The BTS concert at Gwanghwamun Square on March 21 is free. It is also almost impossible to get into.
Only 15,000 fans have been invited to attend in person. Of those, 2,000 standing spots near the stage are being distributed through a raffle on Weverse, open to official Army members who preordered the group's upcoming album "Arirang." The remaining fixed seats further back along the plaza went on sale through Nol Ticket on February 23. The square's official capacity is 18,000, and organizers are already expecting around 260,000 people to gather in the surrounding area on the night — more than eleven times that number.
So what happens if you do not have a ticket?
Seoul city, which is an official sponsor of the event, has confirmed the concert will be broadcast live on large digital billboards on buildings surrounding Gwanghwamun Square, including the Koreana Hotel and the KT Gwanghwamun West Building. Organizers are also considering additional large screens near Seoul Plaza so that fans further from the venue can still watch the performance in real time. For anyone planning to be in the city that night without a ticket, finding a spot near one of those screens is likely the best option.
For everyone outside Korea, the concert will stream live on Netflix across more than 190 countries and territories, starting at 8 p.m. Seoul time on March 21. It is the first time a Korean artist's live event will be broadcast in real time globally on the platform.
The show itself is shaping up to be something beyond a standard concert. The seven members are expected to walk from Gyeongbokgung Palace through Gwanghwamun's woldae, the elevated platform once used for royal ceremonies during the Joseon Dynasty, before reaching the main T-shaped stage positioned against the backdrop of Gwanghwamun Gate. The concert follows the release of BTS' fifth studio album "Arirang" on March 20 and will feature songs from the new record alongside the group's known hits.
Police are preparing for the scale of what is coming. Authorities plan to deploy special operations units and divide the concert area into four crowd density zones. Fifty-six officers will be on the lookout specifically for ticket scalping on the night.
For Army members who could not get a ticket and are not in Seoul, Netflix is the answer. For those who will be in the city, Gwanghwamun and the streets around it will be something worth seeing regardless of where you end up standing.