Seoul Ramps Up BTS Crowd Control as Shadow of Itaewon Crush Looms
There is heightened sensitivity around South Korea’s ability to manage crowds after the 2022 Halloween stampede, which killed more than 150 people.
Workers set up the stage for the free concert by BTS at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, on March 16.
Source: Yonhap/EPA/Shutterstock
Seoul is preparing for an influx of hundreds of thousands of K-pop fans with the kind of mobilization typically reserved for a major state event, as the specter of past crowd disasters hovers over the return of the world’s most popular boy band.
Dubbed “BTS The Comeback Live | Arirang,” the March 21 event is set to be the largest-ever public concert in South Korea. It is expected to draw as many as 260,000 fans to downtown Seoul and be watched by millions more on a Netflix live-stream — making it both a South Korean cultural milestone and a major stress test for the country’s infrastructure.