By Hong Kilju and Kim Yeonsue

K-pop phenom BTS from March 10-13 held three concerts in Seoul, and the boy band's fans around the world rejoiced over the news of the group's first in-person concert since October 2019. An estimated 2.46 million people watched the concerts, 45,000 at the venue, 1.02 million through livestreaming and 1.4 million at movie theaters around the world. 

Eftychia Dovletoglou from Greece held online interviews with BTS fans around the world on their impressions of the concerts. A Japanese-language article by Yukiko Hanano from Japan described making Hanbok-inspired jewelry, and a story in Russian by Zulfiya Boyazitova from Kazakhstan featured a visit to Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan.

■ 3 BTS fans review group's recent Seoul concerts (Eftychia Dovletoglou from Greece in English)

Eftychia Dovletoglou from Greece on March 13 asked 15 BTS fans from seven countries on their impressions and the atmosphere of the group's recent concerts in Seoul shortly after the last one. Katya Tavi watched one at a movie theater in Finland, saying that for a price little different from that for a movie, she watched high-quality video with excellent visuals and sound worth more than the price. She called the online concert a "brilliant idea." 

Isabella Piscitelli from Italy, who has lived in Korea for two years, said she cried while watching the performance. Tsisija Gurova, another fan in Latvia, said fans sang and cheered together, adding how she felt the emotion and heat of being at a concert in Seoul on the other side of the globe.

■ Daily Hanbok ornaments (Yukiko Hanano from Japan in Japanese)

Hanano Yukiko from Japan introduced a daily Korean accessory for casual wear, a hairband made of Hanbok fabric. She made a hairband with a DIY kit sent from the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo and gave her review. She described the steps in detail easy for anyone to follow, and also recommended matching hairstyles and outfits. "Hanbok fabrics are shiny and have vivid colors, and they usually have beautiful patterns," she said. Hanano also advised making one's own Hanbok hairband by purchasing the fabric online.

■ Trip to Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan (Zulfiya Boyazitova from Kazakhstan in Russian)

To enjoy the upcoming spring, Zulfiya Boyazitova from Kazakhstan on March 5 visited Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan's Saha-gu District. During the Korean War, many refugees flocked to the village and turned it into a shantytown for a time. Thanks to a mural project started in 2009 to improve the residential environment, the place was transformed into the cultural village. Boyazitova shared tips on making a visit there more enjoyable like using the village map to collect stamps and getting your fortune from a coin-operated fortunetelling machine. On the famous mural of BTS in Gamcheon, she said, "When I saw the mural in a photo, I thought of it as merely regular art but after seeing it in person, it was breathtakingly beautiful."

kalhong617@korea.kr