BTS Holds 13th Anniversary Concert in Busan…First Day Delay Sparks Controversy

BTS performed the “ARIRANG” world tour at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium from June 12 to 13. Approximately 220,000 fans attended the concerts held to mark their 13th anniversary since Debut, marking their first return to the city in three years since the 2022 shows. The members attempted to create a special connection with Busan through the “THE CITY ARIRANG” project, which transformed the entire city into a concert venue.

However, operational issues arose from the very first show. The concert, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on the 12th, started at 8:15 p.m., resulting in a 75-minute delay. Attendees voiced their frustration on site. Posts appeared on social media and online forums stating, “I still can’t get in” and “The crowd control is terrible, it’s a complete mess.” HYBE explained that the entire entry process came to a standstill due to confusion in on-site guidance, bottlenecks in queues for fan gifts, and delays in collecting official merchandise.

The company issued an official apology on the same day. It stated, “We prepared as thoroughly as possible to ensure no oversight in operations so that fans could enjoy a meaningful time,” and promised, “For the concert on the 13th, we will thoroughly review and improve all aspects of on-site management, including entry procedures and gift distribution, to prevent similar congestion.” Yet this promise lasted less than a day. The concert on the 13th also started after the scheduled time.

The root cause of the delays was HYBE’s Weverse platform system. The company implemented a digital queuing method that required pre-purchase of official merchandise and prior reservation for on-site pickup. The intention was to reduce congestion by dividing queues online. However, the online reservations were not connected to offline processing capabilities. As a result, the queues distributed digitally merged back into one long line at the venue. In essence, HYBE failed to manage the flow of people at the event it had designed.

The concerts themselves delivered performances that met expectations. On the first day, songs inspired by Busan such as “Paldogangsan” and “MA CITY” were performed, while on the second day, tracks like “Dang,” “Bjogae,” and “Magic Shop” were played. The world premiere of “Normal (Korean Version)” from their latest album “ARIRANG” also took place at the Busan stage.

These concerts are part of BTS’s ongoing “ARIRANG” world tour, which has been held in 7 cities across more than 20 shows. The Busan performances marked the members’ first return to the city since 2022, when they visited before beginning their military service, and that show was their final event there.