BTS' upcoming free concert in Busan has been plagued with issues in the past weeks. But this time, the Busan government is reportedly not paying the expenses to host the concert.
Keep on reading to know more.
Busan Government Reportedly Not Sponsoring BTS' Upcoming Free Concert
As the honorary ambassadors, BTS has been working with the Busan government to help raise the city's bid for the World Expo 2030 by promoting South Korea's nature and culture. As such, one of the events BTS will be participating in is a free concert by the group, BTS 'Yet to Come' in Busan, this coming October.
However, the upcoming concert has been entangled in numerous issues since its announcement, from safety issues to capacity, and more.
Recently on September 7 KST, it was reported that Busan government officials are refusing to pay the related expenses to make the concert happen.
BTS 'Yet to Come' in Busan
According to officials, around ₩7 billion KRW ($5 million USD) is needed to fund BTS' concert, which will be held on October 15 KST at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium. As this will be a BTS concert, a lot of money is needed to fund the necessary stage equipment.
Based on reports, BTS in Busan is hosted and managed by the group's agency HYBE, with sponsorship by Busan. Other companies are also reportedly participating as sponsors for the event. However, major companies such as Samsung, LG, Lotte, CJ, Hyundai, SK, and more, have reportedly not received any official request for sponsorship.
This means that if the event does not gather enough sponsorships before the concert, HYBE will have to shoulder the costs of the entire concert or the remaining funds needed, as the Busan government is reportedly not going to be paying for it.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: HYBE Announces BTS 'Yet To Come' Concert in Busan: Tickets, Date, Streaming, More Details
Netizens Criticize Busan Government for Not Funding BTS' Concert
Following the reports and with questions regarding who is paying for the related expenses, netizens have begun criticizing the Busan government for expecting a free concert by BTS.
Others have even accused the government of "scamming" HYBE and BTS, as Busan will likely reap the benefits while the company will have to face a deficit.
Some comments from netizens read:
"Busan should also be sharing the cost of sponsorship, what are you guys doing?"
"Let's not do it, this has to be a joke. So basically, they are putting all of the work on the company to prepare for the concert. So they are basically doing charity work?"
"The way Busan has been managing this is just legendary... I bet that even HYBE did not expect a public institution to be such thugs... Busan, seriously what are you doing? All you did was ask the artists to perform and you think that this is it? This is incompetent and shameless."
"Who said that they wanted a 100,000 audience concert in the first place? Why would HYBE go through all of this trouble? This event is just pushing them to the limit."
"Are they even real? Do you think that this makes sense? They are asking BTS to do everything? This is a total power trip."
What do you think of the issue?
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Written by Robyn Joan
