[Edaily Starin KIM HYUNSIK Reporter] “For people who are just on the verge of becoming die-hard fans, 160,000 won might be too expensive. We thought about ways for them to experience the performance without feeling burdened.”

Jeong Byeong-gi, CEO of Mode House, has launched an experiment to lower the high barrier to entry for idol concerts. He has introduced 30,000-won seats for the Seoul leg of girl group Triple S’s “ANDLESS” world tour, which will take place over two days on the 10th and 11th at the Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul.
Recently, ticket prices for idol concerts typically range from the mid- to high-100,000 won range, with some seats even exceeding 200,000 won. In an interview with E-Daily held on the 7th at the Mode House headquarters in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, CEO Jeong said, “The idea was to lower the financial burden so that a broader audience could attend the concert,” adding, “I wanted to conduct another experiment to break the established norms of the K-pop business.”
◇ “Hope People Become True Fans After Seeing the Show”: Confidence in the Production’s Quality
Triple S sold tickets for the first-floor SSS seats at 165,000 won. These seats include access to a special soundcheck. In contrast, S seats—located on the second floor and in some side sections—were priced at 30,000 won. All concert tickets are currently sold out.
CEO Jeong lowered the price of S-section seats to attract new fans. “I thought that for people who have just started taking an interest in Triple S after discovering member content on YouTube or listening to their songs—especially young fans who fund their fandom activities with their allowance—a price of 160,000 won could be a significant burden,” he said. “I wanted to increase accessibility so that even those people could become fans by seeing and enjoying the concert in person.”
There are also concerns that setting a lower price might undermine the value of the artist and the performance. CEO Jeong is well aware of this perspective.
“I understand how some fans feel,” he said. “They might think, ‘Why does my favorite artist have to do this?’” He continued, “I also considered the possibility that people might assume a lower price means the production costs were cut.”
He emphasized, “Lowering the price absolutely does not mean lowering the quality of the performance,” adding, “People who pay 30,000 won need to feel that the show is worth several times that amount—only then will they be moved and feel the desire to become ‘true fans.’ That’s why we’re working hard to put on an even better show.”
From a profitability standpoint, this is a risky choice. Regarding this Triple S concert, CEO Jeong explained, “To be precise, the concert itself isn’t structured to turn a profit. We only break even when we include revenue from merchandise sales.”
CEO Jeong placed greater emphasis on the potential to attract new fans than on the concert’s profitability. He said, “Since Triple S is a large-scale group, they can showcase diverse member combinations and dynamic, large-scale formations,” adding, “As they’re a group with a charm that can’t be felt through videos alone, I’m confident that seeing them perform live will make fans’ enthusiasm grow even more.”

◇Setthe Price After the Show… ‘Pay-What-You-Want’ System for Hasul’s Concert
They are also preparing an experiment that takes things a step further. CEO Jeong revealed for the first time that he plans to introduce a “pay-what-you-want” system for the final performance of the four-show solo concert series in Seoul by Artemis member Hasul, scheduled for next month. Under this system, audience members pay whatever amount they wish after watching the entire performance.
CEO Jeong said, “Ideally, I would have liked to use the pay-what-you-want system for all four shows, but the risk was too high to do so,” adding, “I hope many people who have always wanted to see Hasul perform but couldn’t due to a lack of spending money or high ticket prices will come.”
CEO Jeong indicated his intention to continue this pricing experiment at future performances. However, he explained that applying the same method to overseas performances is limited because local promoters are involved. The plan is to first test various approaches at domestic concerts to assess their effectiveness before expanding the scope of application.
Underlying this experiment is a concern about the rising barriers to entry in the K-pop industry.
CEO Jeong said, “As K-pop has become a global genre and industrialized, there has been a tendency for it to become more exclusive,” adding, “I was concerned that the business model was evolving into a structure where fans have to spend a lot of money to participate in fan activities.”
He continued, “Rather than just worrying about the ‘K-pop crisis’—such as album sales not being what they used to be or difficulties attracting audiences to overseas concerts—entertainment agencies must attempt to change.” He emphasized, “Instead of simply following existing methods, we need to expand the ways fans can experience K-pop through new initiatives.”

◇A 24-Member Group, Fan Voting… Mode House’s ‘Experimental DNA’
CEO Jeong is a veteran A&R executive and producer who has worked at JYP Entertainment, Woollim Entertainment, Blockberry Creative, and Sony Music. His stage name as a producer is Jaden Jeong. He has participated in the production of albums for groups such as the Wonder Girls, 2PM, INFINITE, Lovelyz, and LOONA, and founded Mode House in December 2021.
Through Mode House, he has launched the girl groups Triple S and Artemis, as well as the boy group Identity. Triple S has revealed all 24 members, while Identity—planned to be the same size—has currently revealed 20 members. Both groups have built fanbases large enough to sell over 500,000 copies of their full-length albums. Artemis, composed of former members of “Girls of the Month,” is also continuing its activities steadily, including a world tour.
CEO Jeong has continued to conduct various experiments that break the mold of traditional K-pop, including the launch of the 24-member mega-group. A prime example is the fan-participation system. Triple S incorporates the results of votes conducted through its proprietary app, “COSMO,” into decisions such as dimension (unit) pairings and title track selections. Individual member photo cards called “Objects,” which utilize NFT technology, are also a key business model.
Triple S, Mode House’s flagship group, is described as “the idol of all possibilities.” This phrase offers a glimpse into CEO Jeong’s planning philosophy of constantly exploring new possibilities without being bound by conventional frameworks. CEO Jeong is determined to continue taking on new challenges and expand the horizons of the K-pop industry.
“You can only gain experience and refine your skills by trying things yourself. This isn’t limited to live performances. I also want to continue bold experiments in the album and merchandise sectors to make K-pop more accessible.”