At the 9th anniversary FESTA, BTS left the entire fandom speechless when they announced the end of “Season 1 of BTS” through the video “2022 The Real BTS Dinner Party.” The members shed tears as they announced a change in the group's direction, and afterward they enlisted one by one, entering a prolonged hiatus from group activities.
Four years have pαѕѕed since that day. On the 10th, the Bangtan Dinner Party officially returned under the title “BTS Dinner Party 2.0” in a completely different atmosphere: all seven members were present after completing their military service, they had just made a triumphant comeback with their fifth album ARIRANG, and were currently embarking on the World Tour ARIRANG, meeting fans around the globe.
During the dinner, the members could not hide their gratitude toward their fans: “Even though we've returned after so long, you've stayed right there by our side, always the same and that makes us so happy and grateful.” They knew that fans had been waiting for this moment for a long time and also admitted that the group felt no less emotional than ARMY did. At the same time, they teased, “There are a lot of events coming up.” Throughout the conversation, BTS also spoiled several future plans that they are currently brainstorming together.
The first topic they brought up, surprisingly, was their next album, even though ARIRANG had only been released a few months ago. For the upcoming project, j-hope expressed his wish for all seven members to have a dedicated songwriting space where they could work together, saying, “Personally, I wish we had a session room for only the seven of us.” Previously, while working on their fifth studio album, the members often wrote songs independently or collaborated with other producers in a large shared studio.
Building on that idea, SUGA came up with a songwriting approach he wanted to try. “You know the bigger cities we go to like New York, LA, or Paris. In places like that we could just do a session for a day,” he suggested, before adding, “I've already booked one.” Jungkook enthusiastically responded, “That sounds like it'd be fun!” while j-hope pointed out that he had experience with the idea as well, saying, “I've actually booked one too.”
The discussion then shifted to the scale of the next album. V υиєχρє¢тє∂ly made everyone laugh by proposing, “Let's go for a full studio album! With like, 30 songs.” j-hope jokingly suggested naming it “ARIRANG 1” or “ARIRANG 2.” V immediately objected, saying, “No, since we already did ARIRANG, we should go with SRIRANG.” He even confidently declared, “The next studio album is SRIRANG!” sending the entire table into laughter. When Jin followed up by asking, “And after that?” SUGA υиєχρє¢тє∂ly came up with another idea: “ARARIYO,” triggering another round of laughter.
However, alongside these playful moments, BTS also shared some serious thoughts about their future creative direction. V believed that after their current experiences, the group could approach the next album with greater detail and depth. Meanwhile, SUGA added, “That too, but we can also keep it simple,” and Jimin felt similarly, saying, “I think we can dial back a bit… Since we already went all in once.”
RM further explained that ARIRANG was a project on which the group could hardly relieve any pressure because it marked BTS's return after four years without full group activities. For that reason, the next time around, they might be able to approach music in a more relaxed and comfortable way. V concluded the discussion about producing the next album by saying: “But here's the thing. If we don't find a song we like nothing comes out. But if we do! If there's a song we like a song where we're like ‘We absolutely have to do this,’ then we do it.”
After discussing plans for the next album, BTS went on to share another idea: holding live performances in major public squares. The inspiration for this proposal came from how deeply all of them were impressed by their experience in мєχι¢σ City. RM stated that it was one of his favorite places. SUGA praised the au∂ιєnce there, while both Jimin and Jungkook said the city had left a powerful impression on them. Jimin recalled looking out the window and seeing Zócalo Square packed with people to the point that he could not tell whether it was because of a festival or because of BTS.
Jungkook then declared, “That's it, we have to perform there.” SUGA became so excited that he even said he would look up the biggest stadium in мєχι¢σ City. Jimin then suggested, “It'd be really fun going to squares in different countries and performing there.” The idea quickly received support from the other members, opening up an entirely new vision for the group's future tours.
In another, more personal development, V revealed his own plan: to participate in an amateur pickleball tournament with j-hope as a doubles team. When V said he was serious about entering the tournament, Jungkook immediately teased him by saying, “Stop lying!” But V repeatedly insisted, “I'm serious! Really, seriously!” before emphasizing that he and j-hope would compete as teammates. Even j-hope had to confirm once more, “As doubles?” before V nodded confidently.
Finally, whether they were talking about a new album, songwriting sessions around the world, or even fun sporting events, what mattered most to BTS was that both BTS and ARMY could enjoy every moment of the journey ahead together. What BTS is planning is not merely a series of new projects, but the creation of many more precious memories with their fans. Above all, their most immediate goal is to enjoy and successfully wrap up the “BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’” in a happy and memorable way!
