Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea

This article is by Yoo Ji-yoen and read by an artificial voice.

When K-pop megaband BTS held its comeback performance in Seoul on March 21 to celebrate the release of its fifth studio album "Arirang," the group appeared in black-and-white ensembles that resembled ink landscape drawings against the painted eaves of Gwanghwamun, the main gate of Gyeongbok Palace.

The members' outfits, designed by the Korean label Songzio, came as a surprise, considering that most of them serve as ambassadors for global luxury houses, including Dior, Gucci and Celine.

More striking still was the restraint. Given the symbolism of the performance's royal backdrop and the group's status as a global representative of Korea, the outfits could easily have tipped into something overtly traditional. Instead, the band's stylists and its clothing designer opted for subtlety, allowing the nuances of hanbok, or traditional Korean clothing, to surface through soft lines and sculptural volume.

"We incorporated the flexibility of hanbok so that the performers could move freely onstage," said Song Jae-woo, the creative director of Songzio and the mind behind the "Lyrical Armor" theme of the band's outfits.

BTS's choice of clothing marks a shift in the stature of Korean fashion, or K-fashion, which has long existed on the margins of mainstream global culture compared to K-pop.

However, armed with distinctly Korean elements, a refined aesthetic and a keen awareness of trends, K-fashion — particularly Korean designers — has gained momentum on the powerful tail wind of K-pop, achieving a global presence stronger than at any point in time before.

A few days before BTS's Gwanghwamun performance, singer EJAE wore a custom white dress adorned with bold gold ornaments across the bodice and sleeves to the 98th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, where she won Best Original Song for the Netflix animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" (2025).

According to the Korean designer brand Leje, which designed EJAE's dress for the ceremony, the embroidery drew inspiration from the mugunghwa, or hibiscus flower motif, used in a ceremonial robe worn by Kim Ga-jin (1846-1923) — an official of the Korean Empire (1897-1910) and independence activist — in 1905. The metalwork, which evokes the form of ancient Korean crowns, was crafted by a traditional artisan specializing in brass.

Founded in 2018 by designers Je Yang-mo and Kang Ju-hyeong, Leje has built a reputation for combining intricate pattern-making with handcrafted elements.

The brand gained wider attention through collaborations with Jennie of Blackpink, who wore a Leje dress accented with metalwork in a Seoul tourism campaign video last year. At the 2025 Melon Music Awards, she appeared onstage in a Leje veil and jacket emblazoned with hangul.

"There has been a growing desire among K-pop artists to incorporate Korean elements into their stage outfits as their global stature rises," said Je Yang-mo, the designer behind Leje. "But rather than something too obvious, they want designs that reinterpret tradition in a contemporary way — something that feels beautiful and relatable even to international audiences."

The global fashion industry has begun to take notice.

Pitti Uomo, the world's largest menswear trade fair, which takes place in Florence, selected the Korean brand Post Archive Faction, the brainchild of designers Lim Dong-jun and Jung Su-gyo, as a guest designer last year. The Korean label Ji Yong Kim received the same honor this year .

Pitti Uomo's guest designer program, which offers a select few designers the opportunity to present solo shows and exhibitions, is among the fair's most prominent platforms. Past participants include Virgil Abloh's Off-White, JW Anderson and Sacai.

Global brands have also begun to ride the K-fashion wave. Last year, Nike released a sneaker collection in collaboration with the Korean label Hyein Seo — its first partnership with a Korean designer brand.

The shift is also reflected in sales. At Se...

This article is by Cho Jung-woo and read by an artificial voice.

When 32-year-old Kim Ji-hye visited the Gwanghwamun area in central Seoul for K-pop megastar BTS's much-anticipated comeback show last month, the seven members were not the only spectacle that caught her eye.

It was the towering digital billboards, large and small, blended with statues of Admiral Yi Sun-shin and King Sejong in a scene she had not expected to encounter.

"As I sat in the middle of Gwanghwamun Square that day, I was struck by how the space was surrounded by billboards, like New York's Times Square," Kim, a Seoul resident, said, recalling an earlier visit to the U.S. commercial and tourist hub, also known as "crossroads of the world", where she had marveled at the bright displays.

