“It’s been a while,” smiles Jin, sitting on the lip of the stage, flanked by his BTS bandmates. He’s not talking about how long it’s been since the boyband have embarked on a world tour, although it’s nearly seven years since their ‘Love Yourself: Speak Yourself’ tour concluded, and almost four since their more abridged Korean and US ‘Permission To Dance On Stage’ dates. Instead, the singer is referring to the time that’s passed since he last indulged in one of his onstage traditions – blowing a kiss to fans in his distinctive, dramatic way.
Jin’s gesture is one of only a few hallmarks of those old BTS tours left. Tonight (April 11), at the group’s second of three nights in Goyang, a satellite city of Seoul, they instead step into a new chapter on stage – one where they move away from the things you’d expect from a K-pop show, paralleling new album ‘Arirang’’s move beyond the scene’s boundaries.
Fan service is kept to a minimum, as are the glossy, high-production VCRs that almost double as dramatic trailers for each section of the concert. And where BTS gigs used to pre-game with a run through of their music videos on the big screens, here they offer up a much calmer introduction – a looping VCR on the gigantic panels that sit above the 360-degree stage that shows seoye – traditional Korean calligraphy style painting – layered on a background designed to look like traditional handmade paper, hanji, while soundtracked by gukak, or traditional Korean music.
These changes might alter the feel of this tour, but it doesn’t dampen the crowd’s reaction. Even before the group make it to the stage, sections of the venue become increasingly animated – a sensation that reaches fever pitch when a lone, black-clad figure carrying a red flare emerges from the stadium tunnel, signalling the start of the show. As they run up the ramp to the stage in the middle, the noise becomes almost deafening. Soon, that one person becomes a cohort, fireworks shoot out of the top of the structure, and amid the chaos, BTS appear, ready to deliver an opening that matches their fans’ energy. ‘Hooligan’ sets a ferocious bar – pyrotechnics bursting into the sky in time with the blade-slicing sound effects in the beat – that’s kept high by a defiant ‘Aliens’ and a supercharged ‘Run BTS’, which is a call for autonomy: “If we live fast, let us die young”.
This being the ‘Arirang’ tour, most of the setlist is pulled from that album, with older songs sprinkled here and there (the ‘FYA’/‘Fire’ medley, in particular, is a great moment of past and present combining). In the same way the record pulls from the group’s Korean roots, so too does tonight’s production, weaving details into the staging and choreography to create a show packed with identity.
The stage itself, while high-tech and super-modern, is shaped like a Jeongja-style pavilion, taking inspiration from Gyeongbokgung Palace’s Gyeonghoeru. For the staggering ‘They Don’t Know ‘Bout Us’, dancers hold up screens with tal, traditional Korean masks on, as they disperse across the stage. The soft psych-pop of ‘Merry Go Round’ is accompanied by white sheets recreating seungmu, a serene, rhythmic traditional dance. It’s beautiful to watch, though at times, viewed from just one side of the in-the-round stage, the performance does feel slightly underwhelming.
Making an impact isn’t a concern for ‘Body To Body’, even just on record, and here it gets amplified even more. For its breakdown featuring the folk song ‘Arirang’, BTS gather in the stage’s central circle and lift up towards the sky, dancers flooding the floor beneath them with LED flags and ribbons inspired by the hat-spinning performance style of sangmo. The results are rousing – a carnival of sound and dance that segues perfectly into ‘Idol’, which tumbles off stage into a procession around the track that runs between the floor seats and the stadium’s stands.
Connection is a big part of this performance – not just BTS connecting with their identities, but with the crowd in front of them. ‘Idol’ highlights that physically but it’s present through the whole show, whether in the times the group ask ARMY to be in the moment and put their phones away, or in the stage design itself, which puts the audience at the heart of the show rather than at an untouchable distance. The ramps make the group’s entrances and exits – each done artfully rather than a simple walk on or off – another chance for more proximity, while the second VCR of the night shows intertwined trees, or yeonriji, sprouting from wave-like threads – a symbol of love and connection.
BTS 2.0 continues with the second night of their ‘Arirang’ world tour in Goyang, South Korea ✨ the group show us how they do in a powerful ‘2.0’ @bts_bighit #bts #btsarmy #arirang #arirangtour pic.twitter.com/71UcrBc7C6
— NME (@NME) April 11, 2026
As is typical of BTS shows, the final section is one that’s less manicured and more free-spirited, and it peaks here in the new “BTS karaoke” section – a two-song segment that will change each night, taking audience requests. Tonight, we’re treated to the live debut of ‘Take Two’ and a giddy ‘DNA’, during which the members try to deliver its choreography. This being a surprise song to both fans and artists, though, they’re unprepared, and things devolve into light-hearted, glorious chaos.
Moments later, they’re sitting in a row on the edge of the circular stage, sharing their thoughts about the night that’s just unfolded and being reunited with ARMY. They talk of stress relief and sincerity; some members show their gratitude through bowing, while others put it into heartfelt words. Throughout, it’s clear that they’re still as committed to BTS as before their enforced break for military service, RM referring to decisions they’ve made so they “can keep doing this for a long time”. It’s a sentiment that makes the fireworks-heavy final song, ‘Into The Sun’, feel beautifully optimistic – this might be the end of the show, but BTS’ moment in the sun is far from over.
BTS played:
‘Hooligan’
‘Aliens’
‘Run BTS’
‘They Don’t Know ‘Bout Us’
‘Like Animals’
‘Fake Love’
‘Swim’
‘Merry Go Round’
‘2.0’
‘Normal’
‘Not Today’
‘Mic Drop’
‘FYA’
‘Fire’
‘Body To Body’
‘Idol’
‘Come Over’
‘Butter’
‘Dynamite’
‘Take Two’
‘DNA’
‘Please’
‘Into The Sun’