New BTS DALMAJUNG Connects ARIRANG with Korean Tradition

A full moon, good wishes, and motifs that have been part of Korean tradition for centuries have found their way into a new BTS collection. The 2026 DALMAJUNG has arrived, and this year's edition links Korean cultural heritage with the ARIRANG era and the song “Aliens.”

If you're hearing about DALMAJUNG for the first time, the name itself explains things quite nicely. Dalmajung (달맞이) means “greeting the moon” and refers to the Korean custom of watching the full moon while wishing for luck and prosperity. BTS introduced their first DALMAJUNG collection in 2021, and with each new edition their songs and motifs get tied to different elements of Korean tradition.

This year, one of those links leads to the song “Aliens” from the ARIRANG album. It features the Korean phrase 흥즉대길 (heungjeuk daegil), which carries the message that even something that looks bad at first can ultimately turn into something good.

In the collection's design, that message is tied to munjado (문자도), traditional Korean painting in which characters aren't just written out, but decorated with plants, animals, and other symbols. Those motifs weren't purely decorative. Each one could carry a specific message or wish, for luck, long life, or prosperity.

The same approach was used for the new DALMAJUNG. Korean characters and the phrase from “Aliens” are woven together with traditional symbols, while motifs of luck, protection, and good wishes run through the whole collection.

The collection was made in collaboration with the National Museum Foundation of Korea and its brand MU, marking the fourth BTS DALMAJUNG release. It's precisely this partnership with the museum foundation that made it possible to use traditional motifs and objects in the design together with their original meanings.

That comes through best in the products themselves. The collection has 13 items, including an ornament shaped like dried pollack, which in Korean tradition is associated with warding off misfortune, and a small broom as a symbol of drawing in good luck. There's also a jar and an incense holder inspired by Korean ceramics, jewelry, coasters, charms, a pouch with the traditional gonggi game, and even a keyboard.

Although at first glance it looks like just another merch collection, this year's DALMAJUNG is actually built around a simple idea: leave the bad behind and wish for what comes next to be better. That's why the line from “Aliens” fit so naturally with the traditional symbols chosen for the collection.

Sales begin September 29 through Weverse Shop, and the DALMAJUNG pop-up opens the same day at HYBE's Yongsan headquarters, running through October 11. The products will also be available at the National Museum of Korea's shop in Seoul.

DALMAJUNG becomes one more way that BTS and ARIRANG can introduce a piece of Korean culture that's probably unfamiliar to many people outside Korea. And behind the collection's unusual name is actually a very simple wish: that what's coming next will be good.