A Review of Netflix’s “BTS: The Return,” Ending the Military Hiatus That Makes Subscription Fees Feel Worth It

On March 21, “BTS Comeback Live: Arirang” took place. The live broadcast, a collaboration between BTS (who helped open the door to the K-pop craze) and the global OTT platform Netflix, ranked #1 in 77 countries as of the March 23 tally, and also placed in the top three across every other country where the service is available—making the cultural impact of the two brands feel undeniably real. But the collaboration doesn’t stop there. On Friday, March 27 at 4:00 PM, Netflix will release the documentary 〈BTS: The Return〉. By documenting BTS’s process of preparing for a full-group comeback with a new release, what kind of ripple effect will this documentary bring next? On March 20, we shared first impressions from a preview held at Cinecube Gwanghwamun, along with comments from the production team.

〈BTS: The Return〉 depicts BTS’s return days, just as the title suggests. Kicking off in July 2025, this documentary follows BTS—who began what’s often referred to as the “military hiatus” (military service + hiatus)—as they finally come together again to prepare for a new album, starting with Jin’s enlistment in October 2022. A comeback like this usually needs to be carefully prepared before the official signal can go out, and within Korea’s entertainment system, their return had in fact been planned for quite some time. The members also had to get ready to return to fans as closely as possible to that schedule. So, they retreat to a mansion in LA and move into a group residence—almost like their trainee days—while exploring a new album and what comes next.

If you’re a BTS fan, you can’t afford to miss this documentary (though you probably wouldn’t even if you tried). There are plenty of BTS documentaries that capture performances, and plenty that spotlight each member’s private time—but a documentary that captures the entire group during the hiatus period is rare. On top of that, the reunion process, discussions about the new album, and everything that comes with their schedule is the best possible combination to experience in a single documentary.

One of the standout features of 〈BTS: The Return〉 is that it puts the camera in the members’ own hands. Some scenes in the documentary are moments where the production team hands the members vintage-style handheld camcorders and has them film things directly. Thanks to this, 〈BTS: The Return〉 shares the same time frame as modern footage shot on high-spec cameras, while also interweaving retro-feeling scenes that stir up nostalgia and memories—creating a strangely compelling mood. Going a step further, the production team gathers the members to screen videos from their debut days and captures their reactions as they watch. In that way, 〈BTS: The Return〉 shows ambition to give fans a full view of the time they lived through, the future they’re moving toward, and the present in between.

This also aligns, to a certain extent, with BTS’s new release concept, “ARIRANG” (Arirang). Mentioned briefly in the documentary, BTS’s “Arirang” is based on “Arirang,” the song of Korean students in Joseon, recorded in the United States in 1897 by Dr. Homer Hulbert. Just as Arirang’s sound once traveled across the sea for the first time, BTS likewise emphasizes that they are still, in (quoting RM’s words) “country bumpkins from Korea” who came to America. As the Joseon-era Korean students of 1897 connect with BTS in 2026, the retro footage and high-definition visuals inside the documentary let you take a close look at the BTS that was breaking through as rookies—now a global superstar—and the span of time this group has traversed.

Still, if we’re being a bit blunt, there’s a lot of room for improvement beyond simply getting to see BTS’s new side. Most of 〈BTS: The Return〉 is limited to capturing their time on camera. Interludes of member conversations or heartfelt confessions do appear here and there, but separate interviews don’t take up much of the runtime, so they can feel somewhat superficial. And since the album preparation process is, in fact, essentially a trade secret, it isn’t covered in detail. The process of collaborating with various people—songwriters, producers, executives at BigHit Music, concept directors, and more—is also often presented only in fragments. Clearly, it doesn’t feel like it’s focused solely on BTS or on “Arirang” itself, and more like the kind of footage that documents “the full group BTS returning after three years” as an event.

Even so, fans shouldn’t miss this rare chance to peek into the members’ conversations that directly mention the pressure of returning, their everyday lives, and the process of preparing the album. Especially because it’s a work you can watch multiple times with just a subscription fee, you can’t help but hope it will create yet another ripple effect beyond the BTS documentaries that came before. 〈BTS: The Return〉 will be released on Netflix on March 27 at 4:00 PM.