For this extraordinary concert, the Korean authorities have reserved places for the press, but also for embassies and personalities in order to promote the event.
For the general public, it was another matter. The 100,000 free tickets to the BTS show, the most famous K-Pop group in the world, were sold out in fifteen minutes. Hotel rooms were taken by storm, to such an extent that average prices were multiplied by ten.
For the past few days Busan, the country’s second city, has been preparing to welcome tens of thousands of fans, the city’s monuments are lit up in purple in the group’s colors. An XXL event supposed to prove Busan’s ability to organize major events and in particular the 2030 World Expo for which the Korean city is a candidate. The BTS concert is eminently political.
This is not the first time, far from it, that South Korea has used popular culture idols as ambassadors. Seoul does not hesitate to surf on its soft power to seduce. No wonder the authorities appealed to BTS to convince the members of the Bureau of Expositions to choose Busan over Riyadh or Rome, the two other cities in the running. Other stars like Lee Jung-jae, the main actor of Squid Game, also participate in the project.
This political recovery still received a mixed reception within the Army, the nickname of the group’s fans, says Mathieu Berbiguier, doctoral student at the University of California and specialist in K-Pop fans: “Korean fans have been sounding the alarm to foreign ARMYs, saying that this Busan World Expo story doesn’t smell good, that contestants are using BTS to their advantage to give the bid a good image. But It’s good that with this new incident it clarifies how politicians and the Korean government use K-Pop to their advantage.
Despite everything, the fans threw themselves on the tickets, because it is rumored that this might be one of the last concerts of the group. The clock is ticking. Authorities are to announce in December whether or not BTS members will be required to perform military service. All South Korean men are required to serve nearly a year and a half in the military, but BTS’s draft date has been pushed back numerous times in the face of the group’s success. The mayor of Busan had even suggested that the boy band’s aid for the World Expo bid should serve as civic service.
And the group does not stop promoting all government initiatives. Thursday, October 13, they announced their support for South Korea’s bid to host the Asian Football Cup in 2023. It remains to be seen whether the authorities will reward the boy band for its tireless efforts to promote the country internationally.