On October 15, BTS held their wildly successful show attended by over 50,000 fans at the Busan Asiad Stadium. A concurrent Live Play event or livestream was held for 10,000 people at Busan Port and 2,000 people at Haeundae Beach. For the millions who watched from their homes, several free streaming sites such as Weverse, JTBC and Naver were available.

In July, BTS became the ambassadors for Busan’s bid for the World Expo 2030 and their October concert was announced. Even without a complete map of details, fans from different parts of the globe  immediately took a heightened interest in the upcoming event, in the prospect of seeing the band live one more time. By the time the raffle ticket winners were announced early September, the clamor for concert tickets, accommodation, and flight tickets were so intense that booking the trip became a very hectic activity.

“Yet to Come in Busan” was not only a concert; it was a massive festival for ARMY. During the concert weekend, Busan, the second largest city in Seoul, reportedly garnered around 100,000 tourists from all over the world. The city glowed purple from Busan Tower  to Busan Port. As a city known for its magnificent beaches,  Busan’s Haeundae and Gwangalli Beach also held their own special events for the concert. Commercial establishments from luxury hotels to simple cafes even offered BTS-themed packages for ARMY.

The Concert Highlights

Fireworks bloomed in the night sky of the Busan Asiad Stadium. The gargantuan screens shaped like BTS’ logo flashed a countdown, signaling the beginning of the show. On instinct, the crowds waved their ARMY Bombs (lightsticks) in the air. The standing area, packed as it was, was a united wave, pushing forward and jumping along to every beat of the song.

The stage was richly decorated by BTS references from their near-decade-long career. You could see the school bus in “No More Dream”, the bare tree with the hanging white sneakers, the You Never Walk Alone carousel and the train from “Spring Day”, the 20219 train container in “I NEED U”, the towering angel statue from “Blood, Sweat and Tears” and the red piano from  “Yet to Come”.

We’ve compiled 7 of the most important moments in the concert (or at least, tried to). Read on below!

1. RUN BTS!

Of course, the electrifying “MIC Drop” was an instant party starter, but the energy was even more palpable as BTS unleashed the new stage for the fierce “Run BTS” from their recently released anthology album PROOF. For the first time, the audience got to see the sharp and hard-hitting choreography that only Bangtan could deliver.

2. Vocal line’s and rap line’s sets

YTC in Busan’s setlist featured a balanced mix of their older and newer tracks, as well as a seamless transition in between. The vocal line’s and rap line’s contrasting performances were interesting. BTS’ vocalists – Jin, Jimin, V and Jungkook – serenaded the audience with a stirring rendition of  “Zero O’Clock” followed by “Butterfly (Prologue Mix)”.  Afterwards, RM, SUGA and j-hope delivered their gut-punching rap during “UGH!”  and “Cypher Pt. 3: Killer”. 

Side note: The flying blue butterflies were beautiful in real life.

3. Singing along: smooth like butter~

The dawn of the pandemic has given us a few BTS pop English tracks which also got their time to shine during the show. “Dynamite” and “Butter” were songs we had seen many, many times virtually, but seeing and singing along to them live was a new, fun experience.

4. “Welcome to my city! Let’s go!”

“Since we’re in Busan, we have to perform this song. You know what I’m talking about, right? Welcome to my city! Let’s go,” Jimin excitedly shouted before performing the song many people were expecting: “Ma City”. Jimin and Jungkook came from Busan. Seeing the group perform the song felt like a homecoming. 

5. The crowd’s burning energy 

“FIRE” and “IDOL” are classic BTS hype songs, and they always get the job done. With literal fire bursts and fireworks from the stage, every soul in the stadium was jumping and dancing like there was no tomorrow. It was the middle of autumn, but everything was hot, hot, hot, hotter.

6. “Epilogue: Young Forever” & “For Youth”

Hearing the crowd sing “Epilogue: Young Forever” back-to-back with “For Youth” was golden.

As old snippets of the band flashed across the screen, the crowd sang along to the chorus of “Epilogue: Young Forever”. You could just feel that distinct hint of nostalgia and longing in the air. 

7. What BTS had to say

Everyone was anticipating their ending speeches. As BTS announced during their Festa in June, the group is technically on hiatus, fueling concerns about their future.There’s also the looming mandatory military enlistment announcement. BTS, however, had nothing but reassurance and gratitude for their fans.

