SEOUL, February 10 (AJP) - Cities are defined by lines. In Joseon-era Hanyang (now Seoul), those lines were the four great gates.
They marked where authority began and where daily life ended, where the state met the street. Within that geometry, one point drew all lines inward: Gwanghwamun, the royal gateway to Gyeongbokgung Palace.
For centuries, this was where the king entered the city and the people first met power.
Over time, it became something else as well — a site of protests, ceremonies, mourning and celebration. The former heart of a dynasty slowly evolved into the civic face of modern Seoul.
What remained constant was its role as a threshold: between palace and street, authority and public, past and present.That threshold is now preparing to host a different kind of procession.
The Forgotten Stage Beneath the City
In front of Gwanghwamun once stood a broad ceremonial platform known as the weol-dae. Built in 1868 during the restoration of the palace, it elevated the gate both physically and symbolically.
This was where royal authority was displayed, where rituals unfolded, and where the court faced the city. It disappeared in 1923, buried beneath tram tracks under the Japanese colonial rule. For nearly a century, it survived only in maps and memory.
Then, during restoration work in 2010, its foundations re-emerged underground. After years of excavation and study, the wol-dae was fully restored in 2023. Stone by stone, time was stitched back into place. Today, it stands again — not as a relic, but as a working part of Seoul’s urban landscape.
Another king's platform was set in the Geunjeongjeon, the throne hall where kings gave orders for everyday governance. If that inner weol-dae symbolized the king's elevated power, the outer one at Gwanghwamun represented connection — the meeting point of palace and people. It is here, at this historic edge, that BTS’s stage is expected to rise.
The King’s Road, Reimagined
From Geunjeongjeon, through Heungnyemun, and out to Gwanghwamun, runs a straight ceremonial axis once reserved for royal processions.
It was known, informally, as the king’s road. For centuries, only authority moved along it. The government and people have granted for the entrance of seven musicians.
According to event plans, the performance area is expected to stretch from the palace gates to the northern end of Gwanghwamun Square, aligning with the statues of King Sejong and Admiral Yi Sun-sin.
Large screens will extend the stage across the plaza, turning the entire space into a single, continuous performance zone. The concert will unfold across a historic corridor. A route once designed for monarchs will guide a global pop phenomenon.
When History Meets the Present
There is a reason this setting matters. Gwanghwamun has always been more than architecture. It is where Korea’s political, cultural and emotional currents have repeatedly converged. Dictatorships fell here. Candlelight protests filled this square. National mourning unfolded on these stones.
Now, music will.
On stones shaped for royal ritual, choreography will unfold. Along an axis designed for kings, fans will gather. Beneath gates built to defend a dynasty, music will travel instantly around the world. It is a reminder of how Seoul moves forward: not by erasing its past, but by reusing it.
From the four gates to the central gate, from throne halls to public squares, from royal processions to pop anthems, one line continues to run through Seoul.
On March 21, that line will carry sound, light and memory — from the heart of a former kingdom to a global audience.
The oldest stage will host the most contemporary voice.
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