![BTS poses for a photo after winning Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 25 (local time). It was the group's second time winning the top honor at one of America's three major pop music awards shows. [Provided by Big Hit Music]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/08/news-p.v1.20260527.6cf7eccff6b24c19b52f0838bf35b1c7_P1.jpg)
A Busan hotel has come under fire after allegedly hurling profanity at a Japanese guest and unilaterally canceling her confirmed reservation, amid a surge of BTS fans — known as "ARMY" — descending on the city ahead of the group's upcoming concert.
According to online communities including DC Inside, a post by a Japanese woman identified only as A, who said she is a BTS fan, spread widely Sunday claiming she had received inappropriate treatment from a Busan hotel.
A shared screenshots of her message exchange with the hotel, writing that she had "heard something unbelievable" from the property. She had booked the hotel through an accommodation reservation platform and sent a routine inquiry asking about check-in procedures, whether the building had an elevator, and whether reservations could be automatically canceled — adding, "Is it safe to assume my booking is secure?"
The question reflected anxiety that had been building among visitors: in the lead-up to the BTS concert, a number of Busan accommodations had been canceling confirmed reservations and relisting rooms at sharply higher prices.
In response to her inquiry, the hotel allegedly replied with a string of expletives — roughly translating to "What kind of pathetic piece of trash is this" — before writing "Reservation canceled. Good luck," and terminating her booking on the spot.
After sharing the exchange, A wrote that the message was "hard to understand even with a translation app, and hard to believe." She added that she considered herself lucky not to be staying there and said she had already secured alternative accommodation.
As attention to her post grew, A followed up to thank those who had expressed concern and said she was waiting to hear back from the booking platform. She said she had no intention of publicly naming the hotel, citing fear of being accused of harassment or interference with business operations, but offered to share the name privately via direct message — asking recipients not to spread it further and to use the information only for their own protection.
Online commenters criticized the hotel's conduct, with reactions including "This is a national embarrassment," "The government needs to step in with an administrative order," and "With tourists flooding into Busan right now, businesses that throw cold water on the city like this need to be dealt with severely."
Meanwhile, BTS members themselves have spoken out as reports of price gouging at Busan accommodations have continued to make headlines. Leader RM, during a live broadcast on the fan platform Weverse in May, said the accommodation situation had generated extensive news coverage and that the group wanted to help but had no way to intervene. "Come on, everyone — let's keep it reasonable. Seriously," he said, addressing the accommodation providers. Jimin, who is from Busan, also expressed hope that fans would leave the city with only good memories.
The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency's anti-corruption and financial crimes unit has booked one local accommodation on fraud charges and launched an investigation after a series of allegations emerged that some properties had canceled existing reservations and resold rooms at inflated prices ahead of the BTS concert, scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
betterj@heraldcorp.com
