South Korea's BTS K-pop supergroup kicked off its global concert tour on Thursday with the first of three shows at Goyang Stadium near Seoul. The tour will span 34 cities worldwide, setting a new record for the most tour dates by a K-pop artist. According to BTS's management agency, tickets for concerts in South Korea, North America, and Europe sold out within hours of going on sale.

Fans clad in purple, the color symbolizing the BTS fan base known as ARMY, began arriving in the rain at Goyang Stadium hours before the show started. Band members RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook are returning to the stage after a nearly four-year hiatus, during which they completed South Korea's mandatory military service.

The group reunited in 2025 to record their fifth studio album "Arirang," named after a centuries-old folk song popular in both North and South Korea. The album was released in March and topped the Billboard 200 chart for two weeks, a first for a K-pop group or artist. The lead single "Swim" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

Performances will draw from both BTS's catalog and the new album. Last month, BTS marked their comeback with a free concert in Seoul. BTS, short for Bangtan Sonyeondan or "Bulletproof Boy Scouts," debuted in June 2013 with the hip-hop-heavy album "2 Cool 4 Skool" and rose to prominence with their 2016 album "Wings."

The tour, their first headline performance since the 2021–22 "Permission to Dance on Stage" tour, will head to Tokyo next before continuing through North America, Europe, South America, and Asia. It will reach Australia in early 2027, with a final stop in Manila, Philippines, next March. Analysts note that some estimates point to total tour earnings of up to $1.81 billion (€1.5 billion).

Source: www.dw.com