Arts & Entertainment

BTS concert in Busan was followed in more than 200 countries

Seoul, Oct 16 (EFE).- The much awaited concert by the K-pop band BTS in the South Korean city of Busan was followed in 229 countries and regions through television broadcasts and over the Internet, according to their representative agency Hybe on Sunday.

Some 50,000 people were present at the Asiad Main Stadium on Saturday for the event, while another 12,000 gathered in different parts of the city to enjoy the program on giant screens, Hybe said in a statement.

In turn, the live broadcast on Weverse, Hybe’s social network, received approximately 49 million views, besides the viewership on ZEPETO and Naver Now – two other platforms that aired the concert online.

The free concert by the world’s most successful K-pop band was organized to support Busan’s bid to host 2030 World Expo.

In December, the South Korean Ministry of Culture will decide whether or not to exempt the seven BTS members – RM, Jimin, Jin, V, Suga, J-Hope and Jungkook – from conscription, or compulsory military service for all able bodied men in South Korea.

If they are not exempted – a real possibility given that it could lead to a huge controversy over favorable treatment to celebrities -, the artists would be forced to put their careers on hold for at least 18 months.

In recent months, BTS has agreed to promote South Korean government’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo and next year’s Asia Cup soccer tournament.

Several sections are of the opinion that the move is aimed at obtaining an exemption from compulsory military service.

The current year has been a turbulent one for the band’s followers, collectively known as ARMY, as during the summer the group announced that after nine years of sharing the stage together, their members would would seek to focus more on their solo projects.

On Saturday, Jin – whose real name is Kim Seok-jin – announced that he is set to be the second BTS member, after J-Hope, to release a solo album. EFE

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