BTS, Twice, Ateez and other K-pop groups are back on tour two years into the pandemic. Their fans talk about Covid fears, and seeing their idols
- With K-pop groups back on the road after a two-year hiatus, their fans talk about the excitement and nervousness at going to see their heroes
- Some are new fans and are looking forward to the experience of their first K-pop concert
The world shifted when the Covid-19 pandemic shut down countries in March 2020. K-pop acts that were touring internationally suddenly found themselves grounded, with dates put on temporary if not indefinite hold. It would be another two years before anyone could hit the road again.
And pick up touring they have: every week brings another announcement of a K-pop group or two revealing tour dates, usually for shows in Japan and the US, with a handful in Europe.
“Once I realised I could correctly identify all 23 members of NCT, I knew I had got in way too deep,” Fisher says with a laugh. “When [a K-pop-loving] friend realised how deep into K-pop I was, she seized the opportunity to try to convince me to go to a concert with her. I am not a concert person, and she is, so this was a great delight to her.”
