[Image of concert, Credit to Pixabay]

On January 13, nearly four years after their last performance as a full group in 2022, global K-pop sensation BTS announced their return as a seven-member group for their 82-date Arirang World Tour on Weverse. 

BTS last performed “One True 7” (OT7) on October 15, 2022, during their Yet To Come in BUSAN concert, a free stadium event held in support of South Korea’s bid for a future World Expo. 

Shortly after this concert, members began their staggered military enlistments, marking the start of the group’s hiatus, despite individual members continuing to pursue solo projects. Yet to Come in BUSAN now stands as a symbolic milestone as their last concert for four years to fans worldwide. 

With over 82 dates spanning 34 cities across 23 countries, the Arirang World Tour, announced in support of their newest unreleased album, Arirang (March 2026), is expected to be one of the largest-scale tours in 2026—especially with the group not having performed outside of the United States or South Korea since 2019. 

Named after Korea’s most recognizable folk song, their upcoming album, Arirang, is widely expected to explore themes of national identity, reunion, and belonging. 

The tour is set to begin on April 9, 2026, in Goyang, South Korea, and will continue through March 2027, marking their return as a full group following their respective mandatory military services in Korea. 

Countries like Japan, Mexico, Belgium, Germany, and Malaysia are eagerly anticipating the group’s return to performing on a global stage. Multiple-night stops in major cities such as Los Angeles, London, Paris, Tokyo, São Paulo, and Mexico City are expected to stir excitement globally. 

The announcement has triggered a global surge in ticket sales, with multiple cities selling out within only minutes of opening and fans scrambling to find seats in any available city. 

In Mexico City, tickets for the shows reportedly sold out in 37 minutes; secondary markets have also seen extreme increases in revenue, with some ticket resales reaching prices of ₩15 million KRW (approximately $11,000 USD).

Initial reports indicate a significant surge in tourism and economic boosts in the host cities, a phenomenon now dubbed the “BTS effect.” 

Over 1 million fans attempted to secure tickets for the Mexico City concert, despite there being only 150,000 available seats.

In fact, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum formally asked the South Korean president to consider increasing the number of BTS concerts in Mexico due to overwhelming public demand, marking a rare instance of pop culture-related diplomatic exchange. 

During their previous tour, BTS earned approximately $246 million at the global box office, also becoming the first Korean group to headline Wembley Stadium.

Now, Billboard predicts that the boy group and their record label BigHit/Hybe will generate over $1 billion from their reunion: a combination of concert revenue, merchandise sale, licensing profits, album sales, and streaming revenue. 

Hype reported that since the band’s hiatus, the company’s operating profit has dropped by nearly 37.5%, largely attributed to BTS’s break. 

Given that South Korean officials have previously credited BTS for contributing billions of dollars to the national economy, the group’s return is expected to amplify that impact, gathering more revenue than any other K-pop group.

Ultimately, BTS’s comeback marks a global event, catalyzing unprecedented political and economic effects throughout the world.