{"id":532694,"date":"2026-03-19T11:33:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T11:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/532694\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T11:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T11:33:08","slug":"bts-returns-with-a-spectacular-comeback-concert-at-seouls-gwanghwamun-square","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/532694\/","title":{"rendered":"BTS returns with a spectacular comeback concert at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square"},"content":{"rendered":"

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) \u2014 BTS<\/a> will stage its long-awaited comeback concert<\/a> on Saturday night at Seoul\u2019s Gwanghwamun Square, one of South Korea\u2019s most famous landmarks that represents its royal heritage and political and cultural life.<\/p>\n

In a free concert expected to draw tens of thousands of fans, the K-pop juggernaut\u2019s<\/a> seven members, all South Koreans, will perform songs from their first album in nearly four years, \u201cARIRANG,\u201d whose title is taken from the most beloved traditional folk tune on the Korean Peninsula.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018ARIRANG\u2019 is an album that embodies the origin and identity of BTS and carries the message that they want to convey now,\u201d Hybe Corp., the parent company of BTS\u2019 management agency, said in response to questions by The Associated Press. \u201cConsidering the symbolic significance of the word \u2018Arirang,\u2019 we\u2019ve decided to hold a performance at Gwanghwamun, a place that represents Korea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gwanghwamun is a Seoul landmark<\/p>\n

Gwanghwamun Square is named after the huge main gate of nearby Gyeongbokgung, a royal palace for Korea\u2019s Joseon dynasty, which ruled the peninsula for more than 500 years until its collapse in 1910. <\/p>\n

Located in the heart of Seoul, the sprawling square is home to cultural and art events. It hosts giant statues of two of Korea\u2019s most respected figures \u2014 King Sejong, who invented the Korean script in 1443, and navy admiral Yi Sun-shin, who defeated the Japanese invasion in the 16th century. <\/p>\n

The square is also a symbol of South Korea\u2019s young, resilient democracy, the site of massive rallies in times of political upheavals in recent years. <\/p>\n

When then- President Yoon Suk Yeol\u2019s<\/a> martial law imposition in late 2024 triggered the most severe crisis for the country\u2019s democracy in decades, protesters gathered in the square, calling for his ouster. Rallies blended politics and pop culture, with demonstrators waving colorful light sticks<\/a> used at K-pop concerts and signing K-pop tracks such as Girls\u2019 Generation\u2019s \u201cInto the New World.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gwanghwamun concert will reaffirm BTS\u2019 roots<\/p>\n

Observers say the hourlong Gwanghwamun concert, which will be livestreamed on Netflix globally, will reaffirm BTS\u2019<\/a> identity as a group that expanded from Korea to the world stage. BTS had been on hiatus because its members had to complete their mandatory military duties<\/a> in South Korea.<\/p>\n

Ha Jae-keun, a cultural critic, said that no matter where the BTS holds its comeback concert, it would be successful. But as the biggest stars of K-pop, BTS likely determined that appearing at a symbolic Korean site would be \u201cmost meaningful,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Jung Dukhyun, a pop culture commentator, said the selection of Gwanghwamun likely reflected a view that Korean traditional culture and local elements can resonate on a global scale, as seen in the success of the Netflix sensation \u201cKPop Demon Hunters,\u201d<\/a> which won the Oscar for best animated feature and best song for \u201cGolden\u201d this week. <\/p>\n

BTS concert to promote South Korea<\/p>\n

Officials believe the concert will likely enhance South Korea\u2019s international cultural influence.<\/p>\n

They also plan to take extensive safety steps to prevent crowd-related incidents.<\/p>\n

In a message posted on X on Wednesday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called BTS \u201ca proud artist of the Republic of Korea\u201d and expressed hope that the concert will show \u201cour beautiful cultural heritage and the charm of K-culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides about 20,000 ticketed fans at the square, about 240,000 others are expected to fill nearby areas to watch the concert on temporary screens. Authorities plan to block roads, have subway trains pass through some stations and close the Gyeongbokgung place.<\/p>\n

Some residents criticized what they saw as preferential treatment given to BTS and potential inconvenience to the public. But many experts say the concert has a big public aspect.<\/p>\n

\u201cBTS is the nation\u2019s band. Now they intend to hold an open performance for the public free of charge. I think it would be very natural for the government to support it,\u201d Ha said.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEOUL, South Korea (AP) \u2014 BTS will stage its long-awaited comeback concert on Saturday night at Seoul\u2019s Gwanghwamun…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[2224,1204,6547,88,793,344,10262,216,17173,1866,965,71718],"class_list":["post-532694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-arts-and-entertainment","tag-asia-pacific","tag-concerts","tag-entertainment","tag-general-news","tag-k-pop","tag-lee-jae-myung","tag-music","tag-seoul","tag-south-korea","tag-world-news","tag-yoon-suk-yeol"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}