K-pop supergroup BTS has announced their comeback in the spring of 2026 with an album and a world tour. This has caused hysteria among fans eagerly awaiting their return.

South Korea's most lucrative musical group has been on hiatus since 2022, as its members took mandatory military service, which is required of all South Koreans under the age of 30, due to tensions with the nuclear-armed North.

After the five members were discharged from military service in June, many in the industry were anticipating their return, AFP reported.

“We've been planning something big since July, so we'll probably get together then (this month) and focus on making music,” group leader Kim Nam-joon (RM) said on the superfan platform Weverse.

“Our group's album will be officially released in the spring of next year. From next spring, of course, we will go on tour, so please look forward to seeing us all over the world,” he said during a live chat.

The group also revealed plans to travel to the United States this month, where all seven members will gradually regroup to begin music production and prepare for their upcoming performances.

If released in the spring of 2026, their new album will be their first in four years since “Proof,” which was the best-selling album of 2022 in South Korea with nearly 3.5 million copies sold.

Before their mandatory military service, the boy band generated an annual economic impact of over $4 billion, according to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.

This represents approximately 0.2% of South Korea's total GDP, according to official data.

BTS holds the record for the most streamed group on Spotify and became the first K-pop artist to top both the Billboard 200 and Billboard Artist 100 charts in the US. | BGNES