By Minwoo Park, Jihoon Lee and Heekyong Yang
SEOUL, March 21 (Reuters) – Kpop supergroup BTS performed to tens of thousands of fans in Seoul on Saturday in their first concert in more than three years, which saw authorities shut down the city’s historic downtown, though turnout was far smaller than expected.
The hour-long outdoor concert in Gwanghwamun Square was the official comeback for the group that helped make Korean pop music into a global phenomenon before going on hiatus in 2022 while members fulfilled mandatory military service.
They returned with a new album on Friday that their record label said sold nearly 4 million copies in its first day, ahead of a global tour that starts next month, billed as the biggest in Kpop history.
While there were only 22,000 tickets to the inner area to see Saturday’s concert live, Seoul authorities had anticipated as many as 260,000 people would turn out to be part of the crowd outside. A whole section of the city was shut with barricades.
In the end, most fans decided to stay away for now. The Yonhap News Agency, citing city government estimates, said 40,000-42,000 showed up. Fans, who call themselves the BTS ARMY, could watch the concert on Netflix instead, where it was streamed live to 190 countries.
“It’s been a long journey but now we’re finally here,” said RM, the leader of BTS, who performed much of the concert from a chair after hurting his ankle during rehearsals.
“While preparing this album, we did have some concerns that we might be forgotten, or whether you would still remember us,” said another member, J-Hope.
22,000 FREE TICKETS, 2,551 TOILETS
The municipal authorities in Seoul are extremely cautious about crowds since a crush killed scores of Halloween revellers in the Itaewon nightlife district four years ago. The Seoul government, the group’s management agency HYBE and other organisations deployed a combined 8,200 personnel and set up medical stations.
Jimena Pinilla, 31, had flown in from Spain and arrived at the square on Saturday morning to get a choice spot.
“I joined the ARMY in 2023, just as they began their service. I’m so excited to be part of this,” she said, sporting purple sneakers and a collection of BTS toys from Shein. “I spent my entire two weeks annual leave for this trip.”
But some South Koreans ridiculed the draconian security measures for a crowd that mostly failed to materialise.
“Authorities claimed 260,000 would show up — that’s basically a lie — and it ended up disrupting local businesses and even weddings,” wrote a user on the Naver Cafe online forum.
A ‘TRILLIONS OF WON’ COMEBACK
BTS’ world tour will last into 2027, spanning 34 regions and 82 shows so far, according to the tour website.
The comeback album “Arirang” sold 3.98 million copies on its first day of release, according to Big Hit Music, the music label run by HYBE.
Analysts project blockbuster revenues, with some estimates pointing to total tour earnings of as much as 2.7 trillion won ($1.8 billion), rivalling top-grossing tours such as Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour.
“The number of shows could reach 100 once dates to be added next year are included,” said Hwang Ji-won, analyst at iM Securities. “Assuming only 50,000 attendees per show, that comes to 5 million,” he said, adding that the group’s use of a 360-degree stage for its shows meant crowds could be even bigger.
Roughly half the shows are expected to be in North America and Europe, where ticket prices are generally higher, Hwang said.
($1 = 1,505.2500 won)
(Reporting by Joyce Lee, Minwoo Park, Heekyong Yang, Jihoon Lee, Cynthia Kim, Jungmin Ryu, Yujin Ha, Hwawon Lee, Sebin Choi; Editing by Brenda Goh, Kate Mayberry and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
