As BTS rebuilds its presence on the global stage after completing military service, a global conference examining the cultural trajectory that BTS and its fandom ARMY have created together will be held in Jeonbuk. The event will explore the fandom, digital technology, social and political practice, locality, and globality surrounding BTS, with researchers from around the world set to provide a multidimensional assessment of the present and future of BTS and the Korean Wave.
The 5th BTS: A Global Interdisciplinary Conference, hosted by the International Society for BTS Studies (ISBS), will be held July 2-3 at the International Convention Center of Jeonbuk National University. Co-organized by Jeonbuk National University's Namwon Glocal Campus Management Headquarters, the Glocal University Project Group, the Department of K-Entertainment, and Big Movement, the conference carries the theme "The Next Generation Hallyu & BTS."
The conference also continues the international stream of BTS research that began at Kingston University in the United Kingdom in 2020. During the pandemic in 2021, the tradition was maintained through an online conference at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and in 2022 offline discussions resumed through an exhibition collaboration with Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and the Total Museum of Contemporary Art. In 2023, it broadened its scope through the University of Malaya and a National Museum exhibition, expanding beyond mere academic debate into a venue for artistic practice and cultural solidarity. This year, against the backdrop of Jeonju, rich in traditional cultural assets, the conference broadens its spectrum once again with the added academic capacity of Jeonbuk National University's Department of K-Entertainment.
This year's conference draws a total of 50 presenters from 10 countries, including Korea, the United States, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Mongolia, the Czech Republic, Canada, Australia, and Japan. Researchers from home and abroad, including Han Sang-jin, professor emeritus of sociology at Seoul National University, will gather to analyze the BTS and fandom phenomenon on multiple levels. The keynote address will be delivered by Professor Lee Ji-haeng of Jeonbuk National University, who will examine the social and cultural significance of the "New Chapter" of BTS following the group's return from military service. The aim is to read the next flow of the Korean Wave after BTS from the perspectives of fandom, digital technology, global communication, and political and social practice.
One of the key keywords of this conference is "glocalization." It focuses on the point that Hallyu is no longer a phenomenon spreading one-directionally from Korea to the world, but is evolving into new forms by meeting the cultures of each region. Major topics include the process of Latino identity being transplanted into the K-pop production system, patterns of post-nomadic Hallyu reception in Mongolian society, and the impact of generative AI and digital platforms on gender identity and fandom culture. A special session by Dongguk University's Academy of Hallyu Convergence will also be held to discuss post-Hallyu and the self-generative nature of global locality.
Special programs that add popular appeal and on-site presence also draw attention. The most anticipated segment is an interview session with director Bao Nguyen, who directed the recently released Netflix documentary "BTS: The Return" (2026). In a preliminary interview, director Bao compared BTS's military service and return to the ancient Greek myth "The Odyssey," explaining, "BTS was like Odysseus departing for the battlefield, and ARMY was like Penelope waiting for their return." In other words, he read BTS's return not as a simple comeback but as a mythical narrative.
He also said he deliberately avoided ways of excessively explaining or simplifying Korean culture or BTS for Western audiences. He explained that he focused on capturing the members' lives and relationships through an observation-centered gaze rather than commentary from outside experts, and sought to capture BTS not as a single symbolic group but as "seven individuals" with distinct personalities and narratives. Through personal moments such as Jin's tennis, RM's museum visits, and the members' discussions surrounding work on new songs, he aimed to convey more vividly the bonds of the full group and the meaning of their return.
A screening of "Forever We Are Young," a documentary on ARMY, and a dialogue between the director and scholars will also be held. Through this, the cultural significance and social role of the global fandom that made the BTS phenomenon possible will be examined in a multidimensional way. In addition, a session by Kpop4Planet, a climate action platform for global K-pop fans, will share cases in which fans demanded eco-friendly management from large corporations and brought about substantial change. This illustrates how the discourse surrounding BTS and ARMY is expanding beyond music and fandom into the realm of social practice.
The closing ceremony will be staged in a way that brings together both academic substance and locality. Jeonju pansori singers will participate in person to present a reinterpreted gugak (traditional Korean music) version of "Arirang," mentioned as a major motif of BTS's comeback album. It is expected to be a symbolic scene that concludes the theoretical discussions accumulated by the conference with the sounds of Jeonju. After the event ends, an "ARMY Tour" including a visit to the Wanju BTS course and a hanji (traditional Korean paper) fan-making experience will follow. The program is designed so that overseas participants and researchers can experience Jeonbuk's local culture and regional content mediated by BTS together.
Professor Lee Ji-haeng said, "This conference is a venue that illuminates BTS and Hallyu not as mere pop culture content but as a complex global phenomenon combining technology, society, ethics, and politics," adding, "It will be an important turning point for exploring the direction and sustainability of the next generation of Hallyu."
