BTS Tease Future Plans, Reflect on Hiatus Pressures Ahead of 'ARIRANG' Release

BTS has expressed their desire to continue performing together well into their 60s, despite the internal pressures and challenges they face as a group. This revelation comes ahead of their highly anticipated comeback with the album 'ARIRANG'.

The K-Pop sensations recently unveiled plans for their new album and a global tour. 'ARIRANG', slated for release on March 30, marks their first album since 2020's 'Be' and their first release since the anthology LP 'Proof' in 2022.

In a candid interview with GQ, the band members opened up about the pressures of their return and their long-term vision for the future, following a four-year hiatus dedicated to solo endeavors and fulfilling their mandatory military service in South Korea.

Suga shared his optimistic outlook: "If we can keep this going, then maybe we can be dancing in our 60s… as long as we’re willing – I think maybe into our 50s, into our 60s – we can always be together as a band. Maybe it’ll be a little bit hard on our knees. But I think we can do that."

However, RM also revealed the immense pressure he feels in maintaining the band's pre-hiatus success. During a December livestream, he confessed to fans that he had considered "thousands of times" whether disbanding or going on hiatus would be better for the team due to the overwhelming stress.

Jimin offered insight into RM's vulnerability: "I think it’s RM’s love language to ARMY in a way. It really shows how emotionally invested he is in the group and in ARMY as well. I think it was very RM to be vulnerable and say things like that."

V added, "RM is like the identity of this group. He’s the core leader of the group, so he must feel so much more pressure than the rest of us do. I usually don’t have that much pressure, but it seems like he does."

The band also reflected on the difficulty of being apart during their hiatus. V recalled how Jungkook became particularly emotional when they were spending time together “before we all got discharged from the military service.”

"He bawled,” V said. “Jungkook cried because he really wanted to be on stage, and he just really wanted to perform.”

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**BTS** recently announced the cities, venues and dates for their huge world tour in 2026 and 2027. With the trek set to cover 34 regions and 79 live shows, it will be their biggest tour yet.

Dates kick off this April with multiple concerts in Goyang, South Korea, and Tokyo, Japan, before following with dates in North America and Europe. Only two UK shows are lined-up, taking place in London on July 6 and 7 2026.

From there, the band head back to North America, before embarking on more shows in South America, Asia, and Australia.

They also shared news that they will live stream their comeback performance on Netflix, in a new film titled *BTS The Comeback Live | ARIRANG*.

The stream will be followed by the documentary *BTS: The Return*, premiering on the streaming service on March 27. A statement described it as “an intimate documentary film chronicling the making of the band’s new album” that “offers fans a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the journey behind BTS’s highly-anticipated return.”

Meanwhile, their upcoming new record will draw on a similar emotional depth of the folk song it is named after and “take a dive into the sense of yearning that rises up at different points in life, as well as the ebb and flow journeys we all take” it was recently confirmed in a press release.

According to a statement, the album will also “span a wide range of emotions, including love and longing, it is also expected to strike a balance between deeply personal and universally relatable”.

In other news, **Diplo** recently confirmed that he was working on ‘ARIRANG’, and has said that the record was “gonna shock the world”.




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