BTS return to spread some economic cheer

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In 1960, Elvis Presley returned to Memphis after two years of military service. On Saturday, BTS followed in his footsteps in the South Korean city of Seoul. The K-pop band played to tens of thousands of people in person and a further 300m people on Netflix. After a three-year break, BTS have a new album out and are about to embark on an 88-show world tour. One happy customer will be Koo Yun-cheol, South Korea’s minister of finance. BTS has been estimated to add nearly $5bn a year to the economy, or about 0.3% of GDP. Other countries may benefit too.