'I thought I was in Train to Busan': BTS fans in South Korea said to have sparked chaos and fears of train stabbing

'I thought I was in Train to Busan': BTS fans in South Korea said to have sparked chaos and fears of train stabbing
BTS' Suga (left) and firefighters who were dispatched to Sinnonhyeon Station.
PHOTO: Weverse, Theqoo

After a series of stabbing rampages in South Korea targeting subway stations and commuting areas, residents are on high alert.

A recent incident in Seoul mistakenly caused a commotion, and netizens are in disbelief over the cause of the false alarm.

BTS' Suga held a three-day concert from Aug 4 to 6 at the KSPO Dome in Seoul to wrap up his D-Day tour.

After the final concert on Aug 6, the 30-year-old did a livestream on social media platform Weverse.

Twitter user Egcaniza posted a now-deleted video of fans screaming on a train while watching the star reveal a "7" tattoo on his shoulder. The other BTS members share the same tattoo.

The video has since been reposted by others.

[embed]https://twitter.com/meeoee88/status/1688189611502448640?s=20[/embed]

Screams from the fans allegedly led to chaos when the train arrived at Sinnonhyeon Station on Seoul Subway Line 9.

One person who claimed to be at the scene recalled: "I just started running because those in front of me started running. None of us really knew what was going on, but we were all in fear.

"People had to leave their bags, and I thought I was in (the movie) Train to Busan or something."

A netizen compiled a list of what was being tweeted about the incident and added: "It is said that not only foreigners but also South Koreans shouted together."

[embed]https://twitter.com/k_ku0_/status/1688188355488702465?s=20[/embed]

Another netizen who was allegedly present at the scene also tweeted: "It's not a knife attack or biochemical terrorism at Sinnonhyeon Station, so please don't cause fear with misinformation anymore.

"A foreigner next to me screamed while watching a video, but people misunderstood and ran away."

[embed]https://twitter.com/tom7890_/status/1688164172704681984?s=20[/embed]

Both posts went viral with over 17,000 retweets each.

Egcaniza later tweeted an apology but claimed that the commotion was caused by a separate incident on another train, a perceived gas leak.

"These were not the same trains so please stop dragging BTS and Army (BTS fans) into what happened," they wrote.

[embed]https://twitter.com/egcaniza/status/1688269792191623168?s=20[/embed]

However South Korean media SBS News reported that the incidents were linked, quoting the police: "This issue was an incident that occurred due to the screams of foreigners who had been watching a BTS video in the subway."

The article wrote that reports were received around 8.40pm of a "weird smell" and people "running around and falling" on Seoul Subway Line 9.

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Seven people suffered minor injuries as passengers scrambled to get off the train.

The police also received a separate report of a knife rampage.

Firefighters and armed police officers were dispatched, but nothing unusual was found.

"It seems that there was a misunderstanding because a passenger fell and screamed while getting off the train," said one firefighter.

Netizens took to Twitter and South Korean online forum Theqoo to express their anger towards BTS fans.

"I know you're excited, but please don't harm others," said one netizen on Twitter.

"The police and firefighters worked hard… What a nuisance to them and the ordinary citizens who were on the subway," said another on Theqoo.

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