BTS‘ Jungkook has shared his thoughts on the cheering ban at the group’s recent concerts in Seoul due to COVID-19.
Earlier this week, the K-pop group’s label Big Hit Music said in a statement that there would be a ban on “cheering loudly, yelling, chanting and standing up” during the boyband’s Seoul concerts, in alignment with South Korean COVID-19 health guidelines.
Following the group’s first show on March 10, of a scheduled three-night run for the group’s ‘BTS Permission To Dance On Stage – Seoul’ concerts at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium, BTS member Jungkook took to his personal Instagram page to share his thoughts on the ban.
“Finally, after two years, although it felt like 23 years, I got to perform in Korea. Like, wow, finally,” he said in a new Instagram post clip, as translated by Koreaboo. “Overall, I felt extremely happy today. Just extremely happy. And, to be honest, I felt at home.”
However, he also spoke about how tough it can be to perform for fans in real life while the cheering ban is in effect. “The thing is, especially in Korea, I usually get to hear the fans chant and sing with me,” he said. “I didn’t get to hear that today though. And that made it really difficult for me today, to perform.”
“I mean, it was still incredible. But I found it difficult. [it was] just kind of hard on me,” Jungkook added. “It was like, I’m looking at ARMYs right in front of my eyes but I wasn’t hearing anything [from the audience] and they can’t get up and dance or anything. They had to stay seated. Yeah, it was just difficult to watch.”
Later during the video, the BTS member also spoke about how he tried to hype himself up prior to the concert, saying that he felt the need to “try even harder to give [fans] an energetic show” that night.
However, he admitted that the concert felt “a whole lot different” than he expected once it started. “I kept worrying, like, ‘Are they having fun? Are they enjoying the show?’ All throughout the show and even after, I was pretty concerned,” he said.
‘What we dealt with today? That entire situation was new for us too,” he confessed, before concluding that he felt “confused” about his emotions following the concert. “I miss you all already. I miss the moments on stage. I miss your voices that I would hear from the audience in the past.”
In other news, HYBE has announced new online and in-person auditions for an upcoming girl group, in collaboration with Universal Music Group’s Geffen Records. In-person auditions are set to take place in the United States, across five cities in March and April, including Houston, New York, Los Angeles and more.