BTS in Madrid: ARMY Lines Up at the Korean Eatery V Visited Four Times

MADRID — Hours before BTS took the stage in the Spanish capital, a quiet side street near the venue had already filled up. A line stretched outside a Korean restaurant called Sarangbang, wrapping past the next building. The crowd was almost entirely fans, killing time before the night's show with a Korean lunch.

BTS (RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook) is holding "BTS WORLD TOUR 'ARIRANG' IN MADRID" on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. CEST at Riyadh Air Metropolitano. The two nights open the group's European leg and mark its first headline show in Madrid since debut.

The long wait pulled fans from across Spain into the city. For many, the itinerary included a stop at the restaurant where V was spotted. Thirty minutes after the official opening time, the line had already grown past the next building. No staff directed the crowd, but fans organized themselves, leaving space so the sidewalk and road stayed clear.

The restaurant ended up opening early to handle the rush. "We usually open at 1 p.m., but fans had been lining up since 11, so we opened early," the owner said. "Business had been slow because group bookings were down, but ARMY came in all week. More than 95 percent of our customers right now are ARMY. Sales are about three to four times what they usually are."

After roughly an hour in line, a table opened up. BTS songs were playing inside. V's autograph hung on one wall, and photos of the members were placed around the room. Keyrings and photocards left behind by earlier visitors sat tucked along the shelves.

The menu covered a wide range of Korean dishes. Asked which dish V had ordered, the staff said he had come in with a group and ordered most of the menu between them. The owner added that V visited the restaurant four times during his stay in Spain.

Meals came with a full set of Korean side dishes: kimchi, seasoned potato strips, stir-fried zucchini, seasoned seaweed and an ugeoji doenjang soup made with dried cabbage and soybean paste. The sides shifted with each main. Fried chicken orders came with pickled radish. Stir-fried pork came with leafy ssam wraps and ssamjang dipping paste.

Spanish ARMY worked through the unfamiliar spread with curiosity. Korean fried chicken was a popular order, a likely effect of how often it shows up in Korean dramas. Bibimbap, often treated as a gateway dish to Korean food abroad, also moved fast. Most tables cleared their plates, and some fans packed food to go.

When the meal was over, fans got ready to head to the venue. They picked up bags decorated with photocards and plush keyrings and filed out into the afternoon. The line that had wrapped down the block all morning made the mood clear. For Spanish ARMY, lunch in Madrid was more than just a meal. It became another memory that completed the concert experience.