The Netflix project offers an intimate look inside the creation of ARIRANG as the Korean superstars enter a new chapter of their careers.
3/26/2026
BTS in ‘BTS: The Return’
Netflix
It’s been a long journey, but BTS is finally back. And in the new Netflix documentary BTS: The Return, premiering Friday (March 27), the K-pop superstars are giving fans an intimate look inside the creation of ARIRANG, the group’s first album in almost four years.
While shooting, director Bao Nguyen was thinking a lot about “the mythology of someone who leaves,” he tells Billboard, suggesting that the band’s massive comeback shares much in common with the story of Odysseus returning home to Penelope. Quite the lofty comparison, though the actual film takes a much more grounded view of the world’s biggest boy band as they establish their “2.0” era. In it, the album’s studio sessions — held over two months in Los Angeles, then continued in Seoul — are captured with surprising transparency, offering an unmediated glimpse at the artistic process as BTS battle exhaustion, creative slumps and disagreements with each other and their label alike.
“I feel like everything about us has changed, at least a little bit,” V says at one point. And while there may be truth to that statement — especially with the members completing mandatory service in South Korea’s military and putting out solo work in the intervening time — through its insightful car chats and grainy camcorder POVs, the documentary serves as a straightforward reminder of why exactly the world fell in love with these seven guys in the first place.
From ongoing struggles with fame to the many difficult conversations that went into the making of ARIRANG, here are seven key takeaways from BTS: The Return.
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The Album Was Made on a Tight Timeline
The two-month album sessions in Los Angeles begin in July, shortly after Suga was discharged from the military in late June. The documentary picks up when Jin arrives in August, flying straight to join them after wrapping up his solo tour. As such, work on the project is already significantly underway.
The “framework” is complete at this point, RM says, but they’re continuing the sessions in the hopes they “get inspired and create some new, better songs.” As later revealed, the group produced around 100 tracks during this time, something j-hope describes here as “operating like a factory.”
“We wanted to avoid taking a long break after being discharged,” Jimin says during a dinner conversation with his fellow members about the stress they’re under to finish by March. “So now we’re rushing, when it’s a special project.”
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The Title & Concept Came Late in the Process
While searching for the final two songs, BTS hits a wall, unsure of the bigger picture they’re chasing. The group isn’t seeing the forest for the trees, RM says, adding, “I don’t have any real sense of what this album’s supposed to be.”
Enter the label, who pitch the title and concept for ARIRANG. The documentary shows Big Hit executive creative director Boyoung Lee introducing the members to the story of the seven Korean men who visited Howard University in 1896, three of whom lend their voices to the first known recording of “Arirang.” Lee also observes that the folk song may connect to feelings of longing BTS felt while away from music and fans. Though the members are generally on board with the idea, RM is given some pause by being compared to “heroes and legends.”
HYBE staff also present the group with mood boards for visual and musical inspiration. Among the references? The album covers of Charli xcx’s Brat, Travis Scott’s Astroworld, Beyoncé’s Renaissance, Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia and Kanye West’s Yeezus. (“I just can’t wrap my head around it now,” Jimin says, seemingly overwhelmed. “We need to feel it ourselves.”)
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The Group Pushed Back Against Length of “Arirang” Sample
On screen, the members extensively debate how much of “Arirang” to use on “Body to Body.” j-hope praises the track’s initial version — in which the traditional folk recording is folded into the mix behind BTS’ lead vocals — for subtly building off the sample, but V and RM worry it’s still too direct and even distracting when combined with the other elements of the song. “Maybe it’s because we’re Korean?” RM wonders. “And that’s why it kinda sounds off?”
After returning to Seoul, HYBE staff bring the guys a version with a longer sample — the way it appears on the album — and they unanimously reject it. “Personally, the longer it goes on, the more embarrassed I get,” Jimin says, while Suga proposes holding this extended iteration for live performances. HYBE chairman Bang Si-Hyuk ultimately steps in, asking them to imagine sold-out stadiums around the world singing “Arirang,” and suggesting that BTS has far more to gain than lose by wholeheartedly embracing the musical motif.
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Members Also Had Concerns About English Lyrics
“I think there are too many English lyrics,” Suga says during one meeting, stating that the rap verses, in particular, could use more Korean. RM agrees: “There’s a level of authenticity we need to have here.” But while a Big Hit executive echoes the sentiment, she encourages them to balance their desire for authenticity with the need for global appeal. Since the group is working with so little time, RM offers to record voice notes for the members to check their pronunciation, though even he voices concern during the songwriting process that some lines may sound awkward because he’s not a native speaker.
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Military Experience Influenced the Writing
Time looms large over this album as the members reacclimate to the rhythms of superstar life. While writing lyrics for “NORMAL,” RM mentions that he doesn’t know what to do with himself when things slow down; yet the rapper simultaneously can’t stand routine, either. “The idea of waking up every day freaks me out a bit,” he reflects. “Not the actual waking up, but the idea of days repeating themselves, like in the military.” The chorus of “SWIM” is less a command than an interior monologue he’s become well acquainted with recently. “Like someone, or myself, almost giving up,” RM says. “But not 100%.”
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“SWIM” Reminded BTS of “Dynamite”
BTS knew “SWIM” was a risky choice for lead single. V calls it a shift in the “opposite direction” from what they originally had in mind; Jimin, despite enjoying it, asks if the song is really the correct choice since it’s much mellower than people are expecting. But that deviation from BTS’ norm is exactly why it felt right to the band in the end. As Suga notes, it wouldn’t be the first time they took a big swing and had it pay off. In 2020, more than half the members were against the release of “Dynamite,” Jimin shares, yet the English track ultimately turned out to be the septet’s first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit.
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How BTS Carry the Weight of Fame, Together
In the documentary, BTS gets some needed off-duty time at the beach. Yet although the group is able to enjoy the afternoon without interruption, members later explain how considerably their fame impacts them. On top of Jin expressing that he feels “too successful” for his own good, Jung Kook wishes he could step back from the constant expectations and scrutiny. “I think there’s a part of me that just wants to be a singer,” he says. “And nothing else.”
How the team collectively deals with this weight, RM offers, is the essence of BTS. “Even separated, none of us are ever alone,” he says. “And if the seven of us can continue down this path together, we can swim wherever the tide takes us.”
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