Held over two days starting on the 12th at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium, BTS's "ARIRANG" World Tour concert in Busan attracted approximately 110,000 spectators inside the venue. However, even fans who were unable to secure tickets still flocked to the city to experience the festive atmosphere, bringing the total number of people gathered around the event to an estimated 200,000.

A cultural industry insider who was present in Busan commented, "While the Busan International Film Festival has strived for years to build its status as a global event, BTS turned Busan into an international city in just two days. Being here on-site, I truly felt that the status and market power of K-pop are far greater than imagined."

To cope with this mαѕѕive influx of visitors, Incheon International Airport even increased its immigration and customs inspection workforce by 88% compared with normal days. Meanwhile, at the subway stations, seemingly endless lines of fans waiting to board trains forced the operating authorities to implement a series of special measures to prevent chaos!

According to information released by the Busan Transportation Corporation on the 15th, the total number of pαѕѕengers using the subway system during BTS's concert on the 12th and 13th exceeded 2.12 million. Approximately 1.133 million pαѕѕengers were recorded on the 12th, while 987,000 used the system on the 13th.

At Sports Complex Station on Line 3—the station closest to the concert venue—pαѕѕenger traffic exceeded 82,000 on the 12th and 78,000 on the 13th, representing increases of 497% and 623%, respectively, compared with ordinary days. Sajik Station also welcomed nearly 50,000 pαѕѕengers over the two-day period, far surpαѕѕing its daily average.

Anticipating the risk of severe overcrowding as hundreds of thousands of people traveled before and after the concert, the Busan Transportation Corporation activated a special transportation plan. Subway operating hours were extended by one hour, while a total of 249 additional train services were added across Lines 1 through 4.

Because gate admission on the first day was delayed, causing the concert to begin later than scheduled, the corporation flexibly adjusted its operating plan based on conditions at the venue. These adjustments included delaying the departure time of the final trains and deploying additional services. In particular, every available train on Line 3 was mobilized to accommodate the extraordinary surge in pαѕѕenger demand before and after the performance.

Alongside transportation operations, security was also treated as the highest priority. Throughout the concert period, a total of 210 additional security personnel were deployed, equivalent to 105 staff members per day, at major stations including Sports Complex, Yeonsan, and Gwangan. At Sports Complex Station alone, approximately 120 personnel were stationed each day to provide on-site guidance and maintain order, including 72 ρσℓι¢є officers and two interpreters to αѕѕist international visitors.

In addition, South кσяєα's first multilingual electronic ticketing service and a simplified credit card payment system played an important role in easing congestion by significantly reducing the time required for overseas visitors to purchase tickets.

Thanks to thorough preparations and close coordination among the relevant authorities, hundreds of thousands of fans were able to travel safely despite the unprecedented surge in pαѕѕenger numbers. Lee Byung-jin, President of the Busan Transportation Corporation, stated, "With the concert of global artist BTS bringing a vast number of domestic and international visitors to our metro system, we were able to safely complete this large-scale transportation operation thanks to the active cooperation of citizens and tourists, alongside the dedicated efforts of our executives and staff."

Following numerous controversies surrounding soaring accommodation prices and the inadequate gate entry management by the Busan Asiad organizers—which drew criticism from fans—Busan Metro at least managed to restore part of the city's image in the eyes of concertgoers. Some fans commented directly, expressing their appreciation: "I'm so grateful they made accommodations for the first day late start. So grateful that army were careful and safe", "That is such an incredible number of people. At least Busan Metro did well", "The lines were long, but everything stayed organized. Amazing job!", "This is what proper planning for a BTS concert looks like",...