ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Hallyuwood devider Korean police preparing for massive crowds of up to 260,000 at BTS' free concert in Seoul on March 21

Korean police preparing for massive crowds of up to 260,000 at BTS' free concert in Seoul on March 21

Published Feb 10, 2026 09:46 am
BTS and the Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, the venue for the concert (Big Hit Music, Jonathan Hicap)
BTS and the Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, the venue for the concert (Big Hit Music, Jonathan Hicap)

Korean police said they are preparing for massive crowds that could reach 260,000 when K-pop superstars BTS hold their free comeback concert at the iconic Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on March 21. 

BTS will release their new album, “Arirang,” on March 20. The following day, they will hold the “BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang,” a free concert to be held at Gwanghwamun Square. 

During a press conference on Feb. 9, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Park Jeong-bo said, "In preparation for the BTS Gwanghwamun concert, we have formed a task force (TF) led by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Public Safety deputy chief to ensure a safe event."

Park said they are estimating that the BTS concert could draw crowds from 230,000 to 260,000. 

The map of Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul (Naver Maps)
The map of Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul (Naver Maps)
The Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, the venue of BTS' free concert on March 21 (Jonathan Hicap)
The Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, the venue of BTS' free concert on March 21 (Jonathan Hicap)
The announcement for
The announcement for "BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang" (Big Hit Music)
The Sejong-daero road leading to Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul in a photo taken from the Seoul City Hall (Jonathan Hicap)
The Sejong-daero road leading to Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul in a photo taken from the Seoul City Hall (Jonathan Hicap)

"The event venue is located across from Woldae in Gwanghwamun, and crowds are expected to gather all the way to Daehanmun Gate. If all lanes (of Sejong-daero) are packed, the crowd is estimated to reach around 230,000. If the crowd reaches Sungnyemun Gate, the crowd could reach 260,000."

Sungnyemun Gate is near the famous Namdaemun Market in Seoul. 

He said the Gwanghwamun area, which is expected to have large crowds, will be divided into four zones; Core, Hot, Warm and Cold. 

“We will further subdivide it into 15 zones, each with a superintendent-level officer to thoroughly monitor them,” he said. 

The police are also preparing for potential illegal activities, including the use of automated programs called “macros” during ticket sales, fraudulent activities such as deceptive sales of tickets or accommodations online, then disappearing after taking the money, and posting threatening messages threatening harm, causing chaos. 

"We will appoint a dedicated cyber team to monitor and ensure prompt punishment,” he said. 

In addition, Park said, they have designated 13 violent crimes teams from nine police stations to prepare for assault, riots, and terrorism, and we will immediately prepare for any criminal incidents that may occur on-site. We will also deploy special forces to conduct preventative and suppressive actions before any situation arises."

"With approximately 35,000 ticket holders and a large number of citizens flocking to see the spectacle, the police must also be prepared for the safety of the public,” he said. 

HYBE, the organizer of the BTS concert, will deploy 3,553 security personnel. 

The “BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang” at Gwanghwamun Square will start at 8 p.m. KST on March 21 and will be live streamed on Netflix. 

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.