Billboard on March 30 announced that BTS' latest album "Arirang" topped the Billboard 200 albums chart. (Billboard's website)

By Kang Gahui

BTS' latest album "Arirang" has topped the main albums chart Billboard 200 of the U.S. after going No. 1 on the U.K. chart.

Billboard said on its Chart Beat preview dated March 29, "BTS Arirang debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart."

The chart's rankings are based on album units, which combine physical and digital album sales with streaming and digital download figures. Sales of "Arirang" reached 641,000 equivalent album units during the tracking period, Billboard said, "the largest week for an album by a group since the chart began measuring by units in December 2014."

This is the pop juggernaut's seventh album to top the Billboard 200. In June 2018, the group made history as the first K-pop act to reach No. 1 on the chart with "Love Yourself: Tear." The boy band repeated the feat that September with "Love Yourself: Answer" and did the same a combined five other times in 2019, 2020 (twice) and 2022.

