The Zubillaga family, (L-R) Julio (44), Renata (15), Miryam (43) and Fernanda (11), flew to South Korea<\/a> from Mexico as a birthday gift for Renata.<\/p>\n The crowds had been flowing in to South Korea\u2019s capital since morning, with fans coming from all over the world; Malaysia to China, France to Bolivia. Nani Cruz, 30, had come from Guam. \u201cSeeing them come back is a huge thing,\u201d she says. \u201cThe longing that ARMY is feeling, that\u2019s what we\u2019re able to experience again tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n Maggie Kang, the Korean-Canadian film-maker who six days earlier had collected the Oscar for best animated feature<\/a> for KPop Demon Hunters, was among those in attendance. \u201cJust this crowd, and this open public space \u2013 it\u2019s so awesome that Korea is able to do this<\/a>,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Yu Hye-sun (44), a Seoul office worker, has come with friends whom she met at BTS\u2019s last concert before their military service (above). A person carries BTS merchandise and inspired goods and a K-pop<\/a> light stick ahead of the concert (below).<\/p>\n BTS<\/a> are seven South Korean men who became, by almost any measure, the biggest band in the world. Over little more than a decade, they sold hundreds of millions of records, became the first Korean act to top the Billboard Hot 100 and address the United Nations, and built a global fanbase known as ARMY. They did it largely in Korean, at a time when the industry insisted the language was a commercial barrier.<\/p>\n Then, in late 2022, they stopped<\/a>. South Korean law requires all able-bodied men to serve in the military, and BTS were no exception. One by one, the seven members enlisted.<\/p>\n For nearly four years, the group that had performed to sold-out stadiums worldwide went silent as a unit. The return, when it came, raised questions about the logistics of such a reassembly, and whether a changed world had kept a place for them.<\/p>\n The answer resoundingly came in Gwanghwamun square, a location that sits at the symbolic heart of Seoul, framed by the Bugaksan mountains and flanked by Gyeongbokgung palace, built in 1395 as the seat of the Joseon dynasty kings. It is, above all, a space that belongs to the people. It is where Koreans have gathered by candlelight<\/a>, and more recently<\/a> by the glow of K-pop light sticks<\/a>, to demand accountability from their leaders. Two presidents have been brought down in part by protests that filled this square in recent years.<\/p>\n When BTS walked on to the stage, the square erupted. Thousands of ARMY light sticks glowed in unison against the dark sky, the palace walls of Gyeongbokgung lit up behind them as a canvas for visual projections. About 22,000 had secured free seats in the designated viewing zone as many thousands more watched on screens nearby. Still more fans watched via Netflix, which streamed the show to more than 190 countries.<\/p>\n \u201cAnnyeonghaseyo! We\u2019re back,\u201d RM, the band\u2019s leader, told the crowd, using the Korean word for \u201chello\u201d, as they opened with Body to Body.<\/p>\n
![\"BTS](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/BTS_Comeback_Show__Seoul__Korea._Saturday_21_March__2026._Tina_Hsu_The_Guardian--177eea67-5c0d-4f25-.jpeg\")
BTS Comeback Show, Seoul, Korea. Saturday 21 March, 2026. Tina Hsu\/The Guardian<\/p>\n