BTS’s Gwanghwamun Concert Triggers Ridicule Toward LE SSERAFIM

Amid ongoing debates about the turnout at BTS’s free concert in Seoul on March 21, their fellow HYBE group, LE SSERAFIM, has found itself caught in unexpected criticism.

As BTS wrapped up their massive concert at Gwanghwamun Square, netizens began discussing how the crowd was measly compared to the projected numbers. It somehow brought up comparisons with LE SSERAFIM’s concert in Tokyo.

LE SSERAFIM took the stage at the iconic Tokyo Dome last year while on their Easy Crazy Hot tour. They performed at the venue on two successive days, cementing their popularity in Japan. However, the concerts also sparked some controversy after some audience members claimed that they had failed to sell out the entire venue.

Clips from those concerts have resurfaced on social media, mostly uploaded by Japanese netizens. Many complained that LE SSERAFIM’s Tokyo Dome concerts had empty seats on the second floor, implying that HYBE has a pattern of inflating concert footfall for all its artists.

ルセラの東京ドームも2階ガラガラだった https://t.co/EcBT3WmkZL pic.twitter.com/B6M8Q42aRL

— IORI (@ga_iori) March 21, 2026

The posts have gone viral on Korean community sites, with many ridiculing both groups.

• “They could have just held the BTS performance there.”
  — “LOL.”
• “Weren’t those limited-view seats?”
  — “They look too wide to be limited-view seats.”

• “HYBE usually floods the media with press releases after events like this, but it seemed like they barely put out any articles regarding the Tokyo Dome concert. I was wondering why. This explains it.”
• “If something gets a poor reception in Korea, even if there’s a bit of a time lag, it eventually ends up getting a poor reception overseas as well. That’s because they scrape up absolutely everything posted on Korean online communities.”
• “It was a restricted-view seat section that wasn’t even opened to the public. What is this nonsense about fabricating a narrative based on a video filmed when the artist was leaving? You people really stoop to every low imaginable.”