BTS celebrates 13th anniversary with return to Busan

Members of K-pop boy group BTS perform during the ongoing "BTS WORLD TOUR 'ARIRANG'" at Busan's Asiad Main Stadium, June 13. Courtesy of BigHit Music

By Pyo Kyung-min

• Published Jun 13, 2026 11:10 PM KST
• Updated Jun 14, 2026 4:08 PM KST

BUSAN — K-pop juggernaut BTS marked its 13th anniversary with a massive celebration, bringing the group's ongoing "ARIRANG" world tour to Busan's Asiad Main Stadium on Friday and Saturday for a two-night run that felt much bigger than a concert.

The timing was no accident. The second show landed squarely on June 13, the group's debut anniversary, sending fans worldwide into a frenzy well before the first note dropped.

Busan, too, carries deep meaning for the group — it is the hometown of members Jimin and Jung Kook, and the site of "Yet to Come," the sprawling farewell concert that preceded the members' hiatus due to mandatory military service in 2022.

The group's return had been anticipated for weeks. "BTS THE CITY ARIRANG BUSAN," a large-scale urban festival running since early June, transformed the city's landmarks into extensions of the "ARIRANG" album's themes, stretching from a grand welcome at Busan Station to a drone light show above Gwangalli Beach.

By Saturday evening, 55,000 fans packed the stadium. The crowd had already endured a roughly 75-minute delay the night before and experienced a 23-minute wait on Saturday. Neither dampened the mood. As the clock ticked down, the crowd channeled its energy into chanting each member's name, one by one. The two nights drew a combined 110,000 attendees.

When the show finally started, a wave of dancers sprinted onto the stage and the volume surged. The seven BTS members — RM, Jin, J-hope, Suga, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — arrived leading a full dance crew, launching into an opening sequence that set the tone immediately with "Hooligan" and "Aliens" from the "ARIRANG" album, followed by the fan-favorite "Run BTS."

V set the scene in a brief address to the crowd.

"Busan holds so many good memories for me," he said, citing the 2019 "BTS 5th Muster: Magic Shop" show and "Yet to Come." Jimin got more personal, saying, "I'm so happy to be in my hometown, on such a meaningful day, singing and dancing with all of you. Let's have fun tonight."

The setlist that followed struck a satisfying balance between new material and crowd-tested classics. Newer material including "they don't know ’bout us," "Like Animals," "SWIM," "2.0" and the Korean version of "NORMAL" gave way to a cathartic hip-hop stretch, as "Not Today," "MIC Drop" and "FIRE" were delivered in quick succession, turning the stadium into something between a mosh pit and a club.

The most distinctly Korean moments, however, were the evening's standouts.

"Body to Body," the opening track of "ARIRANG," featured a communal singalong of the traditional folk song "Arirang," and watching 55,000 people belt it together under a night sky was quietly staggering.

A performance of "IDOL" staged as a procession around the vast stadium, featuring traditional Korean percussion, carried a different charge in Busan than it had during earlier stops in Seoul's Gwanghwamun and Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

The members themselves were on a different level, too. Performing with handheld microphones throughout, all seven delivered live vocals and raps without flagging, rewarding their fans with a confidence that left little room for doubt about where the group stands.

The production kept pace. Fireworks filled the sky in waves throughout the night, while large-scale water cannons drenched the standing section at key moments, sending the crowd into a collective eruption.

The premiere of "Come Over" preceded a closing run that had the whole stadium on its feet, as "Butter" and "Dynamite" gave way to a surprise addition not listed on the original setlist — "One More Night" — and the beloved finale, "Into the Sun," which had fans roaring.

The Busan run is part of a world tour spanning 34 cities and 86 shows, and the "ARIRANG" campaign has generated its own headlines along the way.

The group received a special commendation in El Paso, Texas, for boosting tourism; in Mexico City, they were received as distinguished guests by the president. In Las Vegas, where "BTS THE CITY ARIRANG" ran alongside the concerts, the Sphere was lit in the album's signature crimson, and the Las Vegas Strip and downtown areas were blanketed in the group's music and imagery.