SEOUL – South Korean pop boy band BTS will reunite Saturday in the southern port city of Busan for a concert that the city and the South Korean government hope will help win the bid to host the 2030 World Expo.
The free concert, titled “BTS in BUSAN,” is scheduled for 6 p.m. local time (0900 GMT) and is expected to draw around 100,000 fans to the Busan Stadium, more than 300 kilometers (190 miles) southeast of the capital Seoul, and Designated area, according to Busan Metropolitan City.
The concert came after the seven-piece band announced in June that they were suspending group music to pursue solo projects, raising questions about the group’s future.
With Jin, BTS’s oldest member, turning 30 next year, South Korea’s defense minister said in August that BTS may still be able to perform overseas while serving in the military.
Globally-renowned K-pop stars are allowed to defer military service until they turn 30 under a 2019 law revision. Military service is highly controversial in South Korea, where all able-bodied males between the ages of 18 and 28 are required to fulfill their duties as part of their service to defend against a nuclear-armed North Korea.
Four countries, including South Korea, Italy, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia, have submitted shortlists for the competition to host the 2030 expo, according to the expo organizer’s Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). The host country for Expo 2030 is expected to be chosen next year.
In July, K-pop sensation BTS was named the official ambassador for Expo 2030 in Busan.
BTS debuted in June 2013 and became a global sensation with their upbeat singles and social events aimed at empowering young people.
Last year, BTS became the first Asian band to win the Artist of the Year award at the American Music Awards. The group met U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in May to discuss hate crimes against Asians.
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Michael Perry)
