Busan Transforms into Global K-Pop Festival as BTS Performs There on the 12th and 13th

BTS will hold the “BTS World Tour ARIRANG IN Busan” concert at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium at 7 p.m. on the 12th and 13th. This venue, capable of holding 40,000 to 50,000 people, marks BTS’s first concert in Busan in 3 years and 8 months and is part of their first full-group world tour in 4 years.

The city of Busan is promoting this event not as a one-time occurrence but as a “city-wide festival” project. The goal is to combine K-Pop content with Busan’s unique infrastructure so that domestic and international tourists can experience the city’s attractions from their arrival until after the concert.

Welcome programs begin the moment tourists arrive in Busan. A welcome photo zone has been set up at Gimhae International Airport, and the “BTS The City ARIRANG Busan Welcome Center” opened on the Eurasia platform at Busan Station. Operating until the 21st, this center provides tour guidance for Busan along with luggage storage and delivery services. It also features a music experience zone, a K-beauty zone, a photo zone, a Busan tourism experience zone, and an Google Gemini AI experience booth.

A 5-meter-tall sculpture named “K-Pop Listener Bugie” has been installed in Busan Station Square. Welcome messages are displayed on media screens and outdoor billboards at major locations in Busan, while attractions such as Gwangang Bridge, Nuri Maru, and the Busan Tower at Yongdusan Park are decorated with scenic lighting.

At 10 p.m. on the 12th and 13th, a large-scale lighting show featuring 1,000 drones in coordination with the lighting of Gwangang Bridge will take place at Gwangalli Beach. From the 11th to the 13th, “The Red Moment Busan” will be held in Song Sang-hyeon Square, utilizing the red color from the “ARIRANG” album.

This concert coincides with BTS’s 13th anniversary of Debut on the 13th. The world tour tied to the release of their fifth studio album “ARIRANG,” the full-group return of members, and the group’s 13th anniversary all come together in Busan. Especially since Jimin and Jung Kook are from Busan, the city has already seen a surge in visitors from global fans.

BTS’s previous concerts in Busan took place in June 2019, with the second one being the “Concert for the Bid to Host the 2030 Busan World Expo” in October 2022. At that time, the number of online live stream views reached 49.07 million, and the live broadcast recorded a 3.3% viewership rate.

After this concert, BTS will begin their European tour in Madrid, Spain.