Entertainment News

BTS return at Gwanghwamun: 'Arirang' sells 3.98M in a day; crowd counts split 104,000 vs 42,000

BTS performed their first concert in nearly four years on Saturday, March 21, a free, roughly one-hour show at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, streamed live on Netflix in 190 countries. It came a day after the release of Arirang, the group's fifth studio album, with 14 tracks and the lead single “Swim”.

Outlook Respawn reports that Big Hit Music said the album sold 3.98 million copies in 24 hours, beating the 3.37 million first-week sales of Map of the Soul: 7 in 2020. The turnout is less clear: label HYBE put it at 104,000, based on ticket sales and mobile-carrier data, while Seoul police estimated 40,000 to 42,000, according to Yonhap figures. Organisers had projected 260,000.

“BTS is the nation's band.” — cultural critic Ha Jae-keun, via AP

How each outlet framed it

• AP (via News4JAX) — the venue's meaning: a square named after the main gate of a Joseon palace and the site of rallies during the 2024 martial law crisis. President Lee Jae Myung called BTS “a proud artist of the Republic of Korea”.
• Kyunghyang Shinmun (South Korea) — the practical side: about 22,000 free seats, ID checks against scalping, stations closed to passengers, and a “Royal Road” walk-in through the palace gates.
• Outlook Respawn (India) — the gap between projections and turnout, the 8,200 security staff deployed after the 2022 Itaewon crush, and HYBE's share price.

Where the numbers differ: before the show, AP cited about 20,000 ticketed fans plus 240,000 nearby, and Kyunghyang said police expected up to 260,000. Afterwards, the police estimate came in at well under half of HYBE's count.

What happens next: the 82-date Arirang world tour starts on April 9 in Goyang, Outlook Respawn says.