BTS to Make Full-Group Comeback on March 20 – New Turning Point for K-Pop Industry

BTS will return as a full group on March 20, releasing their first new studio album in 3 years and 9 months. This marks their first release since “Proof” in June 2022, and their first studio album since “Map of the Soul: 7” released in February 2020, a span of 6 years and 1 month.

The new fifth studio album is set to feature a total of 14 tracks, with BTS putting considerable effort into it to capture the essence of “the current BTS.” As this will be their first full-group activity since all members completed their military service in June last year, it has drawn massive anticipation from fans worldwide.

BTS’s iconic influence became evident immediately after the comeback announcement. Due to fans’ voluntary mass streaming of “Run BTS,” the song topped the iTunes Top Songs chart in 61 countries and regions, including Brazil, Finland, and Mexico, as of January 2. This is an exceptional achievement for a track released several years ago. Grace Cao, a professor of sociology at Yale University, stated, “BTS remains the most famous name in K-Pop. If an average American could only think of one K-Pop group, it would be BTS.” She added that “BTS possesses sales power that surpasses any other K-Pop group.”

During the same period, other “mega IP” groups such as BIGBANG led by G-Dragon (set to perform at Coachella in California on April 12 and 19), BLACKPINK (in the first half of the year), and EXO (with their eighth studio album on January 19) will also resume their activities one after another. Although K-Pop album sales declined in 2024 to 93.28 million units after exceeding 100 million units in 2023, the return of these artists with global fanbases is expected to revitalize both the album and digital music markets.

The international situation is also favorable. With improved relations between South Korea and China recently, the possibility of the Chinese market reopening has increased. Given that China is a major exporter of K-Pop albums and a huge market with over 1.4 billion people, the impact on the industry would be even greater if K-Pop concerts resume there. The entertainment industry predicts that the combined operating profits of the five major entertainment companies this year will approach 1 trillion won.