Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced at her regular press briefing that BTS will visit the National Palace and greet citizens from the balcony. BTS performs three nights at Estadio GNP Seguros (formerly Foro Sol) in Mexico City on May 7, 9, and 10, and the Mexico City Chamber of Commerce estimated the run will generate around $107.5 million (approx. KRW 155.7 billion) in economic impact. This Mexico stop is the first city of the Latin America leg of the 'ARIRANG' world tour.

'InTheSeum with BTS', a match-3 mobile puzzle game developed by Dream Age, brings BTS's Gwanghwamun 'ARIRANG' comeback stage into the game itself with its May update. The event runs from May 8 to July 7, and players who complete the missions can earn the Geunjeongjeon hall of Gyeongbokgung Palace as the S-tier reward, alongside a card collection inspired by traditional instruments and a 'ROOTED IN KOREA' costume collection. A web event marking the game's fourth anniversary also kicks off on June 9.

Stray Kids have been nominated for 'Best Male K-Pop Artist' at the 2026 American Music Awards (AMA) for the second year in a row. Five K-pop boy groups share the category — alongside BTS, ATEEZ, ENHYPEN, and TXT — and the ceremony takes place in Las Vegas on May 25. Fan voting closes at 23:59 PT on May 8, which translates to the afternoon of May 9 in KST. After their 2025 nominations for 'Favorite K-Pop Artist' and 'Favorite Soundtrack', this year's nod marks Stray Kids' second consecutive AMA nomination.

TWICE's Jeongyeon appeared as a first-time variety guest on tvN '유퀴즈온더블럭'. After being treated for a herniated cervical disc in 2020, side effects from steroid use caused Cushing's syndrome and noticeable weight gain and body changes; she has recently recovered her health and was back in front of the camera close to her previous frame. Reflecting on the period when she struggled mentally, Jeongyeon admitted she got teary watching her older sister, actress Gong Seungyeon, currently active in a drama.

SEVENTEEN's announcement at the 'SEVENTEEN WORLD TOUR [NEW_] ENCORE' show at Incheon Asiad Main Stadium on April 5 — that all 13 members had re-signed for a second time — is back in the spotlight, set against NCT Mark's recent contract end and departure and ENHYPEN's Heeseung leaving. Leader S.Coups said, "After deep conversations among us, we decided that all 13 of us would re-sign together"; following their first group renewal in 2021, this becomes a second case of holding the lineup unchanged together for 11 years. Meanwhile, the Japan fan meeting 'SEVENTEEN FAN MEETING YAKUSOKU' continues at Tokyo Dome on May 13–14 and Kyocera Dome Osaka on May 23–24, and the 10th debut anniversary fan meeting 'SEVENTEEN in CARAT LAND' takes place at Incheon Asiad Main Stadium on June 20–21.

ENHYPEN wrapped the Seoul leg of their fourth world tour 'ENHYPEN WORLD TOUR BLOOD SAGA' at KSPO Dome in Songpa-gu, Seoul, from May 1 to 3. Across three nights they performed 27 songs over 160 minutes for roughly 32,000 fans — significant as their first major tour as a six-member group following Heeseung's departure in March 2026. Jake said, "It's our first tour as six, so we put everything into preparing it — this tour has our soul in it"; Sunoo described it as "an immersive vibe like a campfire gathering that pulls together everything that came before"; and Sunghoon explained, "the flow doesn't break from start to finish, and the final section leans into musical theater elements." Ahead lies a 30-show, 21-city itinerary continuing through July (São Paulo, Lima, Mexico City), five North American cities in July–August, and stops in Jakarta, Singapore, Milan, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, and London through March next year.

TXT's eighth mini album '7TH YEAR: 가시덤불에 잠시 바람이 멈췄을 때' charted at #98 in its second week on the Billboard 200, following its #3 debut. The same week it held #1 on Billboard's World Albums chart for a second consecutive week, ranked #6 on Top Album Sales, and #52 on the Artist 100. The title track '하루에 하루만 더 (Stick With You)' has stayed on the weekly Top 100 of both Melon and Bugs for three weeks running. Meanwhile, ticketing for live viewings of '2026 TXT MOA CON IN JAPAN' — set for May 24 in Aichi, Japan — opens at CGV at 10:00 KST on May 7.

BABYMONSTER's third mini album title track '춤(CHOOM)' MV simultaneously hit #1 on YouTube's global daily trending music videos, #1 on iTunes Worldwide Album Chart, and #1 on the QQ Music (China) music video chart, leaving a clear mark across global markets. The MV passed 15 million views within 24 hours of release — landing on YouTube's "most viewed in 24 hours" list — and has now crossed 25 million cumulative views. The third mini album sold 387,871 copies on its first day, a new self record, and includes four tracks: title track '춤(CHOOM)' alongside 'MOON', 'I LIKE IT', and 'LOCKED IN'.

aespa's Karina and Ningning made their debut Met Gala appearance at 'Met Gala 2026', held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on May 4 (local time). Among more than 450 global stars gathered under this year's 'Costume Art' theme, Karina arrived as Prada's ambassador in a white satin custom dress inspired by the Korean hanbok durumagi, accented with jet beads and silver crystal embroidery. Ningning, as Gucci's ambassador, posed for the cameras in a black dress featuring nature-inspired sculptural pleated ruffles and dramatic black crystal embroidery.

LE SSERAFIM marked their fourth debut anniversary on May 2 with the 'FIMILY PARTY' fan event running April 30 to May 2. 'CELEBRATION', the pre-release single from their second studio album 'PUREFLOW pt.1' (title track 'BOOMPALA'), charted on iTunes Worldwide Song Chart for four to six consecutive days, showing steady global firepower. The second studio album drops on May 22; on June 6–7 they take the stage at '2026 Weverse Con Festival' at KSPO DOME and 88 Round Field in Seoul; and on July 11 they open their second world tour '2026 LE SSERAFIM TOUR PUREFLOW' (Japan, Asia, US, Europe) in Incheon. The lineup is five members: Chaewon, Sakura, Yunjin, Kazuha, and Eunchae.

IVE's Wonyoung unveiled a collaboration pictorial with Allure Korea and a color contact lens brand. Set against a rose garden in a dreamy, romantic mood, she balanced an innocent and elegant charm in a pink dress and natural styling. The shoot pairs with IVE's own content series 'AKIVE', where members try out childhood and past-life experiences, framing the concept as "a princess in past life, a princess in this one too" for Wonyoung.

ATEEZ are nominated for 'Best Male K-Pop Artist' at the 2026 American Music Awards, and shared a fan voting guide directly through their official X account @ATEEZofficial. ATEEZ compete in the same category alongside fellow nominees BTS, ENHYPEN, Stray Kids, and TXT, with the ceremony scheduled for May 25 in Las Vegas. Fan voting runs through the AMA's official website and Instagram and closes on May 8 PT — the day after this cycle ships. In their official post, ATEEZ wrote that they were "deeply grateful to be nominated for the 2026 @AMAs."

CORTIS teams up with TikTok for a two-week #GREENGREEN campaign from May 4 to May 17, celebrating their second mini album 'GREENGREEN'. On a dedicated campaign hub, missions for users in Korea and Japan rack up heart points, and once a threshold is crossed an outdoor CORTIS ad rolls out on Times Square in New York. A listening party gradually unlocks group and member photos as plays accumulate, and on May 8 at 23:00 a TikTok live broadcast features the members talking and playing games directly with fans. Limited-edition profile frames go to followers of the official accounts and to creators who post content tied to the title track 'REDRED'.

ILLIT's Moka — who BELIFT LAB announced on April 20 would be focusing on "treatment and rest" due to health issues, sitting out the comeback cycle — made a surprise appearance at the evening show on the outdoor 'Forest Stage' of the Children's Grand Park festival on May 5. With Moka still off the comeback activities for the fourth mini album 'MAMIHLAPINATAPAI' (released April 30) and title track 'It's Me', she showed her recovery progress directly through an improvised dance performance. About 24,000 fans in the audience welcomed her with loud cheers and applause as she stepped onto the stage.

ZEROBASEONE will world-premiere their new song 'Customize' at 'KCON JAPAN 2026', held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan on May 10. 'Customize' is included on the sixth mini album 'Ascend-', releasing at 18:00 KST on May 18, and is also member Gunwook's first self-composed track — built on a pop-rock base, the lyrics honestly capture the contradiction of losing yourself the deeper you sink into your emotions. The sixth mini album consists of seven tracks: title 'TOP 5' alongside 'Customize', 'Intro.', 'V for Vision', 'Exotic', 'Changes', and 'Zero to Hundred'. This stage is also the group's first appearance in Japan as the reorganized five-member lineup (Hanbin, Kim Jiwoong, Matthew, Taerae, Gunwook) since February 2026.