K-pop megastars BTS will kick off their first world tour in four years in April, their label has said.
The tour is part of a hotly anticipated comeback for the South Koreans, whose music has become a global phenomenon.
BTS – known for funky and fun hits like Dynamite and Butter – hold the record as the most-streamed group on Spotify and are the first K-pop act to have topped both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Artist 100 charts in the United States.
But the Bulletproof Boy Scouts – as their name means in Korean – have not toured or released music since 2022, as 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 group’s label announced on New Year’s Day that they would release a new album in March before heading on tour the following month.
Spanning 34 cities with 79 performances, it will be the largest-ever single tour by a K-pop group in terms of total shows and the “widest regional reach for a South Korean artist”, according to the group’s agency, HYBE.
The world tour will kick off in South Korea’s Goyang on 9 April, with two additional concerts in the city before moving on to neighbouring Japan.
They will then head to the United States and Europe, with the tour ending in March 2027 in Manila.
The group’s label said that more cities will be announced, including additional stops in Japan and the Middle East.
No Irish dates have been announced.
BTS’s new album – as yet unnamed – will be their first since the anthology Proof, which became South Korea’s bestselling record of 2022.
‘Right kidney is waving’
BTS’s famously loyal fanbase – known as ARMY – reacted with elation at the 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, drawing a comparison between fans trying to get tickets and a series of popular young adult novels in which contestants fight to the death.
Infographic showing share price for the South Korean firm HYBE, the agency for K-pop act BTS, with key developments for the group in recent years
BTS is big business in South Korea – before their military service, they generated more than 5.5 trillion won (€3.2 billion) for the country per year, according to Seoul’s Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.
The figure is equivalent to roughly 0.2% of South Korea’s total GDP.
HYBE’s shares traded higher at Wednesday’s market open on news of BTS’s world tour, rising around 3%.
Investment bank IBK Securities has projected that 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.
Source: AFP
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