BTS released a new album after a four-year hiatus and are preparing for a grand show in Seoul
Kyiv • UNN
The band BTS presented a new album about their Korean roots before a concert for 260,000 spectators. The event marks the members' return after military service.
K-pop stars BTS released a new album on Friday, which is said to reflect the group's Korean roots and identity, amid excitement surrounding their open-air concert in central Seoul, UNN reports with reference to The Guardian.
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Saturday's concert, which is expected to draw around 260,000 people, will be BTS's first after a nearly four-year hiatus during which all seven members completed mandatory military service. It will take place before an 82-concert world tour.
"We have deeply contemplated our identity – and how best to express ourselves authentically – throughout all our music and performances," said BTS member Jimin ahead of the release of the group's album, their fifth studio release.
"As we continued this process, we also re-examined the meaning of our origins as a group composed entirely of Korean members," his statement read.
From Body to Body to Into the Sun, the 14-track album Arirang takes its name from a folk song about longing and separation, often referred to as South Korea's unofficial national anthem.
The animated trailer appears to be based on the story of Korean students, a performance of this song recorded by American anthropologist Alice Fletcher on a cylindrical phonograph in Washington in 1896.
As the melody plays, the trailer shows students sailing to the United States, then transitions to BTS at Seoul's Gyeongbokgung Palace – the venue for Saturday's concert.
Meanwhile, excitement was building in Seoul: hotels had long been booked, thousands of people had flown in from abroad, once again highlighting the immense popularity of the multi-award-winning group, who performed songs predominantly in Korean.
BTS is the musical vanguard of the Korean cultural wave, which includes Oscar-winning films such as "Parasite" and "Demon Hunters" from K-Pop, hit dramas such as "Squid Game," Nobel laureate Han Kang, food, and cosmetics endorsed by actors such as Kylie Jenner.
In Seoul, the streets were adorned with purple and blue "Welcome, BTS + ARMY" posters, referring to the group's fandom. Hoodies, wallets, and BTS figurines were sold in new temporary stores and 24-hour shops.
At the concert, BTS is expected to perform songs from the new album, which the group reportedly recorded in Los Angeles.
Grace Kao, a professor of sociology at Yale University, noted that while the album features collaborations with Western songwriters and producers, the title is meant to "remind international fans that BTS is, first and foremost, a Korean group."
"They are looking to the future, but at the same time reminding fans and themselves of their history," she said.
For the group members, who are now between 28 and 33 years old, this also marked the beginning of a new stage in their lives. Four of them served in the military near the heavily fortified border with North Korea, known for its barbed wire, harsh winters, and intense training.
After visiting the White House, releasing hugely successful English-language albums, and performing at renowned venues around the world, the group chose a historic venue at home for their landmark comeback concert.
Seoul's vast Gwanghwamun Square, located near the famous Gyeongbokgung Palace, is a place that has witnessed history for centuries, including major political protests in 2025.
In addition to those present in Seoul – amid a large-scale security operation – millions more are likely to watch the concert via Netflix's live stream in approximately 190 countries.
"This new album feels like a love letter to their homeland," said Jeff Benjamin, a K-pop columnist for Billboard. "I think they will be remembered in the same way we remember The Beatles or Michael Jackson – not just as chart-topping performers, but as artists for whom the industry defines 'before' and 'after' timeframes."