Sejong Center simplifies ticket reservation system

By Yun Suh-young A new reservation system will make ticketing easier for concert-goers at

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the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts (SCPA). Starting July 17, tickets for performances held at the SCPA will be available for reservation in a synchronized way at all ticket purchasing websites. This means information on the availability of seats will be shared between websites in real time. The new reservation system will at first be applied to eight performances slated for August and September. Synchronized booking will be available on major ticket sites such as Interpark, Yes24, Clip Service, Auction Ticket, Hana Ticket and Ticket Link. The service will begin with four sites and expand to seven by the end of the year. The synchronized ticketing system had not been actively used by the SCPA because of technical, financial and operational difficulties for a single performing arts hall to lead the service. The center, however, decided it was necessary to implement the system for the convenience of its customers and began developing the infrastructure in 2015. It also managed to join hands with six of the major ticket sales websites. The system went into trial operation with Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra's performance on May 25. It had been difficult to purchase tickets because each website had different seats allocated to them to sell, limiting availability. So if customers wanted to buy a ticket that was the best value for money, they had to visit the various ticketing websites to find the seats they wanted. With the new system, they will only have to visit one site to make a purchase because every site will show the same seat availability thanks to the synchronized system. For performance agencies, they will no longer have to allocate different seats to different ticket sites and avoid any errors that incur during the process. The new system will also ease the ticket-receiving procedure. Whereas customers had to wait in different lines on site to receive the tickets purchased online, they can now use the same ticket booth to receive their tickets. The online ticketing service, however, is not yet available in English. At the moment, foreigners who wish to buy tickets must call 02-399-1000 to make reservations. Meanwhile, the Seoul Arts Center (SAC), which recently narrowed down the service to Interpark as its main sales agent, said a new synchronized ticketing system is under development and will soon be available. English reservations will be available once the service is updated.