SEOUL, January 30 (AJP) — BTS has long stood for K-pop stardom, polished choreography and messages of resilience and love. But as the group matures, its center of gravity is shifting. The world’s most influential idol group is digging deeper into its Korean roots—and the global audience is following along.
In the countdown to their long-awaited comeback, every move by the seven members is read as a cultural signal. Where they go, what they reference, even what they casually post now carries symbolic weight. RM’s recent visit to the National Folk Museum of Korea is a case in point—one quiet stop that set off a ripple effect far beyond museum walls.
Interest in Korea’s traditional music and folk culture has been building steadily, fueled by BTS’s creative choices around comeback themes, song titles and locations. The museum itself leaned into that momentum. On Jan. 23, it announced a series of hands-on programs tied to a special exhibition on the cultural history of horses, running Jan. 24–25 and Feb. 7–8.
The programs go well beyond passive viewing. Visitors can experience live performances of the Mongolian morin khuur (horse-head fiddle), make badges once used by secret royal inspectors of the Joseon dynasty, and practice calligraphy using brushes made from horsehair. In total, six interactive programs invite audiences to touch, hear and participate in history rather than simply observe it.
To extend the experience online, the museum is also giving away a 2026 horse-themed calendar to the first 200 visitors who post photos of their visit on social media through Jan. 31—another nod to how heritage now travels through digital platforms.
Attention surged after RM’s visit, drawing younger audiences who might not otherwise have stepped into a folk museum. The episode underscores a broader shift: when K-pop icons engage with traditional culture, museums stop feeling distant or static. Heritage becomes something you encounter, share and remix in everyday life.
That same dynamic is at work in BTS’s decision to title its upcoming full-length album Arirang. The choice is more than nostalgic symbolism. It signals that Korea’s most iconic folk song—one shaped by migration, separation and endurance—is ready to speak in the language of global pop. The Guardian described the move as a cultural statement that places Korean tradition squarely on the world stage.
Just as Arirang has been sung, adapted and reinterpreted across generations, Korea’s museums and cultural institutions are reactivating tradition through contemporary lenses. Rather than freezing the past behind glass, they are turning it into living content—experienced through performance, participation and platforms.
As BTS’s comeback nears, tradition itself appears to be entering a new phase: preserved, reimagined and consumed globally. What began as a folk song or a museum visit now travels effortlessly across borders, proving that heritage, when given the right rhythm, can be as dynamic—and as global—as pop itself.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.