BTS will return as a complete group after three years and nine months. As a global superstar group making a full-group comeback after completing mandatory military service, the scale of this return is being evaluated as unprecedented. Not only will they come back with an album that symbolizes “returning to кσяєαn identity,” they will also become the first кσяєαn pop group to hold a solo concert at Gwanghwamun Square and will embark on their first world tour with more than 80 shows worldwide.
Although there is still more than a month left until the album’s release, BTS’s comeback news has already caused a huge stir domestically and internationally since the beginning of the year. Recently, Seoul has been experiencing “significant disruptions” across many sectors, including accommodation, services, tourism, and public spaces—and now even the printing industry has reportedly been affected.
Specifically, a post circulating on social media compiled multiple posts from a кσяєαn online forum, mainly discussing an “Emergency in paper supply and printing industry due to #BTS comeback.” The post emphasized that this situation is real and ongoing, not just a joke among fans.
One reported post from a local resident stated: “If you’re planning to place an order with a printing house soon, I highly recommend choosing your paper and making a request at least a week in advance. кσяєα is currently experiencing a bit of a ‘natural disaster’ regarding paper supply. About 80% of the printing facilities in Chungmuro are completely occupied with producing BTS merchandise. This has caused a significant delay in paper procurement, so please check your schedule carefully before starting production.”
Another person explained: “BTS merch isn’t just magazines—the variety is huge, so from packaging paper to tags, labels, stickers… there are way more than just one or two items to handle.”
It appears that the printing industry is facing a crisis due to the sudden surge in production demand for pre-orders of the upcoming album ARIRANG, scheduled for release on March 20. On January 22, album distributor YG Plus confirmed that pre-orders for ARIRANG had surpαѕѕed 4 million copies within just one week since opening on January 16—the fastest in K-pop history. This figure is 640,000 copies higher than the previous record held by MAP OF THE SOUL: 7, which recorded 3.42 million pre-orders in the same time frame in 2020.
The situation was no different for the pre-order launch of 11 different vinyl versions. All BTS vinyl editions sold out in about 20 minutes, demonstrating an astonishing sales speed. On other official distribution platforms, traffic and consumer interest in all products related to BTS’s new album surged dramatically.
At this point, other businesses that required printing services began to understand the situation and lamented: “I was wondering why the event order for the sale wasn’t going through ㅠㅠ!!!” while another person chimed in, “Yeah, yeah, ours (the 100 MIMO) arrived in just 4 days,” showing how strained the printing industry has become ahead of BTS’s comeback.
Once again, BTS has proven their global influence, impacting entire industries with a single comeback. Fans flooded social media with amazement, commenting:
- Even a whole sector of a whole industry can't keep up with BTS' demand, there is no way they could handle the demand for physical merch in one go, like we saw with the new lightstick. They needed to bottleneck it.
- I'm so sorry for laughing but it's funny that Armys have yet again made soмєтнing out of stock for BTS
- Wow they really took No Other Choice to heart
- I have never seen a paper supple crisis like ever. This BTS comeback is huge
- Wow! I’m speechless! BTS - the power they hold yet they remain incredibly humble.
- This is insane and funny at the same time. And I’m so ∂αми proud of this new achievement
- This is like that time they ran out of Downey softener. Iykyk lol
- South кσяєα is reportedly even experiencing a nationwide paper supply shortage because of the amount of BTS albums and merch ARMYs around the world are buying... this comeback is about to MAKE HISTORY
- They had 2 years to load up on paper, you knew this was gonna happen
- The whole world is shaking because of BTS's return. We have been waiting for it for so long. Let's burn
- the scale of this comeback is so big..... my skin is buzzing Im so fυ¢кing excited
