BTS is back - but K-pop has changed
BTS回来了 - 但是K -Pop已经改变了
20 June 2025 Share Save Hyojung Kim BBC Korean Reporting from Seoul Fan Wang BBC News Reporting from Singapore Share Save
2025年6月20日，Save Save Save Save Hyojung Kim BBC韩国韩国人的报道来自首尔粉丝Wang BBC News Report from Singapore Share Save Save Save
Watch: BTS members finish South Korean military service
观看：BTS成员完成韩国兵役
"I missed them so much," says Stephanie Prado, a die-hard BTS fan who has been desperately waiting for the group to reunite after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus. Her love for the boy band inspired her to move from Brazil to South Korea - so it was no surprise that she turned up last Friday for"BTS Festa", a big party held every year near Seoul on the group's anniversary. The time she has spent waiting has moved"both slowly and really quickly", Stephanie says, waving an ARMY bomb, the official lightstick used by BTS fans, who call themselves the ARMY. Behind her is a huge sculpture of the lightstick, a must-have in the K-pop world. This year's event is special because a reunion is finally around the corner. The countdown peaked last week, when four of the seven members, RM, V, Jimin and Jung Kook, completed their military service. And the wait ends on Saturday when the last of them, Suga, is discharged."I hope they rest now," Stephanie says, before adding,"but of course I also want albums, concerts, everything". The 18 months in the military that are mandatory for all South Korean men forced the world's most successful boy band in recent years to hit pause in 2022. Now they are returning, some say, to a K-pop industry that is quite different to the one they knew: faced with stalled album sales, shaken by scandals and increasingly scrutinised over the excessive pressure it puts on stars. The absence of a leading band, industry watchers say, was deeply felt."Without BTS, a core pillar was missing," says Kim Young-dae, music critic and author of BTS: The Review."There have been concerns recently that K-pop is losing momentum. True or not, BTS could change that perception."
“我非常想念他们。”顽固的BTS粉丝斯蒂芬妮·普拉多（Stephanie Prado）说，他一直在等待这群人两年半的休假后团聚。她对男孩乐队的热爱启发了她从巴西搬到韩国 - 因此，上周五她参加“ BTS Festa”，这是毫不奇怪的是，每年在首尔周年纪念日附近举行的一个大型聚会。斯蒂芬妮（Stephanie）说，她花在等待的时间“慢慢而迅速”，挥舞着军队炸弹，这是BTS粉丝使用的官方灯具，他们自称为军队。她的身后是灯具的巨大雕塑，这是K-Pop世界中必不可少的。今年的活动很特别，因为聚会终于临近。倒计时上周达到顶峰，当时七名成员RM，V，Jimin和Jung Kook完成了兵役。等待在星期六结束，其中最后一位Suga被排出。斯蒂芬妮说：“我希望他们现在休息，但我当然也想要专辑，音乐会，一切”。军队中的18个月对于所有韩国男子迫使世界上最成功的男孩乐队在2022年迫在眉睫。行业观察家说，缺乏领先的乐队。音乐评论家兼BTS的作者Kim Young-Dae说：“没有BTS，核心支柱就失踪了。”“最近有人担心K-Pop正在失去动力。是的，BTS可能会改变这种看法。”
The ARMY awaits
军队在等待
There are no plans yet for all seven members to appear together, but that didn't stop the ARMY from gathering early on a humid morning in Goyang. The long, restless queue stretched to the subway station an hour before the gates for the BTS Festa opened. The snippets of English, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish alongside Korean threw off a local walking past who asked,"Why are there so many foreigners here?"
目前尚无所有七名成员一起出现的计划，但这并没有阻止军队在戈阳的一个潮湿的早晨聚集。在BTS Festa的大门开放前一个小时，漫长而不安的队列延伸到地铁站。英语，中文，日语和西班牙语的片段与韩国人一起扔掉了一个当地的步行，他问：“为什么这里有这么多外国人？”
Hyojung Kim/BBC Stephanie Prado (L) and a friend, each with an ARMY bomb
Hyojung Kim/BBC Stephanie Prado（L）和一个朋友，每个人都有军队炸弹
Inside were more queues - some people were hopping with excitement and others were sobbing after entering the"voice zone", a phone booth where you could listen to BTS members' messages. About half of the fans the BBC spoke to teared up talking about how much they missed BTS."It felt like the 18 months lasted forever," said Vuyo Matiwane, a South African who had been visiting BTS-themed venues in Seoul, like their favourite restaurant."I was crying at every location - it was so emotional." And then she watched the livestream of them being discharged, which was"overwhelming". Being surrounded by all things BTS made a trip halfway across the world worth it, says Fara Ala, who travelled from the Netherlands:"Breathing the same air, drinking the same water, eating the same food as BTS - that's enough for ARMY. If you ask other ARMY, they'd say the same."
里面有更多的队列 - 有些人兴奋地跳了起来，而另一些人进入“语音区”后，正在哭泣，这是一个电话亭，您可以在这里听BTS成员的消息。英国广播公司（BBC）大约一半的粉丝说，谈论他们错过了多少BT。“感觉就像18个月持续了永远持续的，”南非人Vuyo Matiwane说，他像他们最喜欢的餐厅一样访问了首尔以BTS为主题的场所。“我在每个地方都在哭 - 真是太激动了。”然后，她看着他们的生计被出院，这是“压倒性的”。从荷兰旅行的法拉·阿拉（Fara Ala）说：“呼吸着相同的空气，喝着相同的水，吃与BTS相同的食物，这对军队来说足够了。如果您问其他军队，他们说同样的话，这足以说：“ BTS被BT的所有事物包围着，BTS环绕着全世界的一半。
Getty Images BTS is arguably the biggest boy band in recent years...
