damages trust in the market," urging audiences to actively monitor and report violations. The collected reports are expected to serve as key 'foundational data' for developing stronger measures to eradicate ticket scalping and impose legal sanctions.