BTS staged their first live performance as a group in three and a half years at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square on March 21, 2026, one day after releasing their album ‘Arirang’. The free event drew large crowds despite limited tickets and was broadcast live on Netflix. Leader RM performed with limited mobility due to an ankle injury.
BTS, the seven-member K-pop group consisting of RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, held their comeback concert titled BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on Saturday, March 21, 2026. This marked their first group performance since October 2022’s ‘Yet To Come in Busan’ concert, ahead of members’ mandatory military service hiatuses. The event followed the March 20 release of their new album ‘Arirang’ and was their first full gig together in that period, though reports vary on exact crowd size: NME reported 104,000 fans despite only 22,000 free tickets available, while Rolling Stone cited over 250,000 attendees, setting a record for South Korea’s largest public concert, with many viewing via screens along Sejong-daero road, which was closed to traffic. The Netflix livestream was the platform’s first live music broadcast and remains available to rewatch. The hour-long set began at 8pm KST with ‘Body To Body’ from ‘Arirang’, followed by ‘Hooligan’, ‘2.0’, ‘Butter’, ‘Mic Drop’, ‘Aliens’, ‘FYA’, ‘Swim’, ‘Like Animals’, ‘Normal’, ‘Dynamite’, and ‘Mikrokosmos’. Performances incorporated Korean heritage themes like geongongamri elements from the national flag. Jin reflected: “I still vividly remember asking you to wait for us at our last concert in Busan a few years ago... seeing you all again, I’m so grateful and happy.” RM announced: “Hello Seoul, we’re back.” Suga noted: “It’s truly an honour to perform at Gwanghwamun, the most historic place in Korea.” RM’s participation was limited due to an ankle injury from March 19 rehearsals—a sprain of the accessory navicular, partial ligament tear, and talus contusion—requiring a cast and stool-based performance, as per Big Hit Music. j-hope said: “BTS 2.0 is just getting started.” The group announced a world tour starting April 9 in Goyang, South Korea. Separately, ‘Arirang’ broke Spotify records as the most-streamed album in a single day in 2026 and top K-pop album ever.
