BTS returns to Seoul and ARMY salutes
Published: 23 Jun. 2019, 17:16
Members of ARMY, the official term for BTS fans, wait in long lines before the concert “5th Muster [Magic Shop]” begins Saturday evening, some seeking shelter beneath parasols. Another concert took place on Sunday. [NEWS1]
The septet held the Seoul leg of its “5th Muster [Magic Shop]” fan meeting and concert tour in the Olympic Gymnastics Arena of Olympic Park in southern Seoul. The celebrations continued on Sunday.
The concert was scheduled for 7 p.m., but BTS fans - known as ARMY - began to arrive at the park starting early in the morning, with some wearing purple shirts.
In front of the entrance of a nearby subway station, a marketplace was set up to trade goods made by BTS fans, including badges and handheld fans.
“It is hard to buy BTS official goods as they sell like hotcakes. So that’s why I am buying goods that BTS fans have made,” an 18-year-old fan said.
At sunset, landmarks in Seoul, including the city’s most prominent edifices - including Seoul Tower in central Seoul and Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul - were lit up in purple.
BTS fans at Olympic Park took pictures against the background of Lotte World Tower, with some waving glow sticks called “Army Bombs.”
Last weekend, the band dazzled a total of 45,000 fans on the Busan leg of its tour.
As in Busan, officials from Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of BTS, held tight identification checks for the Seoul concert.
The agency required that buyer information on tickets match ticket holders’ identity documents as part an effort to curb scalping.
Meanwhile, BTS’s latest music video, “Boy With Luv,” surpassed 400 million views on YouTube as of early Sunday morning.
The song is the lead track off of its latest album, “Map of the Soul: Persona,” which was released in April. Popular U.S. singer-songwriter Halsey featured in the song. Within 24 hours of the video’s release, it had 74.6 million views, clinching three Guinness World Records titles: “Most viewed YouTube video in 24 hours,” “Most viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours” and “Most viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours by a K-pop group.”
The boy band is now responsible for nine music videos that have surpassed 400 million views, including “DNA,” recording over 700 million views; “Fire,” “Fake Love,” and “MIC Drop” with over 500 million views; and “Idol,” “Dope,” “Blood, Sweat & Tears” and “Save ME,” with over 400 million views.
By Lee Jae-lim, Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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