Last week, South Korea saw a spike in the number of new coronavirus cases following the decision to relax some social distancing measures. According to Reuters, many of those cases are being linked to several nightclubs and bars in Seoul.
Back in April 25, it was reported that BTS’ Jungkook, NCT 127’s Jaehyun, SEVENTEEN’s Mingyu and ASTRO’s Cha Eunwoo went on a night out in the upmarket neighborhood of Itaewon in the South Korean capital. It has since been confirmed that the singers have been tested for coronavirus following their outing.
BTS’ management, Big Hit Entertainment, shared the news that Jungkook tested NEGATIVE for coronavirus.
“Jungkook visited a restaurant and bar in the neighbourhood of Itaewon with his acquaintances. He showed no symptoms of COVID-19 such as coughing or a fever following the visit. He voluntarily received a test for COVID-19 at a government-designated hospital and tested negative,” the company said in a statement, via NME.
“The artist himself is currently feeling deeply regretful for not having faithfully contributed to the entire society’s social distancing efforts,” they added.
Results for the other entertainers came back negative as well.
South Korea managed to contain the spread of the coronavirus with aggressive testing and contact tracing, and brought down the number of new cases to single digits. But the recent rise of the number of new cases has the South Korean government seriously rethinking whether they will re-open schools as planned.
In April, BTS announced that they were postponing their Map Of The Soul World Tour.
Originally, the K-pop group announced that only their concerts in Seoul, South Korea will not push through and tickets will be refunded. The tour was supposed to kick off in Seoul’s Jamsil Olympic Stadium on April 11, 12, 18, & 19.
They later announced that they were rescheduling their North American tour, affecting all dates from their two-night stint in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California in April 25th to their final performance in Soldier Filed in Chicago, Illinois on June 5th and 6th. The Ticketmaster website announced at the time that rescheduled dates will be “announced soon,” and told fans to “Please hold on to your tickets as they will be valid for the new date.”
On Tuesday (April 28), they announced in a statement posted on Twitter that their European leg is likewise being rescheduled.
“Unfortunately, due to ongoing government advisories on mass gatherings, BTS Map of The Soul – Europe has been postponed,” the statement read.
“Our highest priority remains the safety of our artists and fans as well as the global community,” the statement continued. “We ask for your generous understanding that this decision has been made in consideration of the health and safety of everyone involved.”
In light of the cancelled shows, the group hosted a two-day at-home concert on April 18 and 19 dubbed the Bang Bang Con, which streamed concert footage from previous BTS tours.
But fans can see them perform live in their upcoming live-streamed concert Bang Bang Con: The Live – a 90-minute, paid virtual event. The virtual concert will be streaming on June 14 at 6PM Korean Time (10AM BST).
They’re also slated to appear in YouTube’s virtual graduation ceremony Dear Class Of 2020 on June 6, which also includes appearances by the likes of Lady Gaga, The Obamas, former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Malala Yousafzai and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
