BTS Returns With New Album 'ARIRANG'

By - 254 words

Language

Reading Level

Listen to Article

BTS has released a new albun called ARIRANG (Credit: Netflix)

After nearly four years apart for mandatory military service in South Korea, BTS is back on the global music scene. The seven-member K-pop group — RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook — released their new album ARIRANG on March 20, 2026. It is their first album together since Proof in 2022.

ARIRANG is inspired by a popular Korean folk song of the same name. The album’s 14 songs blend hip-hop, pop, and traditional Korean elements. ARIRANG sold millions of copies in the first week. Its lead single, "Swim," quickly topped music charts worldwide.

BTS celebrated the album’s launch with a free, live concert at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on March 21, 2026. For BTS fans known as ARMY, the concert felt like an emotional reunion. About 100,000 fans attended in person, and over 18 million more watched it online on Netflix.

Netflix streamed the March 21 concert online (Credit: Netflix.com)

Following the live-streamed performance, Netflix released BTS: The Return, a documentary filmed around the concert. The film gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at the group’s creative process, including recording sessions. It also captures the thrills and challenges of returning to the stage.

BTS is now getting ready for the ARIRANG World Tour. It will kick off in South Korea in April 2026 and run through March 2027. The tour features 80 shows across 23 countries. The North American leg includes stops in California, Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey. Most concerts are already sold out, showing the group's continued deep connection with its ARMY around the world.

Resources: Netflix.com, The Guardian.com, Reuters.com

Workbook

Get the Workbook for this article!

Workbook contains: Article, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking Questions, Vocabulary in Context (+ answers), Multiple Choice Quiz (+ answers), Parts of Speech Quiz (+ answers), Vocabulary Game (+ answers)
Cite Article
Learn Keywords in this Article
69 Comments
  • ilovehenrydsaf1
    the only BTS song that I listened to was swim.
    • cats4everrr
      OMG I LOVE KPOP MY FAVORITE GROUPS ARE STRAY KIDS, CORTIS, ENHYPEN, TXT, AND BIG OCEAN. I love Lee know from stray kids, martin from CORTIS, Niki from Enhypen, tae-hyun from txt, and Jiseok from big ocean. The group is deaf but their voices are still so good
      • otterlover2
        I love Stray Kids. I can't choose just one person though, but I like Felix, Han and Hyunjin
        • hiyab
          hiyab26 days
          Wow that's is amazing and I love the bts
          • vunysopahoho
            I love stray kids bts Cortis and txt
          • luzarehorehe
            luzarehoreheabout 1 month
            I love Stray Kids, BTS, P1Harmony, NCT, TXT, TWS and more I can name all of them so,yeah. My favorite From Stray Kids is Hyunjin, from BTS is Jin, from P1Harmony is Soul, from NCT is Riku, from TXT is Yeonjun, and from TWS is Hanjin. It's just like Han and Hyunjin's ship name. And I'm soooo happy because Lee Know and Han are dating. YAYYY!!!!!!!
            • 0aminarahman0
              girl I adore straykids, cortis, and enhypen. my fav from straykids is Han, from enhypen its sunoo, and from cortis its juhoonnn.
            • vunysopahoho
              vunysopahohoabout 1 month
              love bts going to see there consert
              • murudysemihy
                murudysemihyabout 1 month
                I love butter my friend went to the concert this year!!!!!!!!!
                • therianforeve
                  therianforeveabout 2 months
                  BTS is the best I like butter
                  • winter_soldier
                    winter_soldierabout 2 months
                    I've never really heard any songs by them. I think that its just happy that they are reunited, its like a friend reunion.