Okay-pop megastars BTS will kick off their first world tour in 4 years in April, their label mentioned on Wednesday, a part of a hotly-anticipated comeback following a hiatus for the South Koreans whose music has turn into a world phenomenon.
BTS — recognized for funky and enjoyable hits like “Dynamite” and “Butter” — maintain the file because the most-streamed group on Spotify and are the primary Okay-pop act to have topped each the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Artist 100 charts within the United States.
But the Bulletproof Boy Scouts — as their identify means in Korean — have not toured or launched music since 2022 as they underwent the nationwide navy service required of all South Korean males below the age of 30.
Now that each one seven members have accomplished their navy service the band’s label introduced on New Year’s Day they’d launch a brand new album in March earlier than heading on tour the next month.
Spanning 34 cities with 79 performances, it will likely be the largest-ever single tour by a Okay-pop group when it comes to complete reveals and the “widest regional reach for a South Korean artist,” based on the band’s company, HYBE.
The world tour will kick off in South Korea’s Goyang on April 9, with two extra live shows within the metropolis earlier than transferring on to neighboring Japan.
They will then head to the United States and Europe, with the tour ending in March 2027 in Manila. The band’s label mentioned that extra cities will probably be introduced, together with extra stops in Japan and the Middle East.
Their new album — as but unnamed — will probably be their first because the anthology “Proof”, which turned South Korea’s bestselling file of 2022.
BTS’s famously loyal fanbase — often known as ARMY — reacted with elation at news of the world tour.
One fan wrote in response to the news on Facebook that to purchase a ticket their “Right kidney is waving”.
“Army hunger games are about to start,” one other wrote, drawing a comparability between followers attempting to get tickets and a collection of widespread younger grownup novels through which contestants struggle to the loss of life.
BTS is huge enterprise in South Korea — earlier than their navy service, they generated greater than 5.5 trillion gained ($3.7 billion) for the nation per yr, based on Seoul’s Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.
The determine is equal to roughly 0.2 p.c of South Korea’s complete GDP.
HYBE’s shares traded increased at Wednesday’s market open on news of their world tour, rising round three p.c.
And funding financial institution IBK Securities on Wednesday projected the agency’s working earnings this yr would soar tenfold in comparison with 2025.
“Based on the full tour schedule, around 4.5 million people are expected to attend,” mentioned analyst Kim Yu-hyuk.
© 2026 AFP