SPECIAL REPORT: BTS Arirang Tour at MetLife
BTS WORLD TOUR ARIRANG at MetLife Stadium
By Eun Byoul Oh
At the concert!
만나서 반가웠습니다! I thought about how to open this special report, and I thought the most appropriate phrase may be “it was great to meet you.” It was great to meet you ARMYs, and it was such an honor to see the members of BTS in person.
So… this all started in January, when Crystal Arnette asked me “Do you want to see BTS?” I was a little hesitant at first, because it takes a lot to take my little body to New Jersey, and especially to be part of an overwhelmingly large crowd – for those of you who are physically disabled, you know what I mean. It can take a toll to walk with a large group of people without falling with my cerebral palsy. Second, I was brought up quite conservative and religious, so I was just not ready for my first mega-stadium-sized-music-concert. I have only ever been to the Met Opera and classical recitals in my 32 years of life. So, yes – it felt strange that I got to go to a BTS concert for my first-ever pop concert!
However, after reviewing BTS’ ARIRANG album and realizing that I was working while having the full album playing in the background, I told her that I was in for the new adventure. As my students have said to me, “It’s about time that you go to a concert after teaching Korean for so long.”
Nikki, Justine, and Maya also came along with us, so I felt a little more comfortable about going to the venue. Part of ARMY culture is dressing up for the show and Crystal had wanted to make her own personally-designed jackets (Calvin Klein naturally) with embroidered lyrics of Into the Sun, and so we felt even more than ready for the journey.
We started out in K-town, visiting BTS Madang at the 한국문화원 – The Korean Cultural Center that recently opened on 32nd Street. There were people lined up at the venue, so we left the event space soon after. Of course, I have heard about people lining up for anything BTS related and my students struggling to get their concert tickets, but seeing the line in person made me feel more curious about what the line at the actual stadium will look like— I just told myself that I may be have to be more mentally prepared for the big crowd. I may pretend that I am an extroverted public speaker in my classes, but a large part of me is actually a secret introvert that avoids a large crowd.
Our MetLife Day 2 Crew with our custom jackets (Embroidery by No 1 Custom Embroidery in Bushwick)
On our way back, some ARMYs asked about how we had our jackets made, and gave us some freebies! I was quite delighted to meet ARMYs on the streets of K-town, because I could feel the community and the bond – I have been told about how wonderful ARMYs are, but it was cool to feel it in person.
Then we met up with Justine to grab a lunch of 야채 잡채, 야채 만두 and 콩국수 at The Kunjip before heading to Penn Station. We thought we may have ordered too much food, but I was glad that I had food when I got on to the train to New Jersey! The ride to Met Life Stadium was smoother than expected thanks to our group keeping me safe. I had no falls, no one ran into me, no one pushed me, I didn’t trip… It was one of the biggest concerns for me about the concert, so I have to say my biggest thank you to the crew that I was with! 감사합니다. Looking for elevators instead of escalators was at times difficult, but everyone was so helpful.
We got to the stadium rather early and as I looked around to see who was in the crowd, I saw diverse groups of people. People spoke different languages, different age groups, different races, different genders were all together in the line. For me, who has taught Korean language and culture for the last 12 years at KCCNYC, it was not really surprising to see how different people love Korean culture, but what made me intrigued was that everyone was there for their love for BTS and there was no hatred in the air. In the world that we live in right now, I often try to remind myself how people can be kind to each other despite their differences, and I believe that was what I saw waiting to go into the stadium. I think the wait in the line gave me a good pre-warmup for the concert.
The weather was not blazing, but a little murky and humid - and felt like a perfect day for a new chapter for a newbie ARMY. When we got into the venue, we got pictures of our jackets and Nikki and I got our light sticks. I got the key ring version of the light stick because I thought the full size may be too big to carry with my ambulatory balance issues. (Also, I thought it was a good keepsake to have to memorialize the moment.) Then we got some food and drinks before the concert and we were ready!
BTS performs “Run BTS” during the concert. Video by Crystal Arnette
I had seen the livestream of the concert once, but it was definitely something else to experience the whole stadium in person with the ARMY. The traditional music and the East Asian paintings shown on the large screens helped to establish the core identity of the album ARIRANG. Before the show began, we were reading the lyrics appearing on the screen.
I was still a bit overwhelmed by the energy of the crowd, but I was able to feel the excitement on my skin. By the time they were singing Hooligan and Aliens, I was quite surprised that I was singing along to the songs and seeing all the ARMY Bombs lit up in coordination was beautiful. Everyone seemed to enjoy being in the moment.
I really love the song Aliens because I think it speaks to the current climate around immigration in the U.S–how we treat the “Aliens,” the official term to refer to an immigrant in the field of immigration law. BTS, a group made up of seven Korean “Alien” boys are owning their heritage in the song, and singing it in front of 85,000 people in a stadium in the U.S. was such an empowering moment for me. Kim Gu, Korea’s independence leader who emphasized his wish for Korea to become culturally powerful, is mentioned in one of RM’s lines, as is the Korean music rhythm 중모리, and in the chorus where the lyrics drop the Korean Alphabet “from the 가 to the 하” is always fun to listen to. I mean, it’s really fun to listen to the songs with a deeper understanding of cultural elements, and KCCNYC would always welcome ARMYs who are going to start their journeys into the Korean language!
