In April, K-pop megastars BTS will kick off their first world tour in four years. Their label announced this news on Wednesday. The tour is part of a highly anticipated comeback. This follows a hiatus for the South Koreans whose music has become a global phenomenon.
BTS are known for funky and fun hits like ‘Dynamite’ and ‘Butter’. They hold the record as the most-streamed group on Spotify. They are the first K-pop act to top the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. They also topped the Billboard Artist 100 chart.
The Bulletproof Boy Scouts, as their name means in Korean, have not toured or released music since 2022. They underwent the national military service required of all South Korean men under the age of 30.
Now that all seven members have completed their military service, the band’s label announced on New Year’s Day. They would release a new album in March. They plan to head on tour the following month.
The tour will span 34 cities with 79 performances. It will be the largest-ever single tour by a K-pop group in terms of total shows. It will also have the “widest regional reach for a South Korean artist,” according to the band’s agency, HYBE.
The world tour will kick off in South Korea’s Goyang on April 9. There will be two additional concerts in the city. Then, the tour will move on to neighbouring Japan.
They will then head to the United States and Europe, with the tour ending in March 2027 in Manila.
The band’s label said that more cities will be announced, including additional stops in Japan and the Middle East.
Their new album is as yet unnamed. It will be their first since the anthology Proof. This anthology became South Korea’s bestselling record of 2022.
Right kidney is waving
BTS’s famously loyal fan base — known as ARMY — reacted with elation at news of the world tour. One fan wrote in response to the news on Facebook that, to buy a ticket their “Right kidney is waving”.
“Army hunger games are about to start,” another wrote. They drew a comparison between fans trying to get tickets and a series of popular young adult novels. In these novels, contestants fight to the death.
BTS is big business in South Korea — before their military service, they generated more than 5.5 trillion won ($3.7 billion) for the country per year, according to Seoul’s Korea Culture and Tourism Institute. The figure is equivalent to roughly 0.2 percent of South Korea’s total GDP.
HYBE’s shares traded higher at Wednesday’s market open on news of their world tour, rising around three percent. Investment bank IBK Securities on Wednesday projected the firm’s operating profits this year would soar tenfold compared to 2025.
“Based on the full tour schedule, around 4.5 million people are expected to attend,” said analyst Kim Yu-hyuk.
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