"To me, Gwanghwamun felt even more compelling, given that historic sites like Gyeongbok Palace and statues of Admiral Yi Sun-shin and King Sejong stand nearby, where the past and present coexist," she added.

The historic area, which hosts heritage sites like those Kim mentioned, has begun incorporating digital billboards as part of an effort to reshape it into a media-rich destination. The shift reflects a broader attempt to move beyond traditional monuments toward urban spaces with light and digital imagery.

In December 2023, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety designated a 221,815-square-meter (55-acre) stretch around Gwanghwamun Square and Sejong-daero in Jongno District as a "free outdoor advertising zone." The designation relaxes regulations on large-scale displays, part of a government push to promote tourism and the digital advertising industry.

While the effort excites some, others complain that the project damages the cityscape and causes light pollution. Amid contrasting views, can Gwanghwamun successfully become the Korean version of Times Square?

How it hopes to transform

Under the government's so-called Gwanghwamun Square project, nine buildings in the area are slated to host large digital billboards between January 2024 and the end of this year, as part of the first stage.

So far, four out of nine billboards have been installed on the KT Gwanghwamun West Building, Koreana Hotel, Dong-A Media Center and Segwang Building. The five others set to feature digital signage are Gwanghwamun Building, which houses Donghwa Duty Free, Ilmin Museum of Art, Kyobo Life Insurance Building, Kukho Building and Dajeong Building.

"The remaining buildings are included in the plan, but they may vary," a Jongno District official in charge of the project said.

"Given that it is a project fully funded by the private sector, we are waiting for building owners' approvals."

The buildings mentioned have been selected for the project, but the installation of digital billboards depends on the landlords' decisions.

If approval is granted, the city government will conduct an assessment for the installation.

The iconic billboard of the Kyobo Building, which features comforting phrases, is also among them, pending approval, as it faces a dilemma over whether to replace the meaningful billboard with a digital one.

The Koreana Hotel currently features a 1,303-square-meter digital billboard, while the KT building has two LED displays spanning 1,770-square-meter. Typically, such digital billboards are limited to 225 square meters per building.

In 2023, the Gwanghwamun area was selected as the free outdoor advertising zone along with Myeongdong Special Tourist Zone and Busan's Haeundae. The area near Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, was selected in the first round in 2016. The ministry plans to designate more areas this year.

These zones are advised to allocate 30 percent of their daily display time to noncommercial content, such as media art and public information.

Times Square of Seoul?

New York's Times Square has frequently been cited by Korean government officials as a model for Gwanghwamun's transformation into a media canvas. But whether Gwanghwamun can replicate its succes...

This article is by Yoo Ji-yoen and read by an artificial voice.

When K-pop megaband BTS held its comeback performance in Seoul on March 21 to celebrate the release of its fifth studio album "Arirang," the group appeared in black-and-white ensembles that resembled ink landscape drawings against the painted eaves of Gwanghwamun, the main gate of Gyeongbok Palace.

The members' outfits, designed by the Korean label Songzio, came as a surprise, considering that most of them serve as ambassadors for global luxury houses, including Dior, Gucci and Celine.

More striking still was the restraint. Given the symbolism of the performance's royal backdrop and the group's status as a global representative of Korea, the outfits could easily have tipped into something overtly traditional. Instead, the band's stylists and its clothing designer opted for subtlety, allowing the nuances of hanbok, or traditional Korean clothing, to surface through soft lines and sculptural volume.

"We incorporated the flexibility of hanbok so that the performers could move freely onstage," said Song Jae-woo, the creative director of Songzio and the mind behind the "Lyrical Armor" theme of the band's outfits.

BTS's choice of clothing marks a shift in the stature of Korean fashion, or K-fashion, which has long existed on the margins of mainstream global culture compared to K-pop.

However, armed with distinctly Korean elements, a refined aesthetic and a keen awareness of trends, K-fashion — particularly Korean designers — has gained momentum on the powerful tailwind of K-pop, achieving a global presence stronger than at any point in time before.

A few days before BTS's Gwanghwamun performance, singer EJAE wore a custom white dress adorned with bold gold ornaments across the bodice and sleeves to the 98th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, where she won Best Original Song for the Netflix animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" (2025).

