K-pop’s BTS comeback tour rallies South Korea’s global ‘soft power’ drive
Key takeaways
- K-pop sensations BTS ignited a wave of interest in South Korean culture that now extends from food to cosmetics.
- xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo.
- But sleep was secondary for the 32-year-old Filipino who had made her way to Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square at 7am to secure a spot in a crowd that city officials estimated would grow to hundreds of thousands.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
K-pop sensations BTS ignited a wave of interest in South Korean culture that now extends from food to cosmetics.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo. An umbrella with K-pop boy band BTS member Jimin's images at Goyang stadium in Goyang, South Korea, on April 9, 2026 [Kim Soo-hyeon/Reuters]By David D. Lee Published On 2 May 20262 May 2026Seoul – Shekinah Yawra had no other option but to spend the night at a South Korean jjimjilbang, a 24-hour bathhouse, after every hotel near central Seoul sold out in late March.
But sleep was secondary for the 32-year-old Filipino who had made her way to Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square at 7am to secure a spot in a crowd that city officials estimated would grow to hundreds of thousands.