"The wait is finally over." After nearly four years, all seven members of BTS have reunited, marking their return with a historic concert, a record-breaking album, and a globe-spanning tour.
Military Service and Hiatus
All seven members of BTS—RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook—have completed South Korea's mandatory military service. South Korean law requires able-bodied men aged 18 to 28 to serve for up to 21 months. Suga, the last to be discharged in June 2025, served as a social service agent due to a shoulder injury, while the other six members served in the army.
During the staggered enlistment period, the group was on an official hiatus, allowing members to pursue individual solo projects.
Comeback Concert and Album Release
On March 21, 2026, BTS held a free public comeback concert titled "BTS The Comeback Live Arirang" at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. It was the group's first live performance together since October 2022.
Attendance and Security:
- The event was the largest public concert in South Korea. Local authorities reported just over 100,000 fans attended, with estimates of the crowd in and around the square ranging from 100,000 to 260,000.
- Of those, 22,000 ticketed seats were designated, with the remainder watching from the square and adjacent areas on video screens.
- Security was exceptionally tight, with 6,000 police officers and over 4,000 security personnel deployed. Roads near the square were closed, and subway and bus services were halted, following increased safety protocols since a 2022 Halloween incident in Seoul.
- The concert was streamed live globally on Netflix, attracting 18.4 million viewers, marking Netflix’s first live stream of a standalone concert.
Performance and Production:
- Directed by British director Hamish Hamilton, the concert involved over 1,000 production personnel.
- The setlist featured new tracks like "Body to Body," "Hooligan," "2.0," "Aliens," "FYA," "Swim," "Like Animals," and "Normal," alongside older hits such as "Butter," "Dynamite," and "MIC Drop."
- Group leader RM performed despite an ankle injury (a sprain, partial ligament tear, and talus contusion) sustained during rehearsals, wearing an ankle boot and using a chair or stool on stage.
Album: ARIRANG
- The group’s fifth studio album, ARIRANG, was released on March 20, 2026, one day before the concert.
- The album, named after a traditional Korean folk song, reflects the group’s focus on cultural identity. The concert location, with Gyeongbok Palace as a backdrop, was chosen to reinforce this theme.
- HYBE reported that the album sold nearly 4 million copies on its first day, with over 4 million pre-orders and cumulative sales projected to reach 6 million copies.
- ARIRANG debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Spotify reported it became the platform’s most-streamed album in a single day in 2026 and the most-streamed K-pop album in Spotify history. Its single "Swim" also topped charts.
- The album features the track "No. 29," which includes a recording of Korea’s Divine Bell of King Seongdeok (National Treasure No. 29). It was recorded in Los Angeles over six months.
World Tour
BTS initiated the "World Tour Arirang" with a performance at a stadium in Goyang, near Seoul, on April 9, 2026. This is the group’s first headline tour since the 2021–22 "Permission to Dance on Stage" tour.
Tour Details:
- The tour is scheduled to include over 70 to 82 shows across 23 to 34 regions, including Asia, North America, South America, Europe, and Australia.
- It is projected to conclude in Manila, Philippines, in March 2027.
- Specific tour stops include the United States (beginning April 25 in Tampa, Florida), Europe (London, Paris, and Madrid), and South America (São Paulo and Buenos Aires). Australian dates are scheduled for February 2027 in Melbourne and Sydney.
- The initial South Korean shows took place despite heavy rain, with the Goyang stadium (capacity over 40,000) completely full.
- In the first North American concert in Tampa, Florida, the setlist included the tour debut of "Permission to Dance" and the first performance of "Magic Shop" since 2019.
Financial and Industry Context
Ahead of the tour, shares in HYBE Corporation decreased by 15% following the comeback concert, reflecting investor concerns over attendance figures being lower than some forecasts.
Despite this, analysts project the album and tour could generate significant revenue. Billboard estimated the endeavor could produce over $1 billion in revenue for HYBE in 2026 from concerts, merchandise, licensing, album sales, and streaming. Tour promoter Live Nation described the tour as the largest global K-pop tour to date.
During BTS’s hiatus, the group achieved major milestones, including a number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 ("Dynamite") and a collaboration with Coldplay ("My Universe"). Their previous album, Proof (2022), reached number one in 18 countries.
A documentary titled "BTS: The Return", about the making of the ARIRANG album, was released on Netflix on March 27, 2026.