According to the Korean designer brand Leje, which designed EJAE's dress for the ceremony, the embroidery drew inspiration from the mugunghwa, or hibiscus flower motif, used in a ceremonial robe worn by Kim Ga-jin (1846-1923) — an official of the Korean Empire (1897-1910) and independence activist — in 1905. The metalwork, which evokes the form of ancient Korean crowns, was crafted by a traditional artisan specializing in brass.

Founded in 2018 by designers Je Yang-mo and Kang Ju-hyeong, Leje has built a reputation for combining intricate pattern-making with handcrafted elements.

The brand gained wider attention through collaborations with Jennie of Blackpink, who wore a Leje dress accented with metalwork in a Seoul tourism campaign video last year. At the 2025 Melon Music Awards, she appeared onstage in a Leje veil and jacket emblazoned with hangul.

"There has been a growing desire among K-pop artists to incorporate Korean elements into their stage outfits as their global stature rises," said Je Yang-mo, the designer behind Leje. "But rather than something too obvious, they want designs that reinterpret tradition in a contemporary way — something that feels beautiful and relatable even to international audiences."

The global fashion industry has begun to take notice.

Pitti Uomo, the world's largest menswear trade fair, which takes place in Florence, selected the Korean brand Post Archive Faction, the brainchild of designers Lim Dong-jun and Jung Su-gyo, as a guest designer last year. The Korean label Ji Yong Kim received the same honor this year .

Pitti Uomo's guest designer program, which offers a select few designers the opportunity to present solo shows and exhibitions, is among the fair's most prominent platforms. Past participants include Virgil Abloh's Off-White, JW Anderson and Sacai.

Global brands have also begun to ride the K-fashion wave. Last year, Nike released a sneaker collection in collaboration with the Korean label Hyein Seo — its first partnership with a Korean designer brand.

The shift is also reflected in sales. At Seo...

This article is by Sarah Chea and read by an artificial voice.

[EXPLAINER]

While U.S. President Donald Trump touts American crude as an alternative for allies facing Iran-linked supply disruptions, the idea can sound fanciful — nowhere more so than in Korea.

On paper, U.S. crude is competitive and lower in sulfur, making it easier to refine. Still, industry insiders agree that U.S. supply cannot fully replace Middle Eastern imports, which account for 70 percent of Korea's total.

The constraint is not about volume; rather, it lies in the structure of Korea's refining system, which is optimized for heavy, viscous crude.

Though a non-oil-producing nation, Korea ranks among the world's top refiners, with total capacity placing it roughly fifth globally. Three of Korea's four refiners — SK Energy, GS Caltex, and S-Oil — operate three of the five largest single-site refineries on Earth.

Why, then, does a country so technologically adept at refining remain unable to make U.S. crude its mainstream feedstock, even amid ample supply?

Q. Why can't U.S. crude become mainstream in Korea?

Several factors are at play, but the decisive constraint lies in Korea's industrial architecture and the hardware that underpins it. Feed U.S. barrels into the system, and then refining efficiency drops sharply.

Korean refiners are designed for heavy, viscous, high-sulfur crude from the Middle East, and firms have poured fortunes into upgrading units to crack such grades into higher-value products like gasoline and diesel. The feedstock is foul-smelling and residue-laden, but once processed, it yields diesel, jet fuel and naphtha, which are the petrochemical backbone.

At major Korean refiners, about 30 percent of refining capacity is dedicated to upgrading processes, roughly twice the global average of 10 to 15 percent. In the case of HD Hyundai Oilbank, that share exceeds 40 percent.

By contrast, U.S. oil is light and sweet, which underperforms in Korea's configuration. Processing isn't impossible, but it reshapes the product slate, such as reducing jet fuel output, and erodes profitability within a system optimized for heavier grades.

"From the 1970s, when refining infrastructure was first built, Middle Eastern crude dominated. The system was engineered accordingly," said researcher Chang Tae-hun of the Korea Energy Economics Institute.

"Also, asphalt, a by-product of heavy crude processing, coincided with Korea's construction boom at the time."

