On March 10 KST, BTS performed in front of approximately 15,000 fans at the Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul for Day #1 of ‘PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE – SEOUL’.
The show officially marked the largest ever indoor concert event to take place in South Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the ongoing spread of the virus, audience members were asked to sit one seat apart from one another. Audience members were also banned from making noise, standing up, or removing their masks.
On this day, BTS opened up the stage with “ON”. The group then continued the show with “Fire”, “Dope”, “DNA”, “Blue & Grey”, “Black Swan”, and more.
Next, BTS performed a series of their ‘Billboard’ toppers including “Blood, Sweat & Tears”, “Fake Love”, “Boy With Luv”, “Dynamite”, and “Butter”
The boys went on the bring the main part of the show to a close with “Telepathy” and “Outro: Wings”.
For the encore, BTS performed “Home”, expressing their affection toward their fans, before closing out with their last song, “Permission To Dance”.
What messages did the boys have to share with their Korean fans, seeing them face to face for the first time in 2 and a half years?
V, who thought back to his past leg injury, said, “I was so upset back then that I told you all, ‘I’ll be back with legs of steel’. Now, I’m really back with legs of steel.”
Jin also joked with fans by stating, “I’m sure you all have so much you want to say to us. Like, ‘We look amazing’, ‘The performances are amazing’, and so on. Your feelings are coming across clearly, so don’t worry and enjoy the show until the end. I know some of you also thought in your heads, ‘Seokjin is pretty old now, so he must be having a hard time’. I heard it through telepathy.”
After greeting ARMYs on the second floor of the stadium using a moving stage, Jungkook said, “My heart was bounce bouncing, and I felt nostalgic about all of our past memories together. All of the nostalgic memories made my heart ache, but I was still happy.”
When J-Hope asked ARMYs how they’ve been in the last 2 years, the crowd clapped once simultaneously, indicating that they’ve been well. He then revealed, “I don’t think I can say that I was doing well the entire time. For the last two and a half years, since we didn’t know when this was all going to end, I really missed you, and I was just waiting without knowing when it was going to end.”
During the latter half of the concert, V also assured fans about his cough. He said, “The particulate matter levels are very bad today. I keep coughing, but I don’t have COVID-19, I promise. It’s because of the PM levels.”
Jungkook also told fans during his ending comments, “It’s our first concert in two and a half years, but it feels like it’s been 23 years. I missed you so much, and I’m so happy in this moment. Even if I can’t see your facial expressions or hear your voices, I still hope that you will have a great time because of us today.”
Finally, SUGA commented, “It’s our first time back in this stadium after two and a half years. We asked you to wait just a little bit back then, but so much time has passed. But there will be better days soon, we promise.”
Meanwhile, ‘PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE – SEOUL’ will continue throughout this weekend from March 12-13.