Global K-pop stars BTS have announced a major world tour beginning in April, marking their return to live performances after a four-year break linked to South Korea’s mandatory military service.
The group’s agency, HYBE, said on Wednesday that the tour will follow the release of a new studio album in March. It will be BTS’s first new album since 2022.
The tour is set to open in the South Korean city of Goyang on 9 April, with two additional concerts scheduled there before the group travels to Japan. BTS will then perform across the United States and Europe, with the tour scheduled to conclude in Manila in March 2027.
HYBE said the tour will span 34 cities and feature 79 shows, making it the largest single world tour by a K-pop group in terms of the number of performances and geographic coverage. More cities are expected to be announced later, including additional dates in Japan and the Middle East.
BTS, short for Bangtan Sonyeondan, meaning Bulletproof Boy Scouts, are among the most successful music acts in the world. The group holds the record as the most streamed group on Spotify and was the first K-pop act to top both the Billboard 200 albums chart and the Billboard Artist 100 in the United States.
The group halted touring and new releases in 2022 as members began compulsory military service, which is required of all able-bodied South Korean men under the age of 30. All seven members have now completed their service.
The upcoming album, which has not yet been titled, will follow the anthology album Proof, which became South Korea’s best-selling record of 2022.
Fans, known collectively as ARMY, reacted enthusiastically to the announcement on social media, with many expressing excitement and concern over ticket availability.
BTS has had a significant economic impact on South Korea. Before their military hiatus, the group generated more than 5.5 trillion won, or about 3.7 billion dollars, annually for the country, according to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute. This figure is equivalent to roughly 0.2 per cent of South Korea’s gross domestic product.
The announcement also boosted investor confidence. HYBE shares rose by around three per cent in early trading on Wednesday. Investment bank IBK Securities forecasts that the company’s operating profit this year could increase tenfold compared with 2025, with analysts estimating that around 4.5 million fans may attend the tour worldwide.
