"BTS is Purple, So Why a Red Wave?"... Seoul City Faces Lighting Controversy Ahead of Election

 Original article: Naver

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HYBE: "Please refrain from political interpretations"

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Ahead of BTS's performance at Gwanghwamun, the Seoul Metropolitan Government's decision to illuminate major landmarks in red has sparked controversy over possible political interpretations. The timing—coinciding with The upcoming local elections—has led to criticism that the color choice evokes a specific political party.

According to the music industry in the 18th, Seoul plans to light up 15 major landmarks—including Sebitseom, Cheonggyecheon, Seoul Botanic Park, Namsan Seoul Tower, and Lotte World Tower—in red for about two hours starting at 7:30 p.m. on the 20th, the day of BTS's comeback, and the 21st, the day of the concert.

However, the plan has unexpectedly stirred debate, as Red is also the symbolic colour of the opposition party. BTS's official color, in contrast, is not red but purple.

The color purple became associated with BTS and their fandom after the member V introduced the phrase "I Purple You" during a 2016 fan meeting, meaning "Let's trust and love each other until the end, like the last color of the rainbow." Since then, purple has been widely used to be represent both BTS and and their fans, including in landmark illuminations in major cities worldwide.

Online and on social media, numerous posts from BTS's fandom, ARMY, have expressed opposition to the Seoul city government's decision. Fans have been posting protest messages using hashtags such as #BTSisPurple and #방탄은버라색 (BTS is Purple).

Some fans have also questioned the reason behind the color choice. Given that Red is the symbolic of color of the political party to which Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon belongs, speculation has arisen about possible political motives, especially in the context of the upcoming elections.

As the controversy grew, BTS's agency, HYBE, released an official statement. The company explained that the red lighting is tied to the key color of the "Arirang" album, noting that elements such as the album logo are also red, and that the decision is unrelated to any political stance.

HYBE stated, "The red colour used for the Gwanghwamun Square performance reflects the key color of the 'Arirang' album. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is also using red lighting at major city landmarks at HYBE's request."

They added, "We would like to clarify that the red color at the Gwanghwamun Square performance is based on the key color of BTS's newly released 'Arirang' album. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is using red in accordance with HYBE's request. We kindly ask that this cultural event bot be Overly interpreted from a political perspective."