BTS cancels 'Map of the Soul: 7' Seoul concert for 'safety reasons' as Coronavirus concerns takeover K-pop
BTS' album 'Map of the Soul: 7' has already broken several records and opened to critical acclaim and commercial success, but sadly Korean fans who helped this album surpass all the group's previous records will not get to see them perform it live.
Seoul ARMYs have been left disappointed as Big Hit Entertainment announced they would be canceling the Seoul shows for BTS' 'MOTS: 7' concert.
The announcement went out through a tweet from the official Twitter account of Big Hit Entertainment and simply read "[Notice] #BTS / Map of the Soul Tour - Seoul Concert Cancellation Notice (canceled due to safety reasons..)" and linked to their full official statement on Weverse.
It read: "While we hope that the situation will improve, we must take into consideration the health and safety of hundreds of thousands of guests as well as our artists and the dire impact a last-minute cancellation may have on guests from overseas, production companies and staff."
"We have thus determined that with approximately one month left before the Seoul concert is set to begin, it is unavoidable that the concert must be canceled without further delay," it continued.
The statement added, "Please understand that this decision was made after extensive and careful consideration in order to cooperate with the government's measures on restricting public events as well as municipal advisories on the use of cultural and sports facilities."
Big Hit's announcement also confirmed they will be refunding all the tickets for these concert dates. Emotions in South Korea have been running high due to the Coronavirus, or 'COVID-19'.
AOA's Seolhyun recently came under fire for posting pictures of herself on vacation in New York at a time when the country is dealing with the spread of a deadly virus — COVID-19 has hit South Korea especially hard with over 1700 confirmed cases as of this week.
The city of Daegu appears to have been hit the worst, but nonetheless, multiple events, shows, and concerts in Seoul have been canceled due to health and safety concerns.
Big Hit also recently shifted BTS' Seoul press conference for 'MOTS: 7' online due to fears around the spread of coronavirus. Due to this, the scheduled press and fan attendance was canceled and questions were emailed prior to the conference and answered during a Q&A session.
While fans are upset about not being able to watch BTS perform 'MOTS: 7' live, they were generally supportive of Big Hit's decision and sent out well wishes for BTS as well as messages of solidarity towards Korean ARMYs.
Meanwhile, celebrities in South Korea have been doing their best to support the relief efforts, which has come as a welcome move for South Koreans who are having difficulty accessing the supplies they need.
Baek Ji-young, Park Myung-soo, B.I., and T-Ara's Hyomin have all donated medical masks to help people safeguard themselves from the spreading virus.
Others including actors Lee Byung-hun ('Terminator: Genisys'), Song Joong-ki, Gong Yoo ('Goblin'), Park Shin-hye and Park Bo-young, TV personalities Yoo Jae-suk and Kang Ho Dong, idols Suzy, IU, Got7's JB, ASTRO's Cha Eun-woo, Sunmi, and Girl's Day's Hyeri as well as YouTuber Risabae are among many who have sent in monetary donations ranging from $8,221 (₩10 million) all the way up to $1,64,422 (₩200 million) to help fight against COVID-19.