BTS Seoul Concert: K-Pop Group Returns After 4 Years | New Album & World Tour News

SEOUL – K-pop group BTS performed its first full-group concert in four years Saturday in Seoul, drawing tens of thousands of fans to Gwanghwamun Square, the Associated Press reported.

The free concert marked the band’s official return to the stage after all seven members completed mandatory military service in South Korea. RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook opened the performance with “Body to Body,” according to the AP, eliciting a fervent reaction from the crowd waving purple and red light sticks.

“Annyeonghaseyo! We’re back,” RM, the group’s leader, told the audience, using the Korean greeting for “hello.”

The concert followed the release of BTS’s fifth album, “ARIRANG,” on Friday, which reportedly sold nearly 4 million copies on its first day, according to their management company, HYBE. The performance is a prelude to a global tour spanning the United States, Europe, and Asia, with analysts predicting the tour could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue per quarter.

During a rehearsal, RM sustained an ankle injury, but performed with modified choreography, the AP reported. The group announced a hiatus in 2022 to allow members to fulfill their mandatory military service obligations.