Getty Images BTS可以说是近年来最大的男孩乐队...
Getty Images but can they recreate their success after a break?
盖蒂图像，但是他们可以在休息后重新创造成功吗？
South Korean military service is a major test for male celebrities, many of whom have to enlist at the peak of their success. In the past, it has proved fatal for some careers. BTS is believed to have staggered it so that all seven members were missing from action for no more than six months. J-Hope, who was discharged last October, has since wrapped up a solo world tour. But the so-called curse can be hard to break. For one, the loyalty of fans could wane as new groups debut almost every week, competing for their attention. Returning idols also face a tough transition because a military stint and a touch of maturity could dampen the essence of K-pop appeal: youthful energy. But if anyone can break the curse, it's BTS, Mr Kim says. Each of them announced solo projects in the past two and half years, he explains, without hurting their popularity as a group:"It feels like their military hiatus passed by naturally. Their return feels smooth."
韩国兵役是对男性名人的重大考验，其中许多人必须在其成功的顶峰上入伍。过去，这对某些职业而言是致命的。据信，BTS已交错，因此所有七名成员都在行动中失踪了不超过六个月。去年10月出院的J-Hope此后结束了一次独奏世界巡回演出。但是所谓的诅咒可能很难打破。首先，随着新团体几乎每周首次亮相，粉丝的忠诚可能会消失，以争取他们的关注。返回的偶像也面临着艰难的过渡，因为军事工作和成熟的感觉可能会削弱K-pop吸引力的本质：年轻的能量。但是，金先生说，如果有人能打破诅咒，那就是BTS。他解释说，他们每个人都在过去两年半宣布了个人项目，但并没有伤害他们作为一个团体的受欢迎程度：“感觉就像他们的军事中断自然而然地经过。他们的返回感觉很顺利。”
The shift in K-pop
k-pop的转变
Still, the industry beyond the ARMY can pose a challenge. While BTS was on a break, the other K-pop sensation, Blackpink, has not dropped an album since September 2022, opting instead for solo releases. These were the leaders of K-pop's third generation. But they have been succeeded by fourth and fifth generations that have brought fresh style to the genre. The newer acts - which debuted after 2018 - lack a standout name like BTS because K-pop has become more diverse than ever. The result is a range of very popular and experimental groups.
尽管如此，陆军以外的行业仍会构成挑战。当BTS休息时，另一个K-Pop的感觉Blackpink自2022年9月以来就没有丢弃专辑，而是选择独奏。这些是K-Pop第三代的领导者。但是，他们已经获得了第四和第五代的成功，这为该类型带来了新的风格。较新的行为 - 在2018年之后首次亮相 - 缺乏像BTS这样的杰出名称，因为K -Pop变得比以往任何时候都更加多样化。结果是一系列非常流行和实验组。
Getty Images Blackpink, the other K-pop sensation, hasn't dropped a group album since September 2022
Getty Images BlackPink是另一个K-Pop轰动，自2022年9月以来就没有放弃集体专辑
"Most people my age like fourth generation idols these days," says a 13-year-old fan of girl group IVE."Some still like third generation groups, but for teens, BTS kind of feels like they belong to an older generation. A lot of new idols debuted while BTS was away, and they have become popular." But the biggest challenge to BTS' superstar status is what some see as a slowdown in K-pop. Revenue from concerts remains strong, but album sales - a key market metric - have been declining since a peak in 2023. The slump coincides with when BTS and Blackpink were not releasing albums. South Korean pop culture critic Park Hee Ah agrees that K-pop went through"some difficult times" while BTS was away. There have also been several controversies, such as the headline-making dispute between hit girl group NewJeans and their agency, allegations of mistreatment by all-powerful agencies and harassment of stars by fans and trolls."Album sales started to drop, and some problems - like questions about companies doing the right thing - came up," Ms Park said. Because of all of this, she adds, we did see more"deeper problems in the K-pop industry".
“如今，大多数我年龄的人都像第四代偶像，” 13岁的女子Ive的粉丝说。“有些人仍然喜欢第三代团体，但是对于青少年来说，BTS感觉就像属于老一辈。许多新偶像在BTS不在时首次亮相，并且它们变得很受欢迎。”但是，BTS的超级巨星身份面临的最大挑战是有些人认为K-POP的放缓。音乐会的收入仍然很大，但是自2023年达到顶峰以来，专辑销售（一个关键市场指标）一直在下降。低迷与BTS和BlackPink没有发行专辑时的低迷相吻合。韩国流行文化评论家公园熙Ah同意，当BTS离开时，K-Pop经历了“一些困难时期”。还存在一些争议，例如Hit Girl Group Newjeans及其代理机构之间的标题提出争议，全能代理机构虐待的指控以及粉丝和巨魔骚扰星星。帕克女士说：“专辑的销售开始下降，一些问题 - 喜欢有关公司做正确的事情的问题。”她补充说，由于所有这些，我们确实看到了更多“在K-Pop行业中更深层的问题”。
Getty Images Fans at the BTS festa
BTS Festa的Getty Images迷
