On the morning of the 21st, when BTS's comeback concert is being held. The commercial district around Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul was bustling from early hours. More than 10 hours remained before the show began, but customers flocked to every kimbap shop, convenience store, and cafe, signaling the full-fledged "BTS effect."
On this morning, a manager surnamed Choi (50) at a kimbap shop near Gwanghwamun was rolling kimbap nonstop with employees. Kimbap, which usually sells about 500 to 600 rolls a day, had already surpassed the daily sales in just two hours of the morning shift.
A nearby convenience store saw a similar scene. The store was crowded with foreign "ARMY" who came to Korea to see the BTS concert. Customers were coming in every 10 seconds, and items that had not yet been shelved were left on the floor. The owner said, "We ordered dozens of times more stock than usual, but customers have been pouring in since morning, and it's overwhelming."
BTS will return to the stage as a full group for the first time in about 3 years and 9 months with the comeback show "BTS Comeback Live: ARIRANG." The concert will be held at 8 p.m. on the 21st around Gwanghwamun Square.
According to Seoul City's real-time urban data, the floating population around Gwanghwamun Square stood at about 12,000 to 14,000 as of 9 a.m. on the 21st. Although 11 hours remained before the show, the floating population was increasing by 30% each hour. Police expected about 260,000 people to gather on the day.
Bulk orders from staff busy with last-minute show preparations also continued. A nearby toast shop received a group order for 600.
The owner, a person surnamed Park (63), said, "We usually sell more than 1,000, but today we prepared about twice as many ingredients," adding, "We've already sent out 300 and are making an additional 300." Park added, "It's tough, but I feel good because I can see sales going up."
A person surnamed Kim (57), who runs a kimbap shop near Jonggak Station, came in at dawn to prep ingredients. Kim said, "It's two to three times the usual amount," adding, "It would be nice to do this often since citizens can blow off steam and business is good."
A large franchise cafe had three additional headquarters employees dispatched. They expected many foreign customers who might find kiosk operation or menu ordering difficult. A store official said, "We prepared inventory expecting sales to be about seven to eight times higher than usual," adding, "We also received support from staff at other branches."
Not every store is enjoying a windfall, however. Restaurants with low table turnover face limits on how many customers they can seat, so some cannot significantly increase ingredients.
A barbecue restaurant owner surnamed Lee (46) near Gwanghwamun Square said, "During the Cheonggyecheon festival in Dec. last year, we also expected more customers and prepared more ingredients, but there was little difference," adding, "The number of customers we can seat is almost fixed, so we prepared as usual today."
Some shops adjusted business hours to avoid congestion. A cafe owner surnamed Park (51) said, "Getting off work won't be easy, so without pushing it, I plan to close at 7 p.m. as usual."