BTS to perform at Gwanghwamun on March 21; show to stream live on Netflix

▲ K-pop boy group BTS is seen in this image provided by BigHit Music. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This image is provided by Netflix. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

BTS-comeback show

BTS to perform at Gwanghwamun on March 21; show to stream live on Netflix

SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Yonhap) -- K-pop phenomenon BTS will stage a large-scale comeback show at Seoul's Gwanghwamun Square on March 21 to mark the release of its fifth studio album "Arirang," with the event to be broadcast live worldwide on Netflix, the group's agency announced.

BigHit Music said Tuesday the septet will hold the "BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang" show at 8 p.m. at the square in the heart of the capital to unveil the lead track and other songs from the upcoming album for the first time.

The agency said it will be the first-ever standalone concert by a K-pop act at the venue.

BTS previously performed using the Geunjeongjeon hall and the Gyeonghoeru pavilion of Gyeongbok Palace near the square as the backdrops for a special "BTS Week" segment on the U.S. NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in 2020.

The new show, coming around 5 1/2 years later in central Seoul, is being billed as a symbolic fresh start for the group.

The Gwanghwamun event will be streamed live on Netflix in more than 190 countries across the world, the agency said, marking the first time a major Korea-based event will go out in real time on the platform worldwide.

Describing "Arirang" as an album that captures the band's origins, identity and current emotions, BigHit said the venue was chosen for the comeback stage as it represents the country and matches the strong symbolic weight the title carries --"Arirang" being Korea's most famous folk song and the anthem of the Korean soul.

Netflix will also release a documentary film, "BTS: The Return," on March 27, which follows the band as it prepares its first new full-length album in about three years and nine months, according to the agency.

The 14-track album "Arirang" is due out at 1 p.m. on March 20.

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