K-pop superstars BTS are back after more than three years away. Marking the official start of a new era is Arirang, their fifth studio album, released on Friday.
The record-breaking group, who went on hiatus as members completed mandatory military service in South Korea, are celebrating their return with a one-off concert in Seoul that will be streamed live worldwide on Saturday. The show serves as both a comeback moment and the launch pad for what is expected to be the biggest tour ever staged by a K-pop act.
Here is what to know.
Arirang, the album
Released on March 20, Arirang is BTS’s fifth studio album and their first in more than three years. The 14-track project, led by the single Swim, takes its name from the traditional Korean folk song and reflects the group’s roots and identity while signalling a new creative phase.
The music video for Swim, featuring Riverdale actor Lili Reinhart, racked up more than 7 million views within two hours of its release. Sung in English, the track blends introspective lyrics with an expansive, atmospheric sound, while the video’s sweeping seascapes and stylised storytelling point to a more mature, contemplative tone.
Concert date and UAE time
The concert will take place on Saturday, March 21, at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. For viewers in the UAE, the live-stream is scheduled to begin at 1pm GST, with the show expected to run for about an hour. It marks the group’s first major live performance together following their hiatus.
How to watch
The concert will be streamed live on Netflix in 190 countries, in what is being billed as the platform’s first global broadcast of a music concert. Brandon Riegg, Netflix's vice president of nonfiction series and sports told Reuters it will be “a spectacle unlike anything we've seen before.”
Venue and scale
Gwanghwamun Square is one of Seoul’s most historic and symbolic public spaces. Officials expect up to 260,000 people to gather in and around the site, including about 22,000 ticketed spectators, making it one of the largest events held there in recent years.
What to expect from the concert
With a one-hour runtime, the Seoul show is likely to be tightly curated, combining new material from Arirang with some of the group’s biggest hits. The production is expected to emphasise large-scale visuals and storytelling, designed to resonate both with the live audience and viewers watching around the world.
The world tour
The concert also marks the beginning of BTS’s Arirang world tour, which will kick off on April 9, 2026, in Goyang, South Korea. The tour is scheduled to span 34 cities with a total of 82 shows, running through to March 2027. Stops include Japan, the US and Mexico, followed by Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia and Latin America, underlining the group’s global reach.
How big could it be?
Industry analysts expect the tour to rival the highest-grossing tours in history, with projected revenue of about 2.7 trillion won ($1.8 billion). That would place it within reach of records set by Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres tour, while also making it the largest K-pop tour ever staged in terms of scale and reach.
Will BTS come to the UAE?
The initial announcement may have been disappointing for fans in the Middle East as no local dates were included. However, there is still hope. Towards the bottom of the poster, it noted that “more dates in Japan and the Middle East are set to be announced for next year”.
BTS previously performed in Abu Dhabi as part of KCon in 2016, while still in the early stages of their career, and later played a sold-out show in Riyadh in 2019 during their Love Yourself: Speak Yourself world tour.
Why this comeback matters
This comeback represents more than just a return to music. It marks BTS’s first full group activity cycle since 2022, the launch of what could become a record-breaking tour, and a major moment in the evolution of global live-streamed concerts. For fans, it is a long-awaited reunion. For the wider industry, it signals how large-scale music events are increasingly being experienced simultaneously across the world.
