Now the wait is over.
BTS are back – as a full-member group after a four-year hiatus.
The seven-member boyband is returning with a new album in spring 2026, followed by a full-scale world tour – their first since their 2022 anthology album Proof and the “Yet to Come” concert in Busan.
Members Jin, RM, V, Jimin, J-Hope, Jungkook and Suga made the announcement on Tuesday during a livestream on Weverse, an online fan platform operated by BTS management company HYBE Co.
It was the first time all seven have broadcast live together since September 2022.
Speaking in a relaxed and cheerful tone, the boys revealed that they would begin working in earnest on the album this month.
“We’ll be releasing a new BTS album in the spring of next year. Starting in July, all seven of us will begin working closely together on new music,” the K-pop septet said in a statement. “Since it will be a group album, it will reflect each member’s thoughts and ideas. We’re approaching the album with the same mindset we had when we first started.”
The band said they will head to the US later this month to begin working on new music.
The 30-minute livestream on Weverse drew more than 7.3 million views in real time on Tuesday.
REUNION AS SMOOTH AS ‘BUTTER’
The boy band’s devoted fans, collectively known as ARMY, have been desperate to see all seven members back together again following their mandatory military service.
All South Korean men aged 18 to 28 are required by law to perform 18-21 months of military service under a conscription system meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea.
The mandatory military service undoubtedly forced the world’s most successful boy band in recent years to pause their careers at the height of their global fame in 2022.
BTS members have staggered their military service so that all seven members were unavailable for no more than six months.
In early June, Jimin and Jungkook completed their military service, joining four other BTS members who have already been discharged.
Suga was the last member of the band to complete military service last week.
“This time, we really want to go back to our beginnings,” said Jungkook.
Jimin echoed the sentiment. “We’re just happy to be together again. We won’t keep you waiting for long,” he said.
ENTERTAINMENT SHARES RISE
Their upcoming project is expected to serve as both a creative milestone and a commercial juggernaut, as HYBE continues to double down on global expansion in the wake of BTS’ absence.
Industry officials expect the group’s comeback to drive album sales, ticket demand and digital content consumption across platforms.
Since their debut in June 2013, BTS has transformed from a self-styled “hip-hop idol” group into one of the world’s most successful pop acts.
They were the biggest-selling music artists in the world in 2020 and 2021, with six No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart and the same number of chart-topping singles in the US.
The boy band’s much-anticipated comeback quickly sparked a frenzy on Korean stock markets, where shares of entertainment companies, including SM Entertainment Co. and JYP Entertainment Corp., surged.
Shares of SM Entertainment, the label behind boyband EXO and girl group aespa, rose as much as 2.6% to hit a 52-week high before paring gains and closing 0.4% higher at 144,500 won on the Kospi market on Wednesday.
JPY Entertainment, the music label behind K-pop bands Stray Kids, Twice and NiziU, rose 2.6% to an intraday high of 76,500 won before closing down 0.4% at 74,300 won in line with the broader market decline.
Blitzway Entertainment finished down 1% at 1,424 won after rising as much as 7.9%.
HYBE shares ended 2.7% lower at 305,000 won after rising 3% during the session.
“This is the moment the industry has been waiting for,” said a Seoul-based entertainment analyst. “BTS returning as a full group is more than a comeback. It’s a global media event.”
By In-Soo Nam
isnam@hankyung.com
Jennifer Nicholson-Breen edited this article.