As an export-driven manufacturing economy, Korea consumes far more diesel than gasoline, fueling trucks, ships and heavy machinery that serve as the backbone of livelihood-driven enterprise.

U.S. crude tends to skew toward gasoline yields, while Middle Eastern grades produce relatively more diesel and kerosene.

Q. What about the economics, more broadly?

Distance — and the costs it compounds — remains a decisive handicap.

When using Middle Eastern crude, refining costs are low compared to U.S. oil, pricing can be stabilized through long-term contracts, and transit to Korea takes only some 20 to 23 days.

But the United States sits far outside Korea's natural supply basin; Very large crude carriers often cannot pass narrow canals and must round Africa's Cape of Good Hope, stretching voyages to more than 50 days, over twice as long as Middle Eastern routes.

Freight costs rise, and once marine insurance is factored in, the gap in total landed costs widens further.

"Refining units are highly sensitive, so running the wrong light crude through them means risking corroding costly equipment," said a source at a major refiner in Korea. "While U.S. light crude already carries a freight and logistics disadvantage, if Middle Eastern supply is readily available, it is hard to see any refiner diversifying with ease."

Q. How severe is Korea's dependence on Middle Eastern crude?

Currently, roughly 70 percent of Korea's crude imports come from the Middle East, and of that, 99 percent passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Pre...

Roh Jeong-tae

The author is a writer and senior fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.

On April 13, 1598, Henry IV of France issued a royal decree in the city of Nantes in Brittany, granting broad religious freedoms to French Protestants, known as the Huguenots. The decree, later called the Edict of Nantes, allowed them full civil rights and permitted public worship throughout most of the country, with the notable exception of Paris.

To address persistent tensions between Protestants and Catholics, the edict also established special courts known as the Chambre de l'Édit, which were tasked with handling legal disputes involving Huguenots. The proclamation marked a decisive step toward stabilizing a deeply divided society.

The Edict of Nantes effectively brought an end to France's prolonged religious civil wars, commonly referred to as the Huguenot Wars. At the time, Europe was gripped by sectarian conflict so intense that even members of the same family could be divided between Protestantism and Catholicism. In France, these hostilities had persisted for more than three decades.

Amid this turmoil, Henry of Navarre — who would later become Henry IV — emerged as a central figure. Despite leading the militarily weaker Protestant faction, he succeeded in consolidating forces and gaining control over most regions of France outside Paris. Complicated dynastic ties eventually placed him first in line to the French throne, and he ascended as king, uniting the crowns of Navarre and France under a Protestant ruler.

Once in power, however, Henry IV made a pivotal decision. Recognizing the importance of religious unity for national stability, he converted to Catholicism and entered Paris, where he was crowned at Notre-Dame Cathedral. By embracing the traditional faith of France, he sought to legitimize his rule in the eyes of the Catholic majority.

At the same time, Henry IV used his authority as king to extend protections to Protestants, ensuring their right to practice their faith. The Edict of Nantes thus represented not only a landmark in religious tolerance but also a carefully calculated political compromise.

The decision was not without controversy. Many Huguenots resented the king's conversion, while Catholics remained uneasy about granting concessions to a former Protestant leader. Yet both sides ultimately accepted the arrangement crafted by Henry IV, recognizing that an imperfect compromise was preferable to endless conflict.

More than four centuries later, the legacy of the Edict of Nantes continues to resonate. It stands as a reminder that pragmatic compromise, even when incomplete, can provide a path forward in times of deep division — an insight that remains relevant in contemporary political life.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

Cho Hyun-suk

The author is the economy news editor of the JoongAng Ilbo.

On June 10, 2000, the Millennium Bridge opened across the River Thames in London. Built over two years at a cost of 18.2 million pounds ($22.7 million), the pedestrian bridge was meant to mark the new millennium. It later appeared in the film "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (2009), where it collapses under attack. The scene, while fictional, reflects a real vulnerability in the bridge's early history.

Just two days after opening, the bridge was closed due to severe swaying. Despite being supported by high-strength steel cables capable of bearing thousands of tons, the structure began to move when large crowds gathered. At first, the cause was unclear, prompting a major investigation.