It was also a little different and significant for me to watch the show because this was their first concert after their Grammys announcement, so I found myself thinking about how music should serve as a universal language where we can bond over the culture and the emotions we share while overcoming differences. They may be Aliens in the U.S under this hostile climate, but they were on the stage loved by people from all different nations.
The screens on the stage really helped me to feel closer to the members of BTS. Although I was on the second floor, I was able to see the dancers and the members without missing much. What stood out to me was how the concert was really tied together with Korean elements. The colors used during the concert were obviously representations of the Taegeuk, showing the yin and yang symbol situated in the middle of the Korean flag. When the video medley played during the first intermission of the show, dancers came together to create the Taegeuk in the center of the stage and it became clearer to me that the tour showcases BTS’ roots as Korean idols. The 건곤감리 Geon, Gohn, Gam, Ri of the Korean flag are the black stripes in the four corners of the flag, symbolizes the four Korean elements–sky, land, water, and fire were clearly depicted in the videos as well. The colors were very pretty and I appreciated how the Korean symbols were integrated through the coordination of the stage, dancers, and the screen. After some research, I was able to verify that the stage design itself was based on the structure of 경회루 (Gyeonghoeru). The lighting on the stage also reflected the colors of Korea which ties back to the identity of the ARIRANG album. Looking at the artistic designs of the concert, one could sense the responsibility the members felt to anchor their identity as Koreans – especially after all the discourse of the Butter and Dynamite eras.
I have to say that when I heard Body to Body, and everyone singing the lyrics of Arirang, I was somewhat emotional, as I was thinking about the fact that this was happening in the middle of New Jersey in August – the month of Korean independence. Arirang was persecuted and singing it in Korean was banned during the Japanese occupation. It was one of the moments where I thought of the power of culture and language and how these boys – now men who just finished their military service – were proudly representing their own heritage. I sang my heart out to Arirang with the whole stadium, and it was fun to see everyone jump as soon as Namjoon said “I need the whole stadium to jump.” (I wish I had jumped a little more on the bleachers without being worried about falling.)
BTS performs Body To Body at MetLife while the stadium sings along. Video by Crystal Arnette.
Arirang is the epitome of Korean culture, as it encompasses the cultural pain and sorrow that Korea has traversed through millennia, surviving through multiple invasions and war. However, I think Arirang is ultimately a song of perseverance, and a song of solidarity and survival for Koreans. With Arirang roaring across Met Life, I felt a sense of patriotism, and I felt proud and weirdly surreal.
I also thought about all the years that I have taught at KCCNYC. I started teaching Korean in my early 20s and spent the last 12 years teaching classes, but I just don’t think that 20-year-old Eun Byoul could have ever imagined that she would witness everyone singing Arirang in Korean in a mega stadium in the U.S.
If you have known me for a long time, it may not be surprising that my anxiety kicked in around the middle of the concert, and I found myself having a bit of an existential crisis. While the members seemed to have fun with the whole stadium, I saw the hard effort that they had put in to establish themselves on their stage and not to let anyone down. I personally felt some real motivation as a person around their age – and I told myself that I will try harder to represent Korean culture in the best way that I can.
The members of BTS backstage at the concert. Photo by Big Hit Music.
I felt like I went back in time when I heard Fake Love, and Idol, but I was pleasantly surprised that I knew their hits well enough to sing them. My personal favorites in the ARIRANG album are Normal, they don’t know ’bout us, and Into the Sun, so I really enjoyed listening to them. The songs feel like they are talking about their own struggles as a boy band, worldwide famous, but struggling between the two cultures.
I thought Namjoon with his Pikachu headband looked a little silly, but cute. I think SUGA always catches my attention, Jin was handsome as always, and Jungkook and Jimin always amaze me with their vocals. I was a little worried about Jimin falling on the stage, but it must have been really sticky and humid to dance in that weather. J-hope was surprisingly well-versed, and really funny. I really appreciated that he tried to keep everyone engaged and together. Taehyung was gorgeous and hot (in all the ways) on the stage.
ARMYs were inspiring people with their good hearts and I certainly admired their energy, especially during the “ARMY Time” intermission. Everyone was not afraid to show their love for the members, and there was no judgment on where you are from, or how old they were!
[As a side note, I will have to admit that I was often called out by my parents and relatives for being “weird” or being the “black sheep” of the family for being obsessed with my fantasy genres or KDramas, so I often hid my “fan girl” persona throughout my life. I absolutely admire and was quite envious of the energy that ARMYs brought to the stadium to show their love for BTS.]
Many of our students are asking me who my bias is after seeing BTS live, and my answer is “not settled yet.” I was certainly surprised to know how many of my current and past students were there that night by the many texts I received after the concert.
I want to finish my concert report by saying “다음에 또 만나요!” although I am still recovering from my first ever stadium concert – I think I can do this only once every couple years – but I had so much fun!
And a special thank you to everyone who made sure that I got to the concert and back safely! 함께해서 즐거웠습니다! 보라해!
The MetLife Day 2 Crew: Crystal, Justine, Nicolette, Eun Byoul, and Maya
