South Korean K-pop megastars BTS released their fifth studio album 'ARIRANG' on Friday, marking their first album in nearly four years. The 14-track album is named after a traditional Korean folk song and is billed as reflecting the boy band's roots and identity, with entertainment magazine Billboard describing it as 'a love letter to their home country.' Ahead of the release, BTS member Jimin stated, 'We gave deep thought to our identity — and how best to express ourselves authentically — across the entirety of our music and performances. As an extension of that process, we also revisited the significance of our background as a group comprised entirely of Korean members.'

The album comes after a hiatus during which members completed around 18 months of mandatory military service. The group is set to perform songs from the new album at an open-air concert at Seoul's historic Gwanghwamun Square on Saturday. Approximately 260,000 people are expected to attend, with hotels in Seoul booked out as thousands travel from across the globe to see BTS in action.

The concert will be livestreamed by Netflix in around 190 countries. Fans such as Mara Cristia Yao and Rodessa Ericka Bonon from the Philippines, who could not secure tickets for the Saturday concert, are still in Seoul to be near their idols. Yao told AFP news agency, 'We are just going to come to this area anyway. We are figuring out where to position ourselves tomorrow.' BTS will embark on a world tour in April, which is expected to last nearly three months.

Source: www.dw.com