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Seoul Closes Heritage Sites and Scales Security for BTS Gwanghwamun Comeback Concert

Netflix will stream the free March 21 show worldwide.

Overview

  • BTS will perform a free outdoor concert at Gwanghwamun Square on March 21, a day after releasing the new album Arirang on March 20.
  • Police plan extensive crowd-control and counterterrorism operations, with official estimates of up to about 260,000 people near the stage, while some reports aggregate multiple zones to project turnout above 500,000 across central Seoul.
  • Gyeongbokgung Palace will close with restricted access and parking, nearby museums will suspend operations, and the Sejong Center has canceled scheduled performances for the day.
  • BigHit says roughly 13,000 ticket holders will enter a fenced core zone as large screens serve additional fans, with the show expected to run about an hour.
  • Hybe has mobilized around 3,500 staff and may be asked to add more under Korea’s beneficiary-pays rule, and heritage officials will conduct intensified inspections with an emergency palace task force.