Kakao and Naver will strengthen road control and amenity guidance on their map services as large crowds are expected ahead of BTS's comeback concert at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on the 21st of this month.
According to the related industry on the 16th, Kakao will provide ultra-precise bus location information for about 420 Seoul city bus routes on Kakao Map starting that day. Naver, ahead of the BTS Gwanghwamun concert, will display major amenities and traffic control information on Naver Map starting on the 18th, including nearby restrooms as well as gates, screens, and information desks.
Kakao Map's ultra-precise bus service for Seoul will operate in a pilot format and apply to major city bus routes, excluding airport buses and village buses. Kakao Map and the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Future Advanced Transportation Division of the Transportation Office have built a production and verification system for ultra-precise bus data over the past two years and are discussing full introduction in the second half of this year. In particular, this pilot shortens the transmission cycle of location information, allowing users to check travel paths more accurately. Even when headways are long or arrival times change frequently due to traffic congestion, controls, or detours, users can pinpoint a bus's location.
On the 21st, the day of the concert, Kakao Map users will be able to check road control sections and congestion areas near the venue, as well as temporary restrooms and on-site medical clinics, on Kakao Map. If subways operate without stopping at certain stations, related information will be provided on the detailed page of the relevant station. Users can also find detour operations or non-stop information on bus stop pages and in the public transit route finder.
Naver plans to provide information such as traffic controls as well as indoor maps through Naver Map. An indoor map refers to a map that shows stores and amenities inside a building.
A Naver official said, "On the day of the concert, we plan to organize the entire venue area like an indoor map so that visitors to the site can easily find amenities and guide them to major facilities," adding, "A large crowd is expected to gather around the extensive outdoor venue set up across the Gwanghwamun area." The official added, "We also plan to provide information such as traffic controls."
A large crowd is expected for the BTS Gwanghwamun concert, including about 22,000 ticketed attendees from Korea and overseas. Earlier, the government prepared safety management measures in anticipation of large crowds ahead of the BTS comeback concert scheduled for Gwanghwamun. Police estimate that up to 230,000 people could gather from the performance stage at the northern starting point of Gwanghwamun Square, across from the Woldae in front of Gwanghwamun, to Deoksu Palace's Daehanmun, and up to 260,000 to Sungnyemun.