South Korean authorities prepared for about 260,000 fans to descend on central Seoul for BTS’s first full-group concert in nearly four years but official estimates show less than half that number showed up, raising questions about the extensive use of public resources for a private event.
The performance at the historic Gwanghwamun Square on Saturday was billed as a major cultural moment, complete with a free concert marking the release of the boy band’s latest album Arirang.
The event was livestreamed on Netflix and was expected to be followed by a documentary tracking the group’s return to the studio and their preparations for the concert.
The K-pop group, composed of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, was on a hiatus since 2022 while the members completed their mandatory military service.
In the weeks leading up to the show, authorities prepared for what they believed would be one of the largest gatherings in the capital in years, with police estimates forecasting up to 260,000 fans converging on the historic plaza.
There were around 22,000 tickets available for the main concert area but hundreds of thousands of fans were expected to watch it on large screens set up at nearby locations.
Police said they would treat the area as a “virtual stadium”, and deployed 6,700 officers and 10,000 public officials in addition to the 4,800 safety personnel hired by Hybe, the conglomerate managing BTS. Authorities also raised the terror alert level in certain areas of Seoul.
But according to the Seoul metropolitan government, only about 48,000 people attended. The interior ministry, however, put the number at 62,000, police at 80,000 and Hybe at 104,000.
The mismatch appears to be a result of using different counting methods. According to Chosun Ilbo, the 48,000 number was derived from real-time urban data which used connections to only domestic telecom networks and left out foreign attendees using roaming services or overseas SIM cards.
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Moreover, the city administration restricted its estimate to Gwanghwamun Square, while police included nearby sites where fans had gathered to watch the live broadcast. The interior ministry used aggregated base-station data, including people inside buildings.
Hybe said it analysed ticketing and telecom data to arrive at its higher estimate.
Chosun Ilbo reported that foreign fans made up 40-50 per cent of the crowd at the performance.
In any case, the sizeable gap between expectation and reality promptly triggered a debate in South Korea over whether authorities overestimated the size of the event in their logistics planning, causing losses to local businesses and forcing residents to cancel or reschedule private events.
Many critics also questioned the use of public resources for what was ultimately a private concert.
Hybe’s shares fell by 14.5 per cent on Monday after the concert drew far fewer fans than expected.
In the days leading up to the concert, central Seoul was effectively sealed off, with steel barricades, designated entry gates and a 1.2km “high-density control zone” where access could be denied if the crowd density exceeded three people per square metre, according to The Korea Herald.
On the day, access was further restricted with nearby subway stations bypassed or shut and entry points equipped with metal detectors and subject to bag checks, resulting in long queues and slow inflow, according to Korea JoongAng Daily. “Everyone had to keep moving in one direction and many intersections were repeatedly blocked and reopened, which led many people to leave because of the inconvenience,” an attendee named Lee Jung Yeon said.
According to Chosun Ilbo, office workers commuting through Gwanghwamun were uncomfortable with the searches, while others complained about the level of screening imposed for a music event.
Businesses in the area reported that the heavy controls dampened rather than boosted footfall. A restaurant owner told the Korea JoongAng Daily: “I expected to see 20m won (£9,971) in sales but all I got was 1m won (£499) in the morning because of crowd controls.”
Another business owner said their sales reached only “70 to 80 per cent of a typical Saturday”, adding that police repeatedly moved people along, preventing them from stopping near shops.
Ben Chun, owner of The Pizza Peel, a restaurant about 10 minutes from Gwanghwamun Square, told the New York Times that sales were 20 per cent lower than on a typical Saturday.
“Foot traffic was down on Saturday,” he said, adding that “people who live around here knew to avoid the area” because of traffic restrictions and expected crowds.
Authorities defended their approach, however, saying they had braced for a crowd comparable to the gatherings during the 2002 Fifa World Cup, often used as a benchmark for mass participation events in Seoul, while also adopting strict safety measures in the wake of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush that killed 159 people.
Chun agreed. “Lowering the safety measures to increase sales for us,” he said, “that’s definitely not something we’d take as a trade-off.”
Hybe acknowledged the disruption caused by the security measures. “We sincerely thank you for your warm support and consideration for the concert,” the company said in a statement on Sunday, adding that traffic controls, building restrictions and security checks were “unavoidable for safety”.
The agency apologised for the impact. “We deeply regret any inconvenience caused to your important schedules and daily lives”.
Fans who attended the concert or watched from surrounding areas described it as an emotional and memorable experience.
“From the moment they said, ‘We’re back’ at the very beginning, I was already getting emotional,” Bella Lai, 16, from Taiwan, told The Korea Times.
“I cried during Mic Drop,” said Keira Scahill, 29, from England. “I didn’t expect them to perform older songs.”
Many fans had travelled without tickets to the main venue. Emily Monro from Australia told The Korea Herald: “I’ll be happy just seeing any of the members.”
The Gwanghwamun concert marks the beginning of BTS’s return to large-scale touring. They are set to start their world tour with shows at Goyang Stadium in Gyeonggi from 9 to 12 April before setting off on a 82-concert tour covering 34 cities around the world until March 2027.
