Why BTS Return Won't Fix K-pop's Real Problem

BTS Is Back, But K-pop Has Bigger Issues

Okay, so massive news dropped. The New York Times just confirmed that BTS's return in spring 2026 is going to be THE biggest K-pop story next year. Industry analysts are already predicting over one billion dollars in revenue from albums, tours, and merchandise alone. That's insane. Fans online are losing it with reactions like "They paved the way" and "The kings are coming back."

But here's the thing that's actually worth paying attention to: New York Times pop critic Jon Caramanica also said something pretty harsh. He called BTS's return basically a band-aid on a wound that hasn't healed. And he's not wrong about what he's pointing out.

The Real Crisis Nobody Wants to Talk About

Caramanica straight up said that K-pop's main problem isn't that BTS is gone. It's that the entire system that created BTS is falling apart, and nobody's been able to replicate that level of success since.

Think about it. BTS didn't just have massive numbers. They changed the entire game. They proved that a K-pop group could breakthrough globally in a completely different way. But here's what critics are noticing: the big entertainment companies have been trying for years to create "the next BTS" and it's just not happening.

Caramanika didn't hold back when he said that K-pop's mainstream music scene is creatively stuck. Groups like Stray Kids, TWICE, ENHYPEN, and Seventeen are absolutely crushing it commercially, but the music itself is getting repetitive and boring. The formula that works for sales is kind of killing the artistry.

NewJeans Proves the Industry Has a Problem

The biggest example of this crisis? NewJeans. The group was literally the most innovative in K-pop for the last few years, completely changing how music videos and concepts should look. But because of contract disputes with their company ADOR, they basically got stuck creatively and couldn't keep that momentum.

Caramanica pointed out that this whole situation reveals what the K-pop industry actually cares about. Is it about making art and pushing creative boundaries? Or is it just about making money and scaling up? The NewJeans situation is basically the answer to that question.

Why The Netflix Anime Actually Matters

Interestingly, the critic had good things to say about one K-pop thing: the Netflix anime "K-pop Demon Hunters." The show became the most-watched movie in Netflix history, and the fictional girl group's song "Golden" hit number one on Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks. It even got a Grammy nomination.

Caramanica's take? This proves K-pop is so big now that it can be gently parodied. The fact that a fictional K-pop group's song charted that high is actually kind of hilarious when you think about it.

What This Means for BTS and Your Favorite Groups

The critic's final verdict on BTS was actually really respectful. He called them flawless ambassadors for K-pop, saying they were musically flexible, relatable, and totally dedicated to their craft. He even said they became the true global breakthrough for the entire K-pop genre in the 2010s.

But the real talk? BTS coming back will bring money and energy to the industry, but it won't fix the fundamental problems. The lack of originality, the repetitive formulas, the tension between making art versus making profit, those things aren't getting solved just because one legendary group is returning.

So yeah, be hyped about BTS. That part is definitely worth being excited about. But also know that the people paying attention to K-pop globally are seeing some real creative issues that go way deeper than any single comeback can fix.