K-pop Goliath BTS to light up 2026 like a dynamite

SINGAPORE – She has travelled to Brazil, London and the United States alone to watch K-pop boy band BTS’ The Wings and Love Yourself concert tours in 2017 and 2018. 

The healthcare professional in her late 40s, who wants to be known only as Ms Gen, is planning to do the same upon learning BTS is mounting a massive global tour in 2026.

“I’ll probably fly to Seoul, or anywhere that I can get a concert ticket,” says Ms Gen, founder of Boraland, a home-grown BTS community on Telegram. The channel allows members to buy and/or sell BTS merchandise and share content about the band.

While she has not booked her leave dates for 2026 yet, as she is still waiting for concert dates to be announced, she has plans to go with her Army (BTS’ fandom name) friends.

According to a Bloomberg report in October 2025,

BTS are planning their biggest tour ever

, with about 65 dates all over the world, including more than 30 shows in North America.

On Jan 5, the band teased that their global tour dates will be revealed on Jan 14.

It will be the South Korean supergroup’s first proper tour since 2019. 

The septet – comprising Jin, 33; Suga, 32; J-Hope, 31; RM, 31; Jimin, 30; V, 30; and Jungkook, 28 –  went on a temporary hiatus in June 2022 when each member had to fulfil his mandatory military service. 

Ms Gen is not the only Army working his or her 2026 schedule around the group’s comeback plans. 

Customer service supervisor Esther M, 33, too, will attend as many concerts as possible throughout the length of the tour. She also plans to fly to Seoul to catch all seven members performing together for BTS Festa on June 13, an annual celebration of the group’s 2013 debut.

The Festa in 2025 had only J-Hope, Jin and Jungkook performing live during J-Hope’s Hope On The Stage final concert. The remaining members cheered for their bandmates from the audience, as Jimin, RM and V had just been discharged then and Suga was still serving his military service. 

Ms Esther M adds: “Whatever event, big or small, I plan to be there to celebrate with BTS and Army.”

Excitement is certainly building up for the long-awaited reunion, with members of the group posting teasers of themselves working together again.

On Dec 12, V shared a candid photo on his Instagram Stories of the group in a dance studio. And four days later, BTS surprised fans with an impromptu live stream on Weverse, where the group chatted after a dance practice and said they were “going crazy” to make a comeback.

BTS have more than 30 million subscribers on Weverse, a social platform where artistes communicate directly with their followers.

However, having a phenomenal following around the globe has its downsides, as fans’ expectations of the members are high. 

BTS’ youngest member Jungkook recently courted controversy when he was

romantically linked to popular K-pop girl group Aespa’s Winter

.

Angry fans subsequently sent protest trucks to BTS’ management company Hybe’s headquarters in Seoul, accusing the K-pop idol of misleading fans and damaging the group’s image.

RM also got into trouble with fans in November when he candidly revealed in a live stream that he did not feel like he could be the leader of the group any more. He shared that the team considered disbanding during their hiatus due to some “internal struggles”. 

Some fans did not take well to RM’s casual remarks, as they had been waiting eagerly for the band’s return. RM subsequently apologised in another live stream, saying that he was “frustrated” at the time.

“We’re sorry for making you wait and sorry for giving excuses,” he said. 

Fans look forward to 2026

Army are clearly waiting anxiously for their idols’ return. The band’s B-side track Anpanman, from their third studio album Love Yourself: Tear (2018), made a surprising resurgence and claimed the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales Chart for the week of Dec 20, almost eight years after its release.

The hip-hop dance track also topped the iTunes Top Songs chart in 75 regions around the world. 

“The fact that the song is gaining so much love is evidence that Army are gathering support for BTS’ comeback in spring,” the band’s agency Big Hit Music said in a press statement, reported Korea JoongAng Daily.

According to Spotify’s 2025 year-end report, BTS ranked No. 1 among K-pop artistes streamed on the music platform of the year, cementing their position in the global music industry. The achievement is quite a feat, considering that BTS regrouped only in June 2025. Meanwhile, the members continue to enjoy long-running success with their solo releases.

Fans are also counting down to March 20, when the K-pop Goliath will release their first new album –featuring 14 tracks – in six years. The group began work on it in Los Angeles following Suga’s discharge from the military in June. He was the last member to complete military service.

Jungkook, who graces the cover of Elle Korea’s January 2026 issue, teased the group’s upcoming activities in a recent interview with the South Korean fashion magazine.

“I think this spring will be more important than ever,” he said. “So I sincerely hope you all have a safe and enjoyable spring.”