{"id":335366,"date":"2026-03-18T07:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T07:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/335366\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T07:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T07:40:11","slug":"free-bts-concert-to-mark-a-k-pop-comeback-like-no-other-are-you-ready-army","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/335366\/","title":{"rendered":"Free BTS concert to mark a K-pop comeback like no other. Are you ready, Army?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Gwanghwamun Square, the symbolic centre of the South Korean capital Seoul, is home to two statues \u2013 King Sejong, architect of the Korean alphabet Hangul, and Admiral Yi Sun-shin, the naval hero who repelled Japanese invasions \u2013 with the gates of the historical Gyeongbokgung Palace rising behind them.<\/p>\n<p>On March 21, this open-air plaza will play host to a different kind of national icon: <a target=\"_self\" class=\"e1yy41x40 ef9u0v01 css-1ankfgb ecgc78b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/topics\/bts?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article\" title=\"\" data-qa=\"BaseLink-renderAnchor-StyledAnchor\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BTS<\/a>.The seven-member group \u2013 made up of members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook \u2013 will stage a free comeback performance in front of 22,000 fans, marking their first full show as a collective in nearly three and a half years, <a target=\"_self\" class=\"e1yy41x40 ef9u0v01 css-1ankfgb ecgc78b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/asia\/east-asia\/article\/3338420\/k-pop-stars-bts-reunite-march-album-and-world-tour-after-military-service?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article\" title=\"\" data-qa=\"BaseLink-renderAnchor-StyledAnchor\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">after the septet completed their mandatory military service<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">This week, what many consider as K-pop\u2019s global standard-bearer will begin the next chapter of an already illustrious career defined by Billboard No 1 hits, sold-out stadium tours and a fan base measured in the tens of millions.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin in Seoul\u2019s Gwanghwamun Square, where BTS are scheduled to perform on March 21, 2026. Photo: The Korea Times\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/76552776-0d4a-45bb-8888-e2f74af39c6e_051f52d5.jpg\" title=\"The statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin in Seoul\u2019s Gwanghwamun Square, where BTS are scheduled to perform on March 21, 2026. Photo: The Korea Times\"\/>The statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin in Seoul\u2019s Gwanghwamun Square, where BTS are scheduled to perform on March 21, 2026. Photo: The Korea Times<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">When BTS announced the reunion during a live broadcast on the fan platform Weverse last July, more than 7 million viewers tuned in.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">For many global fans, it will be the first chance to see the group perform live in seven years after a planned 2020 world tour was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gwanghwamun Square, the symbolic centre of the South Korean capital Seoul, is home to two statues \u2013 King&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335367,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[174266,8227,179741,4712,3640,179738,179735,156,179739,65110,115818,3856,179740,179736,157,1094,111,139,69,21010,8641,4790,3639,179737,130721],"class_list":["post-335366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-arirang","tag-army","tag-big-hit-entertainment","tag-blackpink","tag-bts","tag-bts-army","tag-comeback-concerts","tag-entertainment","tag-gwanghwamun-square","tag-hybe","tag-j-hope","tag-k-pop","tag-kim-jeong-seob","tag-korean-music","tag-music","tag-netflix","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-rm","tag-seoul","tag-south-korea","tag-suga","tag-v-bts","tag-weverse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}