Engineers soon found the explanation. Like many suspension bridges, the Millennium Bridge was designed to allow slight movement to absorb external forces. On its opening weekend, more than 160,000 people crossed it. Small lateral movements appeared. Pedestrians then began, unconsciously, to adjust their steps to the rhythm of the swaying.

As more people synchronized their movements, the effect intensified. The bridge eventually swayed up to 20 centimeters from side to side. Fear spread that it might collapse. Public complaints followed, leading to a prolonged closure, design modifications and reinforcement. The phenomenon, later identified as synchronous lateral excitation, had not been anticipated.

Five years later, the Millennium Bridge case resurfaced at the annual Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming. The gathering brings together central bank governors and economists to discuss global economic issues. At the 2005 meeting, two relatively young economists took the stage.

Their presentations drew significant attention. They warned that a financial system tied together by complex derivatives could collapse in a chain reaction, triggering a widespread economic crisis. At the time, global markets were stable and expanding. Ben Bernanke, then chair of the Federal Reserve, described the period as the "Great Moderation." Against that backdrop, their warnings were considered unconventional and drew strong criticism from established economists.

One of the speakers cited the Millennium Bridge. He argued that computer stress tests for structures typically focus on external shocks such as storms, earthquakes or weight loads. The opening-day instability might have been dismissed as a rare "perfect storm." In reality, however, the conditions that caused the instability were built into the system and could occur repeatedly. The point was clear: Risks embedded within a system may remain invisible until a critical threshold is crossed, but once that point is reached, collapse becomes difficult to prevent.

Three years later, the global financial crisis erupted, beginning with the U.S. subprime mortgage collapse. The warnings proved prescient. The two economists went on to become leading figures in the field. One was Raghuram Rajan, then chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and later governor of the Reserve Bank of India. The other was Shin Hyun-song, former economic adviser and head of research at the Bank for International Settlements, who has been nominated as governor of the Bank of Korea. Shin was the one who used the Millennium Bridge example.

Yet understanding risk and managing it are different matters. Rajan, who became India's central bank governor in 2013, pursued financial reforms and interest rate increases to stabilize inflation. He soon faced resistance. Critics argued that his policies reflected a perspective shaped by global financial institutions rather than India's domestic conditions. He was even labeled "anti-national" by some critics, according to India's The Economic Times. After clashes with political leaders, he did not secure a second term and stepped down after three years.

Shin now stands before what could be described as Korea's own Mille...

Choi Hoon

The author is a senior columnist at the JoongAng Ilbo.

Korea's biggest concern arising from the Iran war was U.S. President Donald Trump's request to join operations in the Strait of Hormuz. Washington asked five countries, including Korea, China, Japan, Britain and France, to send naval vessels, warning that it would remember who participated. For Seoul, an outright refusal was not easy. The Korean War, in which 36,591 American troops were killed, still weighs heavily on the alliance.

The episode highlights a central dilemma of alliances: entrapment versus abandonment. Entrapment means being drawn into an ally's conflict and suffering losses or reduced autonomy. Abandonment means fearing that if such a request is refused, help may not come in one's own crisis. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified Washington's entry into the war as a pre-emptive response to an Israeli operation against Iran that could trigger attacks on the United States. That is precisely the logic of entrapment.

Abandonment and realignment are just as common. Until 1979, Iran was one of Washington's key allies, valued for its resources, its strategic position in the Middle East and the pro-Western Pahlavi monarchy. Decades later, it became a wartime enemy. Korea's dispatch of troops to Iraq under Roh Moo-hyun and its participation in the Vietnam War under Park Chung Hee were also shaped in part by fear that failure to support Washington could lead to a withdrawal or reduction of U.S. forces from Korea.

A classic lesson appears in "History of the Peloponnesian War" (431 B.C.) by Thucydides, especially in the Melian Dialogue. Athens demanded that neutral Melos submit, arguing that the strong do what they can while the weak suffer what they must. Melos refused, trusting justice, the gods and Sparta. The island was destroyed, and Sparta never came. Thucydides' point was stark: Moral conviction without a realistic reading of international conditions and without flexible compromise can bring ruin.

The Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty gives Seoul grounds to avoid participation in Hormuz operations, since it assumes an armed attack in the Pacific area against either party. The U.S. Congress, which holds the authority to declare war, also gave no prior approval. Trump seemed unprepared for the possibility of ground operations and a surge in oil prices. Above all, the future costs of involving Korea in one of the world's most volatile regions would be difficult to bear.

No one knows how Trump will respond to allied reluctance. But the issue extends beyond his personal reaction. Christopher Chivvis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace recently argued in Foreign Affairs that the United States should reassess its alliances and limit promises to those it is truly willing to keep. The standard, he wrote, should be whether an alliance strengthens the United States' competition with China. He noted that only a bare majority of U.S. citizens support sending U.S. forces if North Korea attacks, and said relations with Korea may also require reevaluation.

That suggests future disputes involving China, Taiwan, the South China Sea or the East China Sea could become major alliance risks for Korea. Seoul should first make its commitment to the alliance clear again to the U.S. government, public opinion and academic circles. The role of U.S. Forces Korea and extended deterrence backed by strategic assets must remain symbols of the alliance.

At the same time, the war may have reminded Trump that no international achievement is possible without allied support. Skipping prior consultation with allies was a mistake and exposed the limits of a businessman confronting the realities of international politics. On the basis of a strong alliance, Seoul and Washington need to clarify what kind of help can be given, and how, in a crisis.

Korea should also work more actively with middle powers to defend a rules-based international order. As Canadian Prime Mi...

Controversy is growing as Korea's fuel price cap enters its first month. Introduced amid uncertainty in crude oil supply, the policy is already showing unintended effects, including rising fuel consumption. There are also concerns that inconsistent implementation could expand fiscal burdens at a time when public finances are already under pressure.

Under the system, the government sets refinery supply prices every two weeks. The third round of prices, applied from Friday, remained unchanged from the previous round. This diverges from the government's earlier explanation that prices would reflect international oil trends. According to the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), a benchmark for the Asian market, gasoline prices rose 1.6 percent over the past two weeks, while diesel surged 23.7 percent and kerosene climbed 11.5 percent. Despite this, the government froze prices, citing the need to ease the burden on households. Diesel, widely used for freight and delivery, appears to have been a key consideration.

However, operating the system without clear principles risks widening the gap between market prices and regulated prices, which in turn increases fiscal costs. The difference must ultimately be covered by public funds. About 5 trillion won ($3.4 billion) has already been allocated in a supplementary budget. In addition, diesel is not used only by vulnerable consumers. It is also consumed by drivers of large SUVs and high-end imported cars. If the aim is to support those in need, more targeted assistance would be more appropriate than broad price controls.

Artificially suppressing prices has also led to higher consumption. Data from the Korea Petroleum Quality and Distribution Authority show that within two weeks of implementation, gasoline sales rose 24.7 percent and diesel sales increased 16.3 percent. This has occurred even as the government strengthened conservation measures, such as restricting the use of public vehicles. The result is a contradiction in which energy consumption rises despite efforts to reduce it.

At this stage, it is reasonable to question whether the price cap is an appropriate emergency measure. The more unconventional a policy, the greater the potential side effects that society must bear. To minimize these risks, the government must at least adhere to consistent principles in its operation.

At the same time, authorities should prepare an exit strategy to end the policy promptly once oil prices show signs of stabilization. Without such a plan, temporary intervention risks becoming prolonged distortion.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

This article is by Jin Eun-soo and read by an artificial voice.

Discounts on movie and performance tickets, along with a range of support measures, will be introduced to boost culture, tourism and sports industries, the Culture Ministry said Saturday.

Of the total, 65.6 billion won will be allocated to the film industry, which has yet to fully recover from the Covid-19 downturn.

A total of 4.5 million discounted movie tickets will be distributed. Each ticket will be discounted by 6,000 won. Discounted movie tickets have proven effective in revitalizing theaters. Last year, the average number of daily attendance reached 435,000 between July 25 and Sept. 2 — when the government issued the first batch of discounted movie tickets — about 80 percent higher than the average from Jan. 1 to July 24.

