BTS are gearing up to stage a full-group comeback performance at Seoul’s landmark Gwanghwamun Plaza.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 22nd, a city advisory panel has granted conditional approval for the group to use the plaza for their comeback show. HYBE, which has been scouting an emblematic location to mark BTS’s return, prioritized Gwanghwamun Plaza and also sought permits covering nearby Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Sungnyemun (Namdaemun) area.
Because Gwanghwamun Plaza is a symbolic site for mass gatherings, crowd safety will be front and center if the show moves forward. HYBE and relevant agencies are in working-level talks on attendance caps, traffic flow, and on-site control measures.
South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok recently visited HYBE’s Yongsan headquarters for a town hall, noting, “K-culture’s power grows from the foundations of free democracy,” and adding that a BTS comeback at Gwanghwamun―once protected by a sea of light sticks―carries “tremendous significance.”
BTS will release their fifth studio album, “ARIRANG,” on March 20. It marks their first full-group project since “Proof” nearly three years and nine months ago, and their first studio set since “Map of the Soul: 7” about six years ago. The group launches a new world tour on April 9 at Goyang Sports Complex, spanning 79 dates across 34 cities―set to be the most shows ever by a K-pop act.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)