A BTS concert has never shut down a royal palace before. March 21 will be the first time.
{img}Gyeongbokgung, the main royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty in central Seoul, will be fully closed on the day of BTS' comeback concert at Gwanghwamun Square. Parking lots will be shut, public access restricted, and an emergency task force will be activated to monitor key areas including both the west and east gates of the palace. The Korea Heritage Service announced the closure as part of broader safety preparations for an event expected to draw up to 260,000 people to the surrounding area.
The closures do not stop there. The National Palace Museum of Korea, which sits directly next to the palace, will also suspend operations that day. The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, located beside Gwanghwamun Square, will close as well. The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts has cancelled all performances scheduled for March 21, including the Seoul Metropolitan Ballet's double bill, a production of the musical "Anna Karenina," and a play called "The Wasp." The ballet company added an extra performance the following afternoon to make up for the cancellation.
{img}The reason for all of this comes down to the scale of what is planned. BTS will release their fifth studio album "Arirang" on March 20, and the following evening they will perform at Gwanghwamun Square in what will be their first full-group concert in over three years. The group is expected to begin at Gyeongbokgung Palace, walk through Gwanghwamun Gate and the historic Woldae platform before taking the main stage at the northern end of the square. Police estimate up to 230,000 people could gather from the stage area toward Deoksugung's Daehanmun Gate, with numbers potentially reaching 260,000 as far as Sungnyemun, where LED projections are planned.
Authorities have said they will take special precautions to protect both visitors and the cultural properties in the area, given that the concert is unfolding directly against the backdrop of some of Korea's most significant historic landmarks.
The concert will be livestreamed on Netflix globally starting at 8 p.m.
{img}For anyone planning to visit Gyeongbokgung or any of the nearby institutions on March 21, it is worth knowing in advance that the area will look and function very differently that day. Seoul is essentially turning its historic centre into one very large concert venue.