BTS Meets 110,000 ARMY in Busan: "Your Joy Is Our Greatest Gift"

On Saturday afternoon, a birthday song echoed through Busan Asiad Main Stadium, bathed in purple light instead of darkness. A crowd of 55,000 ARMY members filling the stands sang "Happy Birthday" together with BTS to celebrate the group's 13th debut anniversary. It was a moment when BTS, which debuted on June 13, 2013, marked a special birthday together with their fandom, ARMY.

Ahead of the June 13 debut anniversary, Busan was wrapped in a purple festival atmosphere early on. With the "Homecoming" concert held on the anniversary day itself, the entire city created a spectacle awash in purple.

In particular, member Jin expressed his gratitude toward fans, saying, "Seeing all of you ARMY enjoy yourselves is the greatest birthday gift for us," and the venue was filled with passionate cheers and applause.

BTS held "BTS WORLD TOUR 'ARIRANG' IN BUSAN" at Busan Asiad Main Stadium over two days, Friday and Saturday, meeting a total of around 110,000 spectators. The Busan performance comes about three years and eight months after "Yet To Come in BUSAN" in 2022. The venue gained added significance as the place where the group held its last full-member concert before military enlistment, and as the hometown of Jimin and Jungkook.

The members conveyed their gratitude and affection toward ARMY throughout the concert, and fans responded with passionate cheers. RM said, "It feels like just yesterday we were doing 'No More Dream' in the practice room, but 13 years have already passed. Many things have changed in that time, but we will always strive to show you who we truly are."

Meanwhile, BTS is continuing the largest world tour in K-pop history, mobilizing about 1.08 million spectators across Japan, North America and elsewhere, beginning with its Goyang performance. The group will open its European tour in Madrid, Spain, on June 26.

This Busan performance was staged with special features befitting the meaning of "Homecoming." The members personally prepared gift packages containing handwritten cards and souvenirs for the fans who came to the venue over the two days, conveying their gratitude. They also unveiled the Korean version of "NORMAL," a track from their fifth full-length album "ARIRANG," for the first time, drawing enthusiastic cheers.

The concert opened spectacularly with "Hooligan," marked by an intense beat reminiscent of clashing metal. As traditional Korean gukak melodies flowed through the stadium, dancers carrying torches appeared and instantly heightened the atmosphere. With all members holding hand microphones, BTS delivered a vibrant live performance, consecutively performing 22 signature songs including new tracks such as "FAKE LOVE," "MIC Drop," and "Burning Up."

The Busan performance drew particular attention with the addition of large-scale water effects. During "Body to Body," the highlight of the concert, massive jets of water sprayed in all directions, and the audience created a spectacle by singing along to "Arirang Arirang Arariyo." In the following "IDOL" stage, about 50 dancers marched together along the stadium track, bringing the festival atmosphere to its peak.

The Korean aesthetic at the heart of this tour stood out throughout. A pavilion in the form of a traditional pavilion modeled after Gyeonghoeru was installed at the center of the venue, and the stage was designed to embody the taegeuk symbol and the geon-gon-gam-ri trigrams. In "they don't know 'bout us," traditional mask imagery was reinterpreted in a modern style, and in "Merry Go Round," a performance inspired by the seungmu (Buddhist monk dance) was presented. The taegeuk symbol was rendered at each stage transition, emphasizing Korean sentiment. The stage, showcasing harmony between K-pop and Korean aesthetics, drew enthusiastic responses from global fans and was cited as the highlight of the concert.