Maps of Music

Arirang (2026)

Where the lyrics of Arirang take you, and where it was really made.

The album takes its title from a Korean folk song, and its first track samples that same song.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

Sixth Korean-language and tenth overall studio album by BTS
Released 20 March 2026 by BigHit Music
First release after the group's hiatus for each member to complete military service
Follows the live album Permission to Dance on Stage – Live (2025)
First studio album in nearly six years, after Be (2020)
Hip hop and pop record with influences of alternative R&B, synth-pop, EDM and traditional Korean music
Themes include identity, separation, reunion, fame, burnout, resilience and cultural heritage

June 2022: BTS announced a temporary suspension of group activities to focus on solo projects
Members enlisted in South Korea's mandatory military service from December 2022 to June 2025
Solo works in the interim included Jack in the Box, Indigo, Face, D-Day, Golden and Echo
Group returned to working together in July 2025
4 January 2026: BigHit Music announced a comeback album with a world tour
Title revealed 15 January 2026, alluding to the Korean folk song of the same name
3 March 2026: track listing and production credits revealed, with "Swim" named as lead track

Written and composed with other musicians including Pdogg, Diplo, El Guincho, Ryan Tedder, Jasper Harris, Kevin Parker, Mike Will Made-It, Artemas and JPEGMafia
Opening track "Body to Body" samples the folk song "Arirang"
"No. 29" is a field recording of the Bell of King Seongdeok, the 29th national treasure of Korea
Deluxe vinyl adds a fifteenth track, "Come Over", co-produced by Suga

Five CD versions and multiple vinyl versions, including a version for each member
Deluxe vinyl released 3 April 2026

BTS is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010
Big Hit Entertainment CEO Bang Si-hyuk wanted to form a hip hop group around the underground rapper RM
Name is the Korean phrase Bangtan Sonyeondan, literally Bulletproof Boy Scouts
Debuted in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment with single album 2 Cool 4 Skool

Started out as a hip hop act and expanded into a wide range of genres
Lyrics cover mental health, troubles of school-age youth, coming of age, loss and the journey toward self-love
Wings (2016) was their first album to sell one million copies in South Korea
2018: first South Korean act to top Billboard 200 with Love Yourself: Tear
2020: first all-South Korean act to reach number one on Billboard Hot 100 with Dynamite
Best-selling musical act in South Korean history
First Asian act to sell out Wembley Stadium

Crossed into the global market by 2017
February 2017: repackaged Wings as You Never Walk Alone and began the Wings Tour
May 2017: won Top Social Artist at the Billboard Music Awards, the first K-pop group to win a Billboard award
September 2017: released Love Yourself: Her, opening the Love Yourself series

Metacritic: universal acclaim, weighted average 83 out of 100 from nine critics
AnyDecentMusic?: weighted average 7.7 out of 10 from seven critics
NPR (Sheldon Pearce): called it a "triumphant homecoming"
The New York Times (Jon Caramanica): gave it a "Critic's Pick" label
Associated Press (Maria Sherman): four-star review
BBC (Mark Savage): said it represents "a genuine return to form"
The Guardian (Michael Cragg): four-star review
The Telegraph (Ed Power): four-star review
Rolling Stone (Rob Sheffield): 4.5 stars
Clash (Maria Letícia L. Gomes): 8 out of 10
Consequence (Wren Graves): B+
NME (Rhian Daly): four-star review
Pitchfork (Joshua Minsoo Kim): mixed review
Vulture (Craig Jenkins): mixed review
IZM (Han Seong-hyeon): criticized the lack of teamwork and storytelling and called the title "a MacGuffin"

Critics praised the reflective narrative and cohesive production that experiments with various styles
Critics praised the band's lyrical growth and artistic development after the military hiatus

Debuted at number one in over 25 countries
US Billboard 200: debuted at number one with 641,000 album-equivalent units, 532,000 of them pure sales
Vinyl sales of 208,000 in the first US week, the best vinyl week for BTS
Seventh US number one album for BTS
South Korea: debuted atop the Circle Album Chart, 4.2 million copies in the first week
Japan: debuted at number one on the Oricon Weekly Album Chart, 547,000 copies in the first week
Japan: certified triple platinum by RIAJ
Germany: debuted at number one on the GfK chart
United Kingdom: third number one album on the Official Album Chart
France: topped the album chart and was certified platinum
Spotify: 110 million streams on the first day

The album's first track "Body to Body" samples "Arirang", a song that appears in a 2007 KBS folk song special.
Spotify placed all fourteen tracks in its global top fifty chart on the first day.
"No. 29" is 19 seconds long on physical versions, and the Pitchfork review noted the track's silence.
Apple Music recorded the most first-day streams for a pop group's album.
The album's title and sound were presented as a return to the group's identity as a group that began in Korea.
BTS announced in July 2026 it would not submit Arirang music to the 69th Grammy Awards, citing the new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category.