BTS returned – but K -Pop has changed

“I missed them so,” says Stephanie Prada, a BTS fan, who is desperately waiting for the group reunion after a break for two and a half years.

Her love for the boy inspired her to move from Brazil to South Korea – so she did not surprise that she appeared last Friday for “BTS Festa”, a big party held every year near Seoul to the Group’s anniversary.

The time she had been waiting for has moved “both slowly and very quickly,” Stephanie says, waving an army bomb, the official basis used by BTS supporters called the army.

Behind it is a huge sculpture of Lightstick, a mandatory K-Pop world.

This year’s event is special because the reunification is finally just around the corner. Last week, the countdown reached the maximum when four of the seven members, RM, V, Jimin and Jung Kook completed their military service. And the expectation ends on Saturday, when the last of them, Suga, is discharged.

“I hope they are resting now,” Stephanie says before adding – but of course I also want albums, concerts, everything. “

18 months in the military who are mandatory for all South Korean men, forced the world’s most successful group of boys in recent years to hit in 2022. Now they are returning, some say, to the Galina K-Pop, which is completely different from what they knew: they encountered delays of album sales, stunning scandals and more and more dispelled through the excess pressure standing on the dawn.

The lack of a leading band said that industry observers felt deep.

“There was no main pillar without BTS,” says Kim Young de, a music critic and BTS: The Review.

“There have been problems recently that K-Pop is losing power. True or not, BTS may change this perception.”

As long as there are no plans for all seven members to come together, but this does not interfere with the army early in Goyana.

Long, restless queues stretched to the metro station an hour before the gate opened for BTS Festa. Fragments of English, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish, together with Korean, threw a local walk, who asked, “Why are there so many foreigners here?”

There were more queues inside – some people jumped with excitement, while others sobbed after entering the “voice zone”, a telephone booth where you could listen to BTS members. About half of the BBC fans spoke to turn around, talking about how much they missed BTS.

“It seems that 18 months lasted forever,” said Mativan, South African African, who visited BTS’s spots in Seoul, like their favorite restaurant. “I cried in every place – it was so emotional.”

And then she watched how to write a live broadcast that was “overwhelming”.

In the environment of all things that BTS made a halfway trip, it is worth it, says Farah Ala, who traveled from the Netherlands: “Breathing the same air, drinking the same food as BTS – this is enough for the army. If you ask the other army, they would say the same.”

The South Korean military service is the main test for men’s celebrities, many of whom have to enroll in the peak of their success. In the past, this proved to be deadly for some careers.

It is believed that the BTS has faltered so that all seven members are missing in action for no more than six months. J-Hope, which was discharged in October last year, has since completed a solo world tour. But the so -called curse can be difficult to break.

For the first time, loyalty to fans can decrease if new groups debuted almost every week, competing for their attention. The return of idols is also faced with a rigid transition because military stay and a note of maturity can mitigate the essence of k-popular attractiveness: youth energy.

But if anyone can break the curse, it’s BTS, says Mr.

Each of them has announced solo projects over the last two and a half years, explains without damaging their popularity in the group: “It seems that their military break has passed. Their return feels smooth.”

However, industry outside the army can create a call.

While BTS was on break, another sensation of K-Pop, Blackpink, did not give up the album since September 2022, choosing instead of solo releases. These were the leaders of the third generation K-Pop.

But they were changed by the fourth and fifth generation that brought the fresh style of the genre. New acts – which made their debut after 2018 – lack a great name like BTS because K -Pop has become more diverse than if you are. The result is a number of very popular and experimental groups.

“Most people of my age are like the fourth-generation idols these days,” says a 13-year-old Girl Group Ive.

“Some of the third -generation groups are still like, but BTS like it feels that they belong to the older generation. A lot of new idols debuted while BTS was visiting and they became popular.”

But the biggest problem in the status of Supeurstar BTS is something that some see as a slowdown in K-Pop.

The proceeds from the concerts remain strong, but the sales of albums – a key market metric – are reduced from peak in 2023. The reaction is the same if BTS and Blackpink did not release albums.

The critic of the South Korean pop culture Park HE agreed that the K-Pop survived “a few difficult times” while BTS was visiting.

There were also several disputes, for example, in a title dispute between Hit Girl Group Newjeans and their agencies, allegations of violent treatment with all powerful agencies and harassment of stars of fans and trolls.

“The sales of the albums have started to decline, and some problems – for example, issues concerning the properly handled companies,” said Ms. Park. Because of all this, she adds, we saw more “deeper problems in the K-Pop industry.”

That is why so many are looking forward to BTS’s return, hoping that it will bring updated energy – and maybe even a way forward for this industry.

“Their return will help people focus on the music scene of Korea again,” says Ms. Park, adding that BTS reunion is great not only for their fans but also for the Korean soft force.

All eyes are now on the next song.

“I will soon make the album and go back to the stage,” the group leader said on the day when he was discharged.

But a new group album may come to the beginning of next year because the J-Hope is still scheduled for domestic concerts, and Gin intends to hold concerts around the world over the next few months. It is also possible for a sugo that landed in the dispute after being caught by a drunk scooter last year, he may want to lie down briefly.

For millions of fans such as Stephanie, just knowing that BTS is again together – yet.

“It seems nothing changes. The necklace is back.”