J-Hope cleared the air by simply saying, “Have faith in us”. As the first member to release a solo album, he successfully performed his headlining set at Lollapalooza in July. He said that he missed performing with the group so much and that he has more energy when he’s with them.

The crowd sang “Happy Birthday” for Jimin who celebrated his birthday two days before the concert. He then thanked everyone for celebrating with him. “I’m now curious what we’ll look like in ten years. I’m looking forward to it a lot. I’m not scared at all. We should keep going – thirty, forty… seventy years old,” he said jokingly.

The group’s leader, RM, mentioned that they haven’t done a proper concert since the Speak Yourself Tour and 5th Muster: Magic Shop in 2019. He thanked the crowd for waiting for three years. He also reaffirmed what J-Hope said. “Whatever comes our way in the future, the seven members of Bangtan are united in our thoughts. If you believe in us, we will be able to get through anything that comes our way. We’ll be happy and we’ll keep making music.”

Jungkook took his time to thank his fellow BTS members. “In the ten years of my life as a trainee up to where I am now, I’d like to thank them. It’s amazing that I got to perform for ARMYs in my hometown. (…) There were times when I had hardship and when I wanted to quit, but the members were there to hold onto me, and because of that I think I’m able to stand here. Let’s continue to run, moving forward.”

Jin, the group’s oldest member, sounded a bit sentimental when he spoke. “I kept thinking this is our last concert and when our next concert will be. Everyone, I don’t know when we’ll have a tour again, but you’ll come, right?” To break the ice, he announced that he would be releasing a new single soon. He said it is a collaboration with an artist he likes. (As it turned out, his new single titled “The Astronaut” is a collaboration with Coldplay, a band he’s known to be a fan of for a long time. It’s set to be released on October 28.)  

SUGA had a calm yet confident aura around him when he addressed the audience.  “I feel refreshed. We came all the way to Busan and we got to be with you. Some people will say ‘BTS is old’ and so and so. It has been over six years since we received our first Daesang (grand award in Korea), but I think we will continue to be in this place for ten, twenty, thirty years. Let’s grow old together!”

The last to speak was V. “I missed ARMY so much.” He recalled the time during their Festa wherein they said they would be on a hiatus as a group and they would pursue solo careers, but they’re still here, doing a concert. “Though this concert is a one-time event, we prepared a lot, and the choreography for “Run BTS” is really hard! I hope you liked it.” Just when he looked like he had something more to say, he abruptly ended with “thank you” followed by the trademark ARMY greeting “borahae!”

For the final song, “Yet to Come” reverberated throughout the stadium, drawing the curtains to another memorable BTS concert.

The Aftermath

Was it honestly the best? Because my best is what comes next.

To echo the opening line of “Yet to Come”, I came out of BTS’ explosive concert in Busan, thinking it was the band’s best performance yet. I stood there, dazed, every inch of my body thrumming in excitement. In my mind, I was already looking forward to their next show — whenever that may be.

Two days after the concert, Bighit Music announced that the group is set to enlist for their mandatory military service soon. It was a decision that has been hanging for quite some time now, and it was good to finally hear the resolution. According to the announcement, the earliest they will reconvene as a group is on 2025. It seems like a long wait from now, but hey, life goes on for all of us.

As an ARMY who has followed their growth from 2014 until now, I’ve witnessed firsthand how they’ve grown as musicians and performers. I’ve seen the fanbase grow from my select group of friends to every other passerby who knows nothing about K-pop. I’ve experienced how their concert tickets got more and more difficult to obtain as each tour went by. Most importantly, I’ve seen BTS earn the love, respect and admiration of people from all walks of life. For all that and more, in the past eight years, I’m grateful that they have become indelible parts of my life.

From this concert, I’ll forever remember the butterflies flying in the air, the floating whale on top of a sea of people, the fireworks igniting a splendid evening – bits and pieces I’ll take with me for the next few years until the next time I see them live again.

by Sandra Mae Laureano

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Yet to Come in Busan – Setlist 

Mic Drop

Run BTS

RUN 

Save Me

Zero O’Clock

Butterfly (Prologue Mix)

UGH!

Cypher Pt. 3: Killer

Dynamite

Boy with Luv

Butter

Ma City

Dope

FIRE

IDOL

Epilogue: Young Forever

For Youth

Spring Day

Yet to Come