27/03/2026

LYFE FRIDAY | MAR 27, 2026

26

Army bombs light up for BTS’s comeback o Superstar group’s concert draws 18.4 million viewers worldwide T HE comeback concert by K-pop megastars BTS drew an estimated 18.4 million viewers worldwide, Netflix Fans waved a sea of glowsticks (Army bombs) and sang along to the group’s hits, holding their phones aloft to film the performance as giant screens set up across the venue allowed the crowd to watch.

said this week. The streaming giant said its livestream of the show last Saturday “drew 18.4 million global viewers..., proving the group’s influence has only intensified during its time apart”. The live broadcast from Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square reached Netflix’s weekly Top 10 in 80 countries and secured the number one spot in 24 countries, it said. It added that its estimates were derived from so-called first-party data, reported AFP. The seven-member group took to the stage together for the first time following a years-long hiatus prompted by mandatory military service. It drew more than 100,000 fans to central Seoul, according to the group’s label. because BTS plans to use a centralised stage for the shows, which would have no obstructed views and could increase audience capacity. South Korea is already reaping the benefits from BTS’s Saturday reunion. The band had been on a hiatus of more than three years because some members needed to fulfill their mandatory military service. In the week leading up to the free concert, sales of BTS merchandise – from glow sticks to blankets to dolls – rose 430% from a week earlier at Shinsegae Duty Free’s headquarters in Myeongdong. At the Lotte Department Store in central Myeongdong, revenue for the weekend jumped to 30% from a year earlier. For Shinsegae, it jumped to 48%. The number of inbound tourists for the first 18 days of March was up

Around 15,000 police officers and security personnel were mobilised for the concert, with barricades lining the roads and nearby venues shut. The latest album Arirang , released last Friday, is billed as reflecting the maturing boy band’s Korean identity. It sold nearly four million copies on its first day, according to the label. Following last Saturday’s concert, the superstar group will embark on its “Arirang” world tour, beginning April 9 in Goyang, South Korea. The 2026-27 tour spans 82 concerts across 34 cities in Asia, North America, Europe and Latin America. Tickets for shows in South Korea, North America and Europe sold out within hours. 32.7% from a month earlier, data from the Justice Ministry showed, pushing up hotel rates in downtown Seoul. Hotel rates in Busan, where BTS will perform in June, have surged as much as seven times at some venues. Stephanie Gonzalez, another ticketless BTS fan from Mexico, said she flew in two weeks ahead of the concert to experience “Army life to the fullest”. “I’ve been visiting pilgrimage sites like the old BigHit office and Hakdong Park,” the 25-year-old said, referring to sites famous among fans because BTS members had been seen there in the past. “I wanted to experience every place BTS has been to make the most of this trip,” she said, adding that she spent about US$5,028 altogether even after staying at a no-frills hostel. – Reuters

BTS has reunited for their first show in nearly four years, blowing away enormous crowds in Seoul for a K-pop extravaganza livestreamed to millions more worldwide. – PIC FR OM A FP South Korea’s biggest K-pop boy band drives fans to visit country

FOR Maria Herrera, a utility employee from Vancouver, the trade-off to watch a performance by K-pop supergroup BTS last Saturday in Seoul was simple: Weeks of extra shifts at her job and roughly US$3,644 (RM14,561) for a week in Seoul. The 58-year-old was willing to make the trip without having secured concert tickets as she and her two daughters were looking forward to soaking up the pre-concert atmosphere and pampering themselves afterwards with Botox, haircuts and some Korean barbecue. Herrera and her daughters are part of a global wave that analysts at NH Investment & Securities say could generate a windfall of 8 trillion won across the 44 cities that will host BTS’s world tour – a phenomenon that they have dubbed “BTSnomics”. “We don’t do our hair in Canada,”

with ticket sales, but drive tourism consumption throughout the entire city,” said Lee Hwa-jeong, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, adding that the eight-trillion-won estimate included direct revenue and secondary consumer spending. Past record-setting world tours by pop superstar Taylor Swift and British rock band Coldplay have also been credited for helping local economies, though economists have generally been skeptical about concerts or big sporting events providing more than a small boost to a country’s economy. BTS’s world tour will kick off on April 9 in the South Korean city of Goyang and will make stops in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Tokyo, Singapore and other major destinations. Analysts have said ticket sales could rise as high as 2.7 trillion won

Herrera said, emerging from a crowd of fellow ticketless “BTS Army” members waiting in the crisp air in downtown Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square 10 hours before the show. She added that because they were in Korea, they would treat themselves. “For myself Botox, facials, Potenza and all that stuff. “And then we do our hair care here, like we do haircuts, we do our colour and all that,” Herrera said. She added that her crew also planned to travel to Toronto for another BTS concert. While turnout for Saturday’s show fell short of the 260,000 that was projected, the real financial power lies with fans who are eager to spend on services and merchandise. “Performances by artistes with a global fandom like BTS do not end

Marie Anne Stotz, a French fan of K-pop group BTS, gets a perm at a hair salon in Seoul.

A menu bearing the logo of BTS The City

Arirang Seoul on display at a cafe. – PIC S FR OM R EUTE R S