After four years, the groundbreaking K-Pop boy band BTS has made a comeback that shook the public to joy and excitement. Fans from all over the world traveled to their comeback concert and Gwanghamun Square on March 21st, 2026.
BTS went on hiatus in 2022 due to the group members’ mandatory military service. Under South Korean law, Korean men are required to serve 4 years in the military. It was no shock that BTS’s comeback made global news headlines and reached outstanding publicity. After four long years, the group finally got to perform with each other.
According to Spotify, their new album, Arirang, pulled in over 110 million streams on Spotify in its first 24 hours, being the most-streamed album in a single day this year. Their concert at Gwanghamun Square attracted 104,000 fans, making their comeback truly a remarkable moment to most people. However, some critics say that their performance was a total flop, and that their new album is subpar compared to their past music.
“Videos of fans reacting to the songs for the first time have gone viral on TikTok, as some of the songs, like Fye and Hooligans, are getting flamed for weak lyrics and weird audio mixing.” The Tab reporter, Oreoluwa Adeyoola reports.
It’s true that many fans have been giving the new album backlash for its drastic change from BTS’s music in the past. Their old music was energetic and upbeat, while this album is more mature. Arirang’s theme is focused on Korean culture and spirit, a change of pace from their old albums. The album was named after a traditional folk song that serves as the country’s unofficial national anthem because it explores themes of Korean identity and hardship.
Along with fans’ distaste of the new album, an article from Music Business Worldwide shared that “HYBE said the event attracted 104,000 fans in total, but that was far lower than the 260,000 police had initially projected… Seoul’s real-time urban data system suggested the actual figure may have been lower still — between 46,000 and 83,000 depending on the perimeter measured.”
Though amassing an audience of over 100,000 is impressive, it was clearly less than anticipated by the public. Another problem that arose with this concert was a crisis with locals. According to the BBC, Gwanghamun Square was completely blocked because of the concert. Pedestrians had to take long detours, and other nearby events were disrupted. For example, this was stressful for lawyer Sohn Yeon-ju, who was supposed to hold her wedding near Gwanghamun Square the day of the concert.
However, BTS’s comeback and album of Korean identity still touched many. Vivienne Ferrier, an American who resides in Korea, wore a hanbok to BTS’s concert to follow the theme of Arirang. “I chose the colors red and white because the album is red and white, so I wanted to celebrate what they were showing to us. This is a Korean traditional hanbok. And I just wanted to really honor that,” she told CNN.
In general, though BTS may have seen some stumbles throughout this comeback, there are still things to be celebrated in this event. Their album was obviously a huge hit, and according to a CNN article, many describe this as “the comeback of the century.” The new album just shows that BTS has matured and changed their old ways, and hope to project themselves as a transformed group in the foreseeable future.