Another 38.5 billion won will be allocated to support the production of Korea's mid-budget and independent films.

The Culture Ministry also said it has created a living support fund for artists whose livelihoods have been threatened by the economic downturn. A total of 32.7 billion won will be set aside for this purpose, in addition to 30 billion won in financial support for the arts sector.

Performance tickets will also be discounted, with 400,000 tickets to be offered at a 10,000 won discount each.

In the tourism sector, 260 billion won of the supplementary budget has been allocated, 200 billion won of which will be used to support tourism businesses financially.

"The latest supplementary budget is an investment to preemptively respond to an emergency situation," said Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young in a release.

"The budget is expected to achieve two goals simultaneously: stabilizing livelihoods for artists and those in the tourism and cultural sectors, and revitalizing domestic demand and regional economies through increased consumption."

This article is by Shin Ha-nee and read by an artificial voice.

GOYANG, Gyeonggi — It felt like nothing less than a kings' procession when BTS circled the vast Goyang stadium on Saturday, with flags aloft and marching beats pounding through the chilly night air as the group declared, "I know what I am, I know what I want — I never gon' change."

The two-and-a-half-hour show that kicked off the world's biggest pop group's latest "Arirang" tour delivered exactly that: a regal spectacle shaped by performers long seasoned by intense global scrutiny. Meticulously crafted production values elevated the performance, weaving each staging and song together with seamless precision into an immersive, near-cinematic experience that paid homage to the group's Korean roots.

Following the release of its fifth full-length album, "Arirang," on March 20, BTS launched what is set out to become K-pop's largest tour to date — and also the group's first full-fledged world tour in more than six years — with three sold-out shows at Goyang Main Stadium in Gyeonggi on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, each drawing 44,000 attendees.

The stage was designed for 360-degree viewing, with four pillars topped by giant screens surrounding the central open stage, while four thrust stages extended toward each corner of the stadium.

While Thursday's opening show was hindered by pouring rain, the weather on Saturday — the night invited journalists attended — was ideal.

Perhaps helped by the favorable conditions, the explosive excitement of BTS's fans, known as ARMY, was palpable in the air.

Before the show began, as the sound of gayageum (traditional Korena zither) played alongside a visualizer displaying lyrics from Korean folk songs, fans chanted each member's name, shouted "BTS, BTS!" and waved their light sticks in synchronized audience movements, as if revving up for a grand takeoff.

About eight minutes past the scheduled 7 p.m. start, a lone runner suddenly emerged from the far end of one of the thrust stages holding a blazing red torch, dashing toward the main stage like an Olympic torchbearer. Then soon came the sound of clashing swords, cutting through blazing red flames and thick smoke to signal the start of "Hooligan."

With no walls enclosing the stage, the smoke itself became a curtain, first shrouding the members from view before slowly thinning to reveal a scene that resembled a dramatic battlefield after combat.

Heat from the pyrotechnics and the drifting smell of smoke added to the immersion as BTS launched into the hip-hop-heavy run of "Aliens" and "Run BTS" (2022), during which a circular two-story lift stage rose surrounded by LED screens.

"We prepared a lot to show you something new," Suga said at the start of the night. "We made a lot of effort with the stage, the set list and every element of the show, so it may feel a bit unfamiliar — but I hope you'll enjoy it through to the end."

True to the rapper's promise, the group leaned into several different experiments throughout the show. Creative effects and a large crew of dancers more than compensated for the relative lack of onstage installations and a notably less dense dance performance by BTS, instead turning each stage into a dramatic tableau with the surrounding sea of light sticks becoming part of the spectacle.

One of the production's strongest features was the seamless way songs flowed together within each thematic set.

In the medley from "they don't know 'bout us" to "like Animals," "Fake Love" (2018), "Swim" and "Merry Go Round," dancers and stage props flowed fluidly from one song to the next, transforming into living stage installations.

During "Swim," for example, sheets of white fabric became rolling ocean waves while cobalt blue laser beams from the edge of the stadium added a sense of depth. The same fabric then was repurposed into a carousel-like canopy for "Merry Go Round."

The intermission for the first costume change was also filled with symbolism, such as dancers carryi...