BTS launches its world tour driven by the success of their latest album

The K-pop megastars BTS kicked off their world tour on Thursday, fueled by the momentum of their latest album topping global charts and a massive concert in the heart of Seoul marking their return.

The seven-member group, regarded as the world’s biggest boy band, took to the stage for the first time last month after a hiatus of several years due to mandatory military service, following the release of their latest studio album, “ARIRANG.”

The concert, held near the historic Gyeongbokgung Palace, drew over 100,000 fans to downtown Seoul, according to the group’s record label, while its live broadcast on Netflix attracted around 18.4 million viewers worldwide, according to the streaming giant.

The city, located about 15 kilometers north of the capital, was already awash in purple, the band’s emblematic color, hours before the concert.

A hue that could be seen in the clothes of many fans waiting outside the stadium. Several of them were speaking English, Spanish, Chinese, or Japanese, reflecting the group’s international reach.

“This was the hardest concert ticket for me to get. Even with high-speed internet in Korea, I was 80,000th in line,” said Evelyn Soto Villarreal, a 27-year-old Mexican fan living in Busan, to AFP.

As the show neared its end, temperatures dropped and the rain intensified, but the fans leaving the venue remained just as enthusiastic.

A 46-year-old English fan named Janine struggled to express her emotions. “So many things were special… I can’t find the words,” she said. “It was just fantastic.”

Abbas Manahil, a 27-year-old Pakistani physiotherapist, admitted to fearing the stars might slip due to heavy rain, but added that the group members handled the situation perfectly.

“It was the first time I saw them up close,” she said. “It brightened my day.”

– “A new chapter” –

With 85 concerts planned in 34 cities worldwide, this highly anticipated tour, which began in Goyang, the hometown of boy band leader RM, could surpass the revenue of Taylor Swift’s recent “Eras Tour,” analysts say.

They will travel to Asia, North America, Latin America, and Europe, including two nights in Paris in July.

“The most important thing for a singer is a concert,” said Jin, one of BTS’ members in a statement released a few hours before the concert.

“As this is our first world tour in a long time, we want to directly experience the culture and atmosphere of concerts in each region,” he added.

BTS reunited in full last month for the first time after a pause of over four years due to mandatory military service for its seven members.

“ARIRANG” is presented as a reflection of the Korean identity of the boy band: it takes its name from a traditional Korean folk song evoking nostalgia and separation, often considered the unofficial national anthem of South Korea.

With this album, the group wanted to move beyond themes of teenage pain and internal conflicts to delve “into a realm where they delve more deeply into themselves,” noted Kim Jeong-seob, author of “The BTS Universe,” a book available only in Korean.

Describing the tour as the beginning of a “new chapter,” Kim Jeong-seob, also a specialist in Korean entertainment culture at Sungshin University in Seoul, believes that current global issues, such as wars or ethnic and religious conflicts, could be reflected in their work.

– K-culture and soft power –

In this highly competitive industry, many K-pop groups have had to end their careers after their military service, a situation from which the group escaped.

BTS became the first K-pop group to top the American Billboard 200 weekly chart for two consecutive weeks with this new album, and their tracks also topped several Spotify charts, including “Daily Top Songs Global” – the daily ranking of the 200 most streamed songs worldwide on the platform.

“This is extremely important for the future of K-culture and the Korean nation, as it means that this unprecedented growth of its soft power will continue,” said American sociologist Sam Richards, a professor at Pennsylvania State University.

Behind BTS’s continued dominance lies the strength of ARMY, widely recognized as one of the most organized fan communities in the world.

“BTS built their fan community through social media and direct interaction with the audience before the industry fully understood how to do it, especially with platforms like Twitter and SoundCloud,” said Jeff Benjamin, a Billboard K-pop columnist.