I'll be honest, as someone who has professionally helped organise large-scale events, the issues being reported from Day 1 of Arirang in Busan (12 June 2026) don't point to failures by BTS or BigHit/HYBE. Instead, they appear to be failures in venue operations, crowd management, and local event execution.
Based on what we've seen from attendees, the primary failures appear to sit with:
• Government representatives
• Venue management
• Local event organisers
• Security contractors
Reports from the timeline include:
• Significant delays getting attendees into the venue
• Poor crowd management and queue control
• Gift distribution that appears to have been poorly planned
• Technical issues with NOL FacePass verification
• Reports of inadequate medical staffing, equipment, and emergency response resources
• Poorly managed entry points
• Reports of unprofessional conduct from some security staff towards attendees
• Public transport operating on normal schedules despite the event running significantly late
• Traffic police directing attendees away from the venue while tens of thousands of people were simultaneously attempting to access buses, trains, taxis, and rideshares
• Insufficient transport and crowd-dispersal planning for the volume of people leaving the stadium at once
Having attended Yet To Come in 2022, I still remember how difficult it was to leave the venue. At one point, the crowd density became high enough that I was genuinely concerned about crowd crush. That's why transport planning and crowd dispersal aren't minor operational details - they're critical safety measures.
BigHit/HYBE are renting the venue and producing the show, but venue operations, crowd control, security staffing, emergency services, transport coordination, and infrastructure are often managed locally through the venue, local organisers, contractors, and government agencies.
What stands out to me is that if this level of operational dysfunction were primarily a BigHit/HYBE issue, we'd expect to see similar problems at BTS concerts everywhere. Instead, we continue to see recurring concerns associated with this specific venue and its management.
Unfortunately, BigHit/HYBE are the most visible organisation attached to the event, so they're often the first to receive criticism when something goes wrong. However, based on the issues being reported, many of these failures fall within the responsibilities of venue management, local event organisers, security providers, transport coordinators, and government agencies.
As someone who has worked on large-scale events, I think it's important that accountability is directed at the parties actually responsible for each aspect of event delivery. Not every operational failure at a BTS concert is automatically a BigHit/HYBE failure, particularly when the same concerns continue to emerge around the same venue and local management structures.
Happy 13th our Bangtan!!! Thank you for giving us 13 yrs of amazing music & stories that help us make our real life more fun, comforted & honestly bearable. You have been our source of happiness & comfort esp in times where we feel the most alone. Here's to more years w/ you! 💜
❤️Come Over playlists!❤️
Spotify 🟢:
Come Over to Setlist: https://t.co/2Tv2yxWxya
Come Over to FESTA: https://t.co/2J9vkG7OhE
Come Over to Prod Suga: https://t.co/Rf0EbdtxOg
Come Over to Solo Songs: https://t.co/6fUnCaJrdA
PH ARMYS‼️ REPOST AND SPREAD OUR PH GOALS FOR 'COME OVER' RELEASE THIS COMING JUNE 12. Let us stream harder as a gift for their 13th anniversary. Every stream and purchase counts. Let’s do this together for Bangtan 💜
#ComeOver#BTS#2026BTSFESTA#BTS13thAnniversary
Now that ticketing is done, let’s focus our energy on “COME OVER” 🔥
Check these PH goals! 👀
PH ARMYs, let’s give this FESTA release the support it deserves and make noise across all platforms 🇵🇭✨
Every stream and purchase counts. Let’s do this together for Bangtan 💜
#ComeOver #BTS #2026BTSFESTA #BTS13thAnniversary
🎵 Come Over Digital Release
Come Over is coming out today! Let's get ready by promoting our funding fanbases. 💸
Feel free to share and rt as we count it down.
Come Over Release info 👇🏽
https://t.co/YCzvhl8fDw