Global K-pop sensation BTS is set to signal its long-awaited full-group comeback with filming and media events in Seoul’s historic Gwanghwamun area, including Gyeongbokgung Palace and Sungnyemun.
According to the Korea Heritage Service on January 20, the Cultural Heritage Committee conditionally approved an application submitted by BTS’s agency HYBE for location use and filming at Gyeongbokgung Palace and Sungnyemun. The approval comes with the condition that a subcommittee will be formed to review detailed plans further and assess potential impacts on cultural heritage.
With the decision, BTS will be able to film pre-recorded videos related to their comeback at Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Gwanghwamun area. Filming is expected to take place on days when the palace is closed, such as Tuesdays. In addition, based on the submitted proposal, nighttime media façade events using LED projections may be held along the Gwanghwamun wall and the Sungnyemun fortress.
The filming and media events are intended to serve as a “signal flare” announcing BTS’s return. BTS is scheduled to make its comeback on March 20 with its fifth full-length album, ‘ARIRANG,’ marking the group’s first full-group release in approximately three years and nine months since the June 2022 anthology album ‘Proof.’
In conjunction with the comeback, BTS is also preparing a large-scale performance at Gwanghwamun Square. HYBE recently submitted an application to the Seoul Metropolitan Government for use of the square, while also requesting permission from the Korea Heritage Service to use and film at Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanghwamun, and the Sungnyemun area.
The agency is reportedly considering holding performances on the comeback date, March 20, as well as over the weekend of March 21–22. According to Seoul city officials, HYBE expressed interest in staging a concert for approximately 18,000 people at Gwanghwamun Square on Saturday, March 21, and also applied to host a separate event for around 30,000 attendees at Seoul Plaza.
If approved, this would mark the first time a single artist or group has been granted permission to hold a solo concert at Gwanghwamun Square. While the venue has previously hosted major cultural events featuring multiple performers, it has never been used for a standalone concert by one act.
Attention is now focused on whether the event could serve as a major opportunity to promote Korea on the global stage. In materials submitted to the Korea Heritage Service, HYBE stated that the event would be livestreamed via a global OTT platform to approximately 300 million subscribers across 190 countries.
The agency added that the broadcast could reach a scale comparable to the World Cup or Olympic Games, estimating that more than 50 million viewers worldwide would be exposed to Korean heritage and culture through the event.
A final decision on venue approval and whether the concert will proceed is expected as early as this week or by next week at the latest. The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to convene an advisory panel soon to determine whether to grant permission, with approval contingent on the submission of a comprehensive safety management plan to prevent crowd-related accidents.
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