{"id":803563,"date":"2026-08-05T14:04:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T14:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/803563\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T14:04:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T14:04:15","slug":"bts-fans-cross-continents-for-arirang-city-in-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/803563\/","title":{"rendered":"BTS fans cross continents for ARIRANG CITY in New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI am here for BTS,\u201d 24-year-old Hassna Barry said, standing inside ARMY \u2018MADANG\u2019 at Grand Central Terminal\u2019s Vanderbilt Hall, where she proudly held up her custom-designed BTS T-shirt before breaking into a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love BTS because of V, Taehyung,\u201d she said. \u201cHe is so handsome! BTS motivated me. But BTS also helped me grow. I\u2019ve loved them since I was 10 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Barry, the trip was more than a concert. It marked her first time seeing BTS and her first visit to New York City.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in Africa, and this is my first time in New York to see BTS,\u201d she said, jumping up and down, giddy just thinking about it.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Barry and her friend, 23-year-old Djeinabou Jallo, traveled from Guinea to experience BTS together. Beyond the two sold-out concerts at MetLife Stadium, the pair immersed themselves in BTS THE CITY ARIRANG NEW YORK, a citywide celebration that transformed New York into an extension of the group\u2019s latest album.<\/p>\n

\"BTS<\/a>BTS fans far and wide came to NYC for the ARIRANG CITY pop-ups.Photo by Amanda Moses \"A<\/a>A staff member presses a t-shirt at the ARMY \u2018MADANG\u2019 pop-up at Grand Central Terminal.Photo by Amanda Moses<\/p>\n

Throughout the concert weekend, BTS THE CITY ARIRANG NEW YORK spread the world of ARIRANG across the metropolitan area through interactive exhibits, landmark collaborations and fan experiences. At Grand Central Terminal, visitors reserved time slots to customize BTS T-shirts, view the group\u2019s iconic stage outfits from the LOVE YOURSELF: SPEAK YOURSELF Wembley Stadium concerts, and collect digital stamps as part of the citywide Stamp Rally. Just across Vanderbilt Hall, Grand Brasserie offered a limited-time menu of Korean-inspired dishes, cocktails and mocktails, giving fans another way to celebrate together.<\/p>\n

For sisters Carola, 21, and Celine, 14, Pietri, the journey from Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, was worth every mile.\n<\/p>\n

Although they lost the Ticketmaster race for seats, the sisters purchased resale tickets rather than miss the opportunity to see BTS on Aug. 1.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to the surprise songs and \u2018Into the Sun,\u2019\u201d said Carola, whose favorite member is Jimin.\n<\/p>\n

Celine, a V fan, had one song at the top of her wish list.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to hear \u2018Like Animals,\u2019\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

\"At<\/a>At Grand Central Terminal, fans were able to customize their own BTS-themed t-shirts.Photo by Amanda Moses \"At<\/a>At Grand Central Terminal, fans were able to customize their own BTS-themed t-shirts.Photo by Amanda Moses \"Fans<\/a>Fans show off their custom BTS shirts.Photo by Amanda Moses<\/p>\n

As they left Grand Central carrying their newly customized sweatshirts, both said decorating them became one of the highlights of their trip.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cBTS reminds me of my childhood friendships because they\u2019re the ones who introduced me to the group,\u201d Carola said. \u201cI\u2019ve been listening to BTS since I was a pre-teen.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Celine, the music has become inseparable from her relationship with her sister.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re a little piece of my heart that I\u2019ll always connect with my sister because she\u2019s the one who got me into BTS,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

Beyond Grand Central, ARIRANG CITY transformed Manhattan into a playground for ARMY. Fans gathered at the Korean Cultural Center New York for additional ARMY \u2018MADANG\u2019 experiences, joined Random Play Dance events in Times Square, visited the BTS takeover at the Top of the Rock Observation Deck and stepped inside the immersive world of Arte Museum New York.<\/p>\n

\"Fans<\/a>Fans gathered at the Korean Cultural Center New York for additional ARMY \u2018MADANG\u2019 experiences.Photo by Amanda Moses \"Fans<\/a>Fans gathered at the Korean Cultural Center New York for additional ARMY \u2018MADANG\u2019 experiences.Photo by Amanda Moses \"Fans<\/a>Fans gathered at the Korean Cultural Center New York for additional ARMY \u2018MADANG\u2019 experiences.Photo by Amanda Moses<\/p>\n

In addition to the citywide activations, fans could reserve a timed entry to the BTS POP-UP Store in Chelsea, where exclusive merchandise included member-specific pins, New York City exclusive BTS apparel and other limited-edition collectibles.<\/p>\n

The celebration also encouraged fans to explore Manhattan through the ARIRANG Stamp Rally, which connected cultural landmarks and partner locations across the city. Each stop offered fans another way to experience the world of ARIRANG while discovering New York through the lens of BTS.<\/p>\n

As part of the initiative, Bank of Hope partnered with BTS THE CITY ARIRANG through its Hope Delivered program, donating $1 for every Stamp Rally check-in at its Manhattan branch to support financial literacy education.<\/p>\n

For thousands of fans who crossed oceans and continents, ARIRANG CITY was a love letter for fans who say that these activations made New York City feel like a global meeting place where fans from different cultures, languages, and backgrounds gathered for one shared purpose; to celebrate the seven artists who changed their lives.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo by Amanda Moses \"\"<\/a>Photo by Amanda Moses \"\"<\/a>Photo by Amanda Moses<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI am here for BTS,\u201d 24-year-old Hassna Barry said, standing inside ARMY \u2018MADANG\u2019 at Grand Central Terminal\u2019s Vanderbilt…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":803564,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[341301,92201,88,341302,216,341303],"class_list":["post-803563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-arirang-city","tag-bts","tag-entertainment","tag-fan-events","tag-music","tag-pop-ups"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803563","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=803563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}