BTS to celebrate return from military duty with fan events and exhibitions

BTS / Courtesy of Weverse

As BTS members approach the end of their military service, a series of fan-centered events is set to celebrate their return. Entertainment agency BigHit Music announced a full schedule of both online and offline events this month, including a large-scale fan festival and a global fan art exhibition.

On June 13 and 14, the 2025 BTS Festa will take place at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. The event is part of BTS Festa, an annual celebration marking the group’s debut on June 13, 2013. Since 2014, BTS has held a two-week festival each year in early to mid-June, combining both digital and in-person fan experiences.

This year’s Festa coincides with a major milestone: the discharge of all remaining BTS members from military service. RM and V are expected to complete their duties on Tuesday, followed by Jimin and Jungkook on Wednesday. With Jin and J-Hope having already completed their service, fans are eager to see whether all seven members will make a surprise appearance at the event.

Timeline of 2025 BTS Festa / Courtesy of BigHit Music

The two-day festival will feature over 20 themed booths, including a Voice Zone where fans can hear messages recorded by the members, a BTS Locker exhibit displaying personal items, a Spotify Playlist area curated by the group and a Trophy Zone showcasing awards BTS has received. Nearby at the Goyang Sports Complex’s main stadium, J-Hope will hold the final stop of his “Hope on the Street Final” encore world tour. The tour began Feb. 28 at Seoul’s KSPO Dome and spanned 15 cities.

Starting June 21 — when Suga, the final member to complete his military duty, is officially discharged — a fan art exhibition titled “Presence in Absence: Chapter 2, BTS Art” will open in Seoul’s Seongdong District. Hosted at TAXA Seoul, the exhibit will run through June 29 and feature artworks celebrating the group’s full reunion.

Twenty ARMY fan artists from 13 countries, including Korea, the U.S., Switzerland, Spain, Chile and Ukraine, will present a wide range of works — from digital paintings and pen drawings to watercolors and oil portraits. The artists, whose professions range from illustrators and designers to doctors and educators, created their works between late 2022 and the first half of 2024 while the members were serving in the military.

BTS fan artwork / Courtesy 25th Hour Collective

Most of the pieces focus on individual BTS members, aiming to highlight their unique traits beyond the group dynamic. According to the exhibition’s organizer, 25th Hour Collective, “We wanted to showcase aspects of each member’s personality that fans may not have fully appreciated during group activities.”

They added that the show marks the largest-ever independent BTS fan art exhibition in terms of both participating artists and international representation.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.