BTS’ Gwanghwamun becomes their most protected event; discrepancy in attendees number causes debate

BTS recently released their latest album after almost a 4-year-long hiatus due to military requirements. Following the release of ‘ARIRANG’ and their lead single, ‘SWIM’, the members gathered at the Gwanghwamun for their live concert. While the concert was a success, with security and firefighting personnel working hard to ensure everyone’s safety, a lot of the numbers related to the concert did not match.As per reports shared online by Naver, the attendance estimates of the concert have sparked a lot of debate online. While BTS’ management company released an official estimate, citing that around 104,000 people were in attendance of the live concert, the government stats varied drastically. The report shared that as per the official Seoul Metropolitan Government data, around 46,000 people were gathered in the area at the time of the concert. Earlier, they had expected the crowd to reach overcapacity with a predicted number of 260,000.The Gwanghwamun live concert, which can also be watched on the OTT platform Netflix, was held at an open area. To ensure everyone’s safety, the company went all out and even requested a lot of officials to be present at the scene in case something went awry.Around 15,000 police officials, civil servants, as well as firefighters were deployed in the area well ahead of the scheduled concert to ensure everyone’s safety. 31 gates with metal detectors and thorough checking were also planned to ensure everyone’s safety. Major roads near the area were blocked off using barricades and police buses, while non-stop passing was also started at the nearby subway stations to provide smooth transport to the venue.The area was also set up with seating, standing, and high-level areas for attendees to view the concert. For all of those who were unable to get a view of the boy group directly, were able to catch them on big screens that had also been set up around the area.