Seoul, ground zero for the comeback concert of the kings of K-pop, the band BTS
Seoul, March 20 (EFE)
Seoul began transforming into the epicenter of the return of BTS, the most famous K-pop band, on Friday with events throughout the capital, one day before their first concert since 2022, which will bring together hundreds of thousands of fans in front of the stage and surrounding areas.
The celebrations officially began this Friday with the release of ‘Arirang’, their first studio album in almost four years, and the music video for the single ‘Swim’, as well as a series of events spread throughout the capital under the program ‘BTS The City Arirang Seoul’.
Highlights include a drone show in Ttukseom Park on the Han River, projections on the facades of monuments such as Sungnyemun and N Seoul Tower, as well as urban installations in Gwanghwamun Square and a light show in Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP).
The full list of events appears in various languages on BTS’s account on the online fan platform Weverse, amid expectations of a large influx of fans from all over the world.
Temporary shops, exhibitions and promotions have also been set up in different neighborhoods, as well as fan events that will continue for several weeks in the city.
Local businesses and hotels have also decorated their facades with posters and advertising in purple, in honor of the band’s signature color, to welcome ARMY, BTS’s legion of fans.
A mega-concert blending modernity and Korean tradition
The concert on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. local time (11:00 GMT) will be streamed live globally on the Netflix video platform and will include a stage production with references to Korean history and culture.
The seven members are expected to appear walking from inside Gyeongbokgung Palace, the country’s main palace, towards the iconic Gwanghwamun Square, where the stage is located, recreating a kind of ceremonial procession, according to government and music industry sources recently cited by Yonhap.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung highlighted the cultural significance of the event this week on his Twitter account and called for citizen cooperation to ensure its safe development.
Authorities expect around 22,000 people to attend the concert with tickets, although estimates suggest that around 250,000 fans could gather in the surrounding area of the capital to follow the event from areas set up with giant screens surrounding the square.
Meanwhile, security teams and volunteers are coordinating the operation for a massive gathering, with the deployment of thousands of police officers and emergency personnel.
Netflix’s biggest live streaming ambition of the year
From a technical point of view, the show also seeks to mark a milestone in the production of live-streamed concerts.
The main stage measures about 17 meters wide, with an elevated structure over 14 meters high, and the event will be captured by 23 cameras.
“We’re using what are essentially film cameras, the best in the world, to capture live performances with that kind of visual quality,” said show director Hamish Hamilton in a report from the platform.
He added that every decision they made regarding camera focus, stage design, and production is aimed at making the person watching from home feel like they are “standing” at the event venue.
“I would venture to say that this could be the most important thing we see this year at Netflix in terms of our live streaming ambitions,” said Brandon Riegg, the platform’s vice president of non-fiction series and sports, during a press conference held this Friday in Seoul.
Regarding the spending on the event, South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said on his X account this Friday that the concert is expected to generate “trillions of won in economic value,” but that the intangible impact could be even “tens of times greater.”
This Saturday’s free concert will serve as a prelude to the group’s new world tour, which will kick off in April in Goyang, north of Seoul, and will include stops in Latin America and Europe.
