Some fans arrived at the concert venue before the sun came up, wrapped in layers and braving the cold and the dark. They would wait nearly 15 hours to see a show for which they had not been able to secure tickets. Many had traveled from faraway countries, spending days in transit and braving surging hotel prices.
All of this, so that they could have a chance to witness the first performance of BTS, the K-pop group, since it ended its long hiatus.
“Where else would we be? There’s no other place to be,” said Betty Pietraszora, 33, an English teacher in Seoul who is from Minnesota.
Ms. Pietraszora, who was wearing a shirt with cartoon version of the group’s seven members, had arrived at 5:15 a.m., early enough to snag one of the few spots with an unobstructed view of the stage that was not in the ticketed zone. The authorities expect a quarter of a million people to flood the area before the 8 p.m. concert. Only 22,000 tickets were released.
Next to her, Thycianne Santos, 24, said she had flown 32 hours from Brazil. It was her first time traveling abroad, and the trip was the cumulation of years of saving. It was a long-held dream to finally see BTS in person, she said.
“BTS is such an important part of my life. I’ve been a fan since I was a teenager,” she said.
By the time the sun came up, the two women had bonded with each other and with several other fans around them. They traded BTS merchandise, swapped the names of favorite members and songs and helped save each others’ spots as they made trips to the bathroom.
Some, like Leimomi Kamiya, 36, who had traveled from Hawaii, brought goody bags filled with trinkets like stickers, lip gloss and photo cards. Giving these out to other fans is an unofficial tradition at BTS concerts, she said.
The day would be an endurance event, and this group of fans was prepared accordingly. They had dressed in thick layers for the wintry temperatures. Some had brought fold up chairs and mats, although security guards told them not to sit down. They were also limiting their water intake, knowing that as the crowd behind them grew as the day went on, a trip to the bathroom might mean losing their coveted spots.
They faced another risk. Throughout the morning, security officers gave conflicting messages about whether they would be asked to move. One officer said they had a fifty-fifty chance of being asked to leave, until another told dozens of fans that they could stay. “Thank you, Jesus!” Ms. Pietraszora yelled.
For many of the fans who have followed BTS for years, the group and its fandom have become intertwined with their own lives. Ms. Pietraszora said she became interested in Korean culture, which led her to live in Seoul. She was considering a return to the United States when BTS announced their comeback.
“I thought: I can’t leave now,,” she said.
Next to her, Corrine van der Moolen, 51, who traveled from the Netherlands, recounted how she had discovered the music of BTS after a divorce. “They just bring me so much joy,” Ms. Moolen said, tearing up a little as she spoke. She made friends with other fans whom she now considered family, she said.
“I cannot imagine not being here,” Ms. van der Moolen said.
Yan Zhuang is a Times reporter in Seoul who covers breaking news.
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