JAKARTA: Fans of the global K-pop sensation BTS celebrated the boy band’s long-awaited return on Friday with the worldwide release of their newest album, “Arirang,” which marks the first full-group project in nearly four years.
The new music comes ahead of their first concert as a complete group since October 2022, with all seven members set to take the stage in front of Seoul’s historic Gyeongbokgung palace on Saturday for a huge comeback concert that is expected to gather more than 250,000 people in the area.
But excitement for the return of the pop idols extends way beyond South Korea, as tens of millions of BTS fans — known as ARMY — are gearing up to watch the highly anticipated show online through a Netflix livestream shown to more than 190 countries.
“I’m very happy, excited and touched, and hoping that everything goes smoothly with their comeback,” Rizka Fadjriah, an ARMY based in Banten, Indonesia, told Arab News.
“It’s been almost four years, and while I was waiting, there was this fear and anxiety as I wondered if they would truly make a comeback from their hiatus … but BTS truly lived up to their promise to return after their military service.”
Also known as Bangtan Sonyeondan, or Bulletproof Boy Scouts, the K-pop septet debuted in 2013 and has since become one of the music industry’s most profitable set of artists.
The multiplatinum pop group BTS went on hiatus in 2022 so its seven members could complete their mandatory stints in the South Korean military. By June last year, every one of them had fulfilled their service.
BTS’ fifth studio release is a 14-track set, an album that takes its name from a beloved Korean folk song often described as an unofficial national anthem.
On Friday, they also dropped a music video for “SWIM,” a track from the latest album, which garnered more than 15 million views on YouTube in the first seven hours.
“One of the things I love the most about BTS is that each of their albums always has a concept, there’s a red thread that tells a story, and it’s not always about love,” Fadjriah said.
“They talk about so many different things: courage, perseverance, dreams, everything. So, I’m sure there will be such topics in their new album, and I hope it can lift up people’s spirits.”
Fadjriah, who is planning to get together with fellow ARMYs for a watch party of the comeback concert on Saturday, is among those preparing to see BTS live when they perform in Busan in June.
BTS is supporting the album release with a gigantic world tour spanning 34 regions, which will officially kick off on April 9 in Goyang, South Korea and conclude on March 14, 2027, in Manila, Philippines.
Dante, an ARMY based in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, is also looking forward to the premiere of “BTS: The Return,” the group’s new documentary set to premiere on March 27.
“I’m looking forward to their album release, that’s for sure, but also their upcoming documentary movie on Netflix. I love that BTS is such a reflective group, and I’ll always want to know what’s going on with them and how it influences their craft, especially in these recent years,” she told Arab News.
Aparmita Das, an ARMY from Meghalaya in Northeast India, expects “Arirang” to “hit differently.”
She told Arab News: “The album title itself is layered with so much history, it’s named after Korea’s centuries-old traditional folk song, and Big Hit (BTS’ record label) has said it ‘captures BTS’ identity as a group that began in Korea.’ That’s not marketing. That’s seven men who went away, served their country, and came back asking: ‘Who are we, rooted?’
“I want to sit with this album the way I’d sit with a difficult, beautiful book. In an industry where music is increasingly engineered for seven-second attention spans on Reels and TikToks, their return with something rooted in ‘humanity’ is almost a rebuke. A gorgeous, purple-tinged rebuke.”
Casey, an Indonesian ARMY based in Bali, is looking forward to experiencing Saturday’s concert together with the global fanbase.
“It’s super special because it’s free and streamed live on Netflix, so ARMYs worldwide can experience it together in real time. The concept itself, blending Korean traditional culture with BTS’ music, makes it even more iconic,” she said.
“The euphoria is honestly unreal and hard to describe. It’s not just excitement; it’s more like long-awaited happiness finally happening.”
She believes that BTS’ return is timely.
“I personally think this comeback comes at the right time. In the middle of global challenges, BTS’ music can really be a source of comfort and hope,” she said.
“For many ARMYs, their songs are more than just entertainment; they’re a form of emotional healing. So, their return truly brings back positive energy to a lot of people.”
