Korean netizens are reacting to the power of BTS ARMY.
On November 27, BTS successfully wrapped up the first night of their ‘Permission to Dance: On Stage’ concert in Los Angeles. While everyone can recognize the power of BTS, netizens in Korea were particularly amazed by the fans.
First, the venue for the LA concert was full of 50,000 ARMYs, and the line to purchase BTS merchandise was queued by about 25,000 ARMYs since the day before the concert. It has been reported by media outlets that it had taken an average of eight hours to make a purchase.
Korean netizens were also startled by the amount of money spent both for the merchandise and the concert overall. One fan confessed that she spent about $500 worth of goods after waiting in line for about 10 hours. The price of concert tickets also skyrocketed to thousands of dollars, hiking more than ten times the original price.
The hotels near the concert venue were also fully booked, not least due to the ARMYs travelling from afar. Despite the high prices during the holiday season post-COVID, a good amount of seats for the the flights between South Korea and Los Angeles were also taken up by a number of ARMYs.
So, even from Korea, some ARMYs spent about a total of $10,000 to travel to Los Angeles for the concert. One Korean fan attested to having taken off days from work in order to attend the concert. Fans from Japan also flew to Los Angeles, because there simply wasn’t a concert being held in her country.
Some comments include:
“I can’t fathom the amount of power BTS and the ARMY have. What a cultural feat.”
“OMG…the amount of people in LA just for BTS”
“So proud of BTS!”
“At this point they are literally an army of people”
“Whoa…but I kind of wish they had held this concert in Korea…it looks like such a good opportunity for tourism.”
“BTS spearheading thousands of ARMYs…”
“I’m sure the ARMY felt like the concert was a very special gift for them after two years”
“Judging by the reaction and the action of the ARMYs for this concert, it really feels like the boys have won a series of gold medals as cultural representatives of the country on an international scale.”
