On Saturday, BTS, a k-pop boy group, performed a concert in Busan. The concert was to support South Korea’s bid to host the World Expo in 2030.
The free concert called ‘BTS <Yet To Come> in BUSAN’ was performed in a stadium and attended by about 52,000 people.
According to Busan Metropolitan City, roughly 100,000 people visited the stadium and other areas in the city for the concert. Some fans watched the live event on large screens in viewing areas.
This past June, the group announced that the seven members would take a break from BTS to try solo projects. Some people worried about the future of the group.
Jin, BTS’ oldest member, turns 30 next year and must complete South Korea’s mandatory military service. However, the defense minister of South Korea said that BTS may be able to perform concerts overseas while in the military.
Normally, South Korean men have to join the military sometime between 18 and 28 years old. However, in 2019, the law was changed so world famous k-pop stars could postpone their military service until age 30.
In July, BTS was named official representatives for the World Expo in 2030 in Busan, South Korea. South Korea, Italy, Ukraine, and Saudi Arabia have bid to host the expo. A winner will be chosen next year.
In 2021, BTS became the first music group from Asia to win the artist of the year at the American Music Awards.
VOCABULARY
- K-pop – Korean pop music;
- Perform – to entertain people by dancing, singing, acting, or playing music
- Bid – an offer to do something when you are competing with other people to do it; an attempt or effort to achieve something
- Host – to organize or hold an event; provide space for an event
- Attend – be present at a place or event; to go to an event; to be at an event
- According to – as ‘someone’ said; as stated by ‘someone’; in the opinion of ‘someone’
- Roughly – about; around; approximately
- Announce – share information openly; to tell the public; to make a statement; to report
- Solo – alone; individually; just one
- Mandatory – required; necessary; have to; obligatory
- Military service – time spent serving/working in the army, navy, air force, etc.
- Defense minister – a government person who is responsible for military and defense of the country
- Law – a rule, regulation, or guideline set by the government
- Postpone – to delay; to reschedule for a later time; to put off; to push back;
- Representative – someone who speaks or does something officially for another person or group of people; a person who has been chosen to act or make decisions for other people
Original story from Reuters below:
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