The group BTS created a scene at Gwanghwamun Square for their comeback stage that will go down in music history. Beyond unveiling new songs, it was a moment that imprinted the team's identity and Korean sensibility on the world.
BTS held "BTS comeback live: ARIRANG" (BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE｜ARIRANG) around Gwanghwamun Square at 8 p.m. on the 21st. It was a stage celebrating the release of the fifth studio album Arirang (ARIRANG), which was released on the 20th. The venue was packed with about 104,000 spectators.
This performance had significance beyond a simple comeback stage. Arirang encompasses the team's identity and the emotions accumulated over their journey. After using Korea's representative folk song as the album title, they chose the symbolic space of Gwanghwamun Square as the stage. The stage, designed in a frame shape, captured Gwanghwamun and the seven members in a single shot, completing a historic scene.
The production that harmonized with cultural heritage also drew attention. The performance began with a drone shot that passed over Bugaksan and showed Gyeongbokgung Palace. Then the panorama of Gwanghwamun Square unfolded, instantly drawing the eye. Media art using the outer wall of Gwanghwamun blended the urban landscape, cultural heritage and performance harmoniously. The direction, where tradition and modernity coexist, repeatedly elicited admiration. The concert was streamed live on Netflix, serving to spread BTS's performance as well as Korean culture and sensibility to the world.
That day BTS opened with the new album track "Body to Body." The song, which quotes the melody of the folk song "Arirang," featured performers and vocalists from the National Gugak Center on stage. They then performed new songs including "Hooligan" "2.0" "Aliens" "FYA" "Like Animals" and "Normal," and the highlight was the title track "SWIM." The media art along Gwanghwamun, which made it look as if a stream flowed, visualized the song's message of continuing to swim forward without stopping in life's waves.
Representatives of BTS such as "Butter," "MIC Drop" and "Dynamite" further elevated the atmosphere at the venue. The final song, "Mikrokosmos," left a deep impression with a staging that expanded starlight across Gwanghwamun and raised the Big Dipper. For about an hour, the cheering light sticks, "Army bomb," synchronized with the stage production, bathing the square in a single light.
That day BTS expressed overwhelming feelings about their full-group comeback after about three years and nine months. They said they were moved to be able to meet again, that they were happy seven members could be together, and they thanked ARMY, the fans who filled Gwanghwamun Square, the Seoul Metropolitan Government for allowing them to perform there, the police who worked hard on site and the many others involved.
After the concert, they once again expressed their sincerity through global superfan platform Weverse. They said they faced fans in the meaningful space of Gwanghwamun and that hearing the roar filling the square made them feel the overwhelming emotion of "finally being back." They added that this stage was possible thanks to the efforts of those who ensured safety, the warm understanding of citizens and ARMY's unwavering love.
BTS's fifth studio album Arirang has received a hot reaction as soon as it was released. It sold 3.98 million copies on the first day, surpassing the team's previous highest first-week sales record (3.37 million) in just one day. The title track "SWIM" topped Melon and Bugs daily charts on the comeback day, the 20th.
[Photo] Big Hit Music, Netflix provided.
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