K-pop megastars BTS will launch their first world tour in four years this April, their label HYBE announced Wednesday, marking a major comeback after a hiatus during which all seven members completed mandatory military service, reports AFP.
Known for global hits like Dynamite and Butter, BTS are the most-streamed group on Spotify and the first K-pop act to top both the Billboard 200 and Billboard Artist 100 charts in the United States.
HYBE revealed on New Year’s Day that BTS will release a new album in March ahead of the tour. The schedule spans 34 cities with 79 performances, making it the largest-ever single tour by a K-pop group in both shows and global reach.
The tour will kick off in Goyang, South Korea, on April 9, with two additional concerts in the city before moving to Japan. The band will then tour the United States and Europe, concluding in Manila in March 2027. Additional stops in Japan and the Middle East will be announced.
BTS’s new album, yet to be named, will be their first since the anthology Proof, South Korea’s bestselling album of 2022.
The band’s global fanbase, known as ARMY, reacted with excitement online, joking about the challenges of ticket hunting.
BTS is a major economic contributor in South Korea, generating over 5.5 trillion won ($3.7 billion) annually before military service — about 0.2 percent of the nation’s GDP, according to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.
The announcement boosted HYBE shares by around three percent at Wednesday’s market open. Investment bank IBK Securities projected the company’s operating profits could rise tenfold this year compared to 2025. Analyst Kim Yu-hyuk estimates around 4.5 million people are expected to attend the tour.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
