17 June,2023 07:13 PM IST | Seoul, South Korea | Harshita Kale
Min Yoongi from his solo tour in Oakland (left) and Jungkook (right), Pic/ Yoongi`s Instagram and Twitter
Korean sensation BTS celebrate their anniversary every year in June. Usually, FESTA month (nicknamed so by BTS and their massive fanbase ARMY) sees the seven-member music group post unreleased content, go live and host a dinner celebration. However, owing to the mandatory military service duties in Korea, BTS is not together for FESTA for the first time in the group's history.
Despite, or perhaps because of this reason, this year, the group decided to go big in honour of their milestone 10th anniversary since debuting in 2013. Today, on June 17th, 2023, BTS hosted a fan meeting/performance special in Yeouido Park, Seoul, where a select few lucky ARMYs gained entry to the event. While all members couldn't be in attendance, the boyband made sure that their absence would not be starkly felt by their fans.
One of the highlights of the evening was its last event, a spectacular fireworks festival, narrated by BTS' Golden Maknae Jeon Jungkook. In his characteristic shyness, Jungkook took over the mic (all pre-recorded, of course, the singer is currently in Los Angeles) and commenced the festivities by saying, "All right, everyone who has cheered for us for this long, shall we get started?"
Before the firework show, Min Yoongi tuned in live from Singapore where he is currently on tour solo for his album, 'D-2'. He wished ARMYs a happy FESTA and hoped that they were enjoying their preparations. Yoongi said that he wished he could be with fans in person but was definitely united with them in spirit.
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The fireworks display started with an emotional song from the album, Map of the Soul: Persona titled âMikrokosmos'. As the chorus, "You got me, I dream while looking at you, I got you, Inside those pitch black nights, The lights we saw in each other, We're saying the same thing" rang out, the fireworks blazed fittingly to the lyrics across the summer sky.
Other songs included energetic numbers like Boy With Luv, DNA, Idol, Fake Love, Mic Drop and Run BTS; as well as softer melodies like Butterfly and Spring Day. FESTA 2023 put on a dazzling and impressive display, with the fireworks perfectly synchronized to their songs - dancing along the Han River. They put up a show for not just ARMY, but all of Seoul!
The final song was BTS' latest release, âTake Two'. Even though Jungkook could not be physically present, his voice brought great comfort and nostalgia to ARMYs. At the end of the show, he said "Like how the fireworks light up the dark night in a beautiful way, thank you for lighting up our nights brightly when we had nothing", moving fans to tears.
We hope we can celebrate many more FESTAs with you, BTS!
