Feb 16, 2022 - Economy

BTS to perform in South Korea amid COVID surge

Ivana Saric

BTS attends iHeartRadio 102.7 KIIS FM's Jingle Ball 2021 in Los Angeles. Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for iHeartRadio

Popular Korean pop boy band BTS is planning to hold three in-person concerts in South Korea next month, despite surging COVID-19 cases, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Why it matters: South Korea is currently experiencing record-breaking rates of new COVID-19 cases. On Tuesday, the country surpassed 90,000 new daily infections for the first time in the pandemic, Reuters reported.

On Monday, the State Department issued a Level 4 Health Notice for South Korea, its highest classification for risk, advising against traveling to the country due to the "very high level of COVID-19 in the country."

The big picture: Although BTS has performed concerts in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic, this will be its first time performing in South Korea since October 2019, per the Journal.

In March 2021, BTS was crowned the biggest recording act in the world by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, according to Forbes.

Worth noting: Five of the band's seven members have recently tested positive for COVID-19, Billboard reported.

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BTS to perform in South Korea amid COVID surge

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