Less than two weeks after tickets for K-pop star Rain's Aloha Stadium concert went on sale, local organizers had sold just 1,500 of the event's 20,000-plus tickets, according to a consultant for concert organizers.

Danny Kim, a consultant for local promoter Click Entertainment, said Aloha Stadium officials told him about three weeks ago that fewer than 1,500 tickets had been sold. Typically, Aloha Stadium concerts by international pop stars such as Michael Jackson, U2 or the Rolling Stones are sold out within days.

"Everyone was worried that tickets were not selling," Kim said. "We were very disappointed that things turned out like this."

Stadium officials yesterday declined to provide overall ticket sales figures but said 257 tickets had been sold at the stadium box office as of Tuesday.

On Tuesday, promoter Click Entertainment postponed tomorrow's concert but couldn't say whether the concert would be rescheduled. Click Entertainment officials said they have been given no official explanation from Rain or his South Korea-based handlers.

Rain, whose real name is Jung Ji-hoon, is a leading pop icon in South Korea and is known for his glitzy, sold-out concerts and his starring roles in popular television dramas. Tickets went on sale May 15.

Dong Il Min, creative director of TFD Big Band, a Seoul-based organization assisting Click, declined to provide current ticket sales figures but said that enough seats had been sold for the event to go on.

He said local promoters became aware of problems on Saturday when the Korea Times reported that Rain's U.S. concert dates, including Honolulu, were being scrapped.

"Everything was ready to go but the Rain didn't show up," Min said.

Honolulu is one of five U.S. cities on a six-city tour to be put on hold. Concerts in San Francisco; Atlanta; New York; and San Jose, Calif., had been postponed and no new dates had been set.

A June 30 concert at Los Angeles' Staples Center will go on as planned, according to Christina Yoon, a spokeswoman for the Mainland concerts' promoters, Revolution Entertainment and V2B Global.

Yoon said she did not know the reason for the postponement of the Honolulu show but she said the Mainland concerts ran into production scheduling conflicts.

Rain's sets use many of the same designers who work on concerts by Michael Jackson, U2 and Madonna. Yoon said that the production teams felt they didn't have enough time to set up.

Kane'ohe resident Grace Ogawa said she is upset by the cancelation.

Ogawa, who purchased a $300 VIP ticket and volunteered to place concert posters around town, said people at Click worked hard to market the event to a local audience.

She said it's unfair that Rain's handlers in South Korea haven't given them a full accounting.

"It's just disappointing," Ogawa said. "Everyone was excited that he was coming here."

Most of the concert's $55 general admission tickets and $225 and $115 reserved seats were sold by Ticketmaster.

Shirley Alexander, Ticketmaster's general manager in Hawai'i, declined to disclose the number of seats sold by her company. But she said customers can obtain refunds by taking their tickets to their point of purchase, which includes Times Supermarket locations and the Blaisdell box office.

Buyers also can request refunds at the stadium box office.

Click Entertainment officials wouldn't say how many $300 VIP tickets were sold. Under its contract with Aloha Stadium, the local promoters are entitled to sell as many as 2,000 tickets on a consignment basis.

VIP ticket holders can request refunds starting Wednesday at Click's offices.

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.