South Korea celebrates ten years of the most famous K-pop group

For the tenth anniversary of the Korean group BTS, South Korea is starting a week of celebrations throughout the capital. From Monday morning June 12, fans of the group gathered in front of the offices of their agency HYBE, whose facade was painted with a huge fresco in their likeness, to take selfies or record TikTok videos of the event. Fans from all over the world – known as ARMY – made the trip for the occasion and the Seoul Municipality set up a special program to welcome visitors.

“It’s exciting to be here. It’s exhilarating to be surrounded by other ARMYs“, told AFP Anne Micic, a 55-year-old scientist. “When you meet other ARMYs it’s almost like having another family, it’s really awesome“, continued this Australian fan.

BTS has”saved my life“, Claudia Agustin, a 23-year-old Indonesian fan who works in accounting, told AFP in Seoul, adding that their words had helped her during difficult times in her life. She said to herself “really, really proud” of the ten years of the group. “JI know how hard they fought since their debut and then they really came out on top. Today, everyone knows them“, she added.

Seoul soon lit up in purple

BTS, which debuted on June 13, 2013, opened up South Korean music to the mainstream, raking in billions of dollars by building a global fan base. The city of Seoul has released a special tourist map, which points to 13 places to visit in the capital, including the HYBE office in Yongsan and the historic Gyeongbok Palace, where the septet filmed a special edition of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. From June 12, major tourist spots in Seoul, such as Namsan Tower and Dongdaemun Design Plaza, will be illuminated in purple, the color of the band’s fans, for the occasion.

A set of special stamps unveiled by the Korea Post are already out of stock online, with the 120,000 sets available taking just three hours to disappear after they went on sale on May 22, an official told AFP. of the post office surprised. Fans will still be able to pick them up in person, as starting June 13, the band’s official debut anniversary date, around 80,000 stamps and other goodies will be available at all post offices.

The group, currently on hiatus since two of its members are doing their compulsory military service in South Korea, released a new single last week. take two (which can be translated as “take number two“), is intended to herald a new chapter for the group after a prolific decade.