A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
South Korea is celebrating the reunion of its most famous musical act, BTS. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul, where fans welcome the K-pop group back at a massive free concert over the weekend.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BTS: (Rapping) I need the whole world to jump.
ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE: BTS' seven members performed on a stage in front of a former royal palace, Gyeongbokgung, in the heart of the capital. Band member J-Hope addressed the crowd in English.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)0
J-HOPE: OK, guys, I can't believe this. Seven of us are all standing together on this stage today.
(CHEERING)
J-HOPE: Wow. Thank you for waiting for us.
KUHN: After a nearly decadelong rise to stardom, the band took a break in 2022 to perform mandatory military service and do solo projects. Forty-two-year-old fan Jang Inja (ph) says the reunion marks the start of a new chapter for BTS.
JANG INJA: (Through interpreter) When the group BTS first came out, they were like babies. Before they went into the military, they were like people who were half complete. After their discharge, they're coming out with a more solid influence as men. So I'm looking forward to it a lot.
KUHN: More than 10,000 police and city officials controlled crowds and manned downtown security checkpoints. Crowd estimates ranged from 40,000 to 104,000, far lower than predicted. The day before the concert, BTS dropped a new album called "Arirang," also the name of a beloved Korean folk song.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SWIM")
BTS: (Singing) Swim. I just want to dive, I just want to dive.
(Rapping) Bad world. Gone away and I still wake up in this mad world. Name a place that I could breathe on this map, world. Looking like a goody, goody in this bad world, bad world. Don't know how to act, girl...
KUHN: Visiting Boston resident Lee Lee Kao talked about maturing with BTS and about the new album.
LEE LEE KAO: I'm 23, 24 now, so I'm still listening to BTS. So I think they're making music for people, like, our age now. And mature wise, I don't know really how to describe it, honestly. It's not like "Butter."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "2.0")
BTS: (Singing in Korean). Yeah, we on that brand-new. You know how we do.
Hey, hey, hey. (Rapping in Korean).
KUHN: The new album has less pop and R&B and several darker, cooler, rap-influenced tunes like 2.0, a song that announces the new phase of BTS' career. Despite all the Korean culture displays, the concert was made for global media, directed by Britain Hamish Hamilton, who masterminded the Super Bowl halftime show and streamed on Netflix. Next month, BTS will set out on a 34-city world tour that will last into next spring.
Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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