Guides · Sun 01 Nov 2026
BTS ARIRANG in Kaohsiung: the four-day stadium run
Taipei gets most of Taiwan's big tours, which is exactly why this one matters. BTS bring the ARIRANG world tour south to Kaohsiung National Stadium for three shows in a four day window, Thursday 19, Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November 2026, with no concert on the Friday. It is the biggest stadium pop booking in southern Taiwan this season, and for one long weekend the country's second city is its pop capital.
What you need to know, in short: BTS play Kaohsiung National Stadium on Thursday 19, Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November 2026. Friday 20 November is a rest day, not a show day. Tickets were priced from NT$2,980 to NT$7,980, with a VIP package at NT$9,380, sold through tixcraft under a real name system. Bring the photo ID that matches your ticket. The stadium holds 55,000 people, the largest in Taiwan, and sits in Zuoying beside World Games station on the MRT Red Line. From Taipei, ride the high speed rail to Zuoying and change to the MRT. It is an easy journey; the crowds are the only hard part. Stay in Zuoying for the simple life, or downtown for the better dinners. Book early: three stadium nights compress the whole city's rooms.
A stadium built for a weekend like this
Kaohsiung National Stadium was built as the main venue of the 2009 World Games, and it still looks like nothing else in Taiwan. Japanese architect Toyo Ito wrapped the bowl in a semi spiral, dragon like form, and the roof carries 8,844 solar panels that supply most of the power the stadium uses. At 55,000 seats it is the largest stadium in the country, and it spends much of the year quiet, which is part of the pleasure: when a show this size lands, the whole district wakes up for it.
For BTS the setting works. The ARIRANG tour is a full stadium production, all seven members back on stage together after their military service, and Kaohsiung's open bowl on a November night, warm, dry season, the harbour city breeze coming in, is about as good as outdoor concert weather gets in Taiwan. Southern fans who usually have to trek north for shows of this scale get one on their own turf, and the Taipei crowd coming down will find a city that knows it is hosting something special.
Getting there, from Taipei and around town
From Taipei, take the high speed rail from Taipei Main Station or Nangang to Zuoying, a journey of under two hours, then walk through the station to the Kaohsiung MRT and ride the Red Line one stop north to World Games station (R17). The stadium is a short walk from the station exit. Book the train early for the concert days, and consider travelling down on the Wednesday or Thursday morning rather than in the last hours before the first show: half of Taipei has the same idea.
Within Kaohsiung, the MRT Red Line does almost everything a concert visitor needs. It links the high speed rail station, the stadium, Kaohsiung Main Station, the downtown shopping districts and Kaohsiung International Airport, so wherever you stay, one line gets you to the show. On show nights the stations around the stadium get busy for an hour after the encore; the seasoned move is to walk a little, get a drink or a bowl of noodles in Zuoying, and ride once the platform has cleared.
One administrative point that catches people out: ticketing for these shows runs on a real name system through tixcraft. The name on the ticket must match the photo ID you bring, so if your ticket was bought by a friend, check whose name is on it before you travel.
Where to stay
Zuoying is the low effort choice: hotels cluster around the high speed rail station, the stadium is one MRT stop away, and Lotus Pond, with its pagodas and temples, is on your doorstep for a slow morning. It is also the fastest escape on Monday, straight onto a northbound train.
Downtown Kaohsiung, around Formosa Boulevard, the Love River and the Sanduo shopping district, is the better base if the concert is one part of a longer trip: more restaurants, the harbour and the Pier 2 arts district a short ride away, and still a single MRT line to the stadium. Either way, three shows in four days means the city's hotels fill from the Wednesday night onwards, so book through our Kaohsiung hotel listings as soon as your ticket is in hand, and lean towards rates you can cancel if your plans shift between show nights.
Sources: Live Nation Taiwan's official event page, read in full on 1 November 2026, and the Taiwan What's On dataset record for this event, verified 27 October 2026, for the dates (19, 21 and 22 November 2026, no show on 20 November), the venue (Kaohsiung National Stadium), the ticket prices (NT$2,980 to NT$7,980), the VIP package (NT$9,380) and the real name ticketing through tixcraft, with photo ID required for entry; and stadium reference sources, including the National Stadium (Kaohsiung) entry and the World Games 2009 summary, for the 55,000 capacity, the 2009 World Games origin, the Toyo Ito design and the 8,844 solar panels. Whether any tickets remain on sale is not stated, either way. Checked 1 November 2026.
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