BTS comes back to the stage in Seoul

“It’s been a while! I missed you so much,” said global K-pop star BTS repetitively in the concert “Permission to Dance On Stage-Seoul” held at 7 p.m. on Thursday. It was two years and five months ago that BTS met up with its domestic fans in offline settings in October 2019. BTS will see 15,000 fans per show, which totals 45,000 audiences, f three days – Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday,

　

The arena was filled with sounds of clappers, which were made to replace shouts of its fans as per COVID-19 quarantine guidelines. SUGA said, “I have performed with no audience at the stand before but it is my first time to be on stage without any cheerful shout heard. This makes today’s show unforgettable for the rest of my lifetime.”

　　

Beginning with “ON,” the concert continued to show stages of a total of 28 songs including “DNA,” “Blood Sweat & Tears,” “Fake Love,” “Dynamite,” “Butter” and “Permission To Dance.” The first stage of “Black Swan” in an offline concert in South Korea was impressively dotted with BTS members and dozens of dancers acting white and black swans.

Seven members confessed to their fans at the end of the concert that things were tough on them. J-HOPE said, “It was not that I was always okay. Only audiences complement artists.”

“I am sick and tired of us staying contactless. I had a hard time dealing with the void in my heart as we were not able to jump, share inspirations and say, ‘We love you,’ which I took for granted,” said RM. “I am excited that I can keep my words that I will fare well until we see again. Thank you for coming all the way here to the show today. Very soon, we will be back as a better artist.”


beborn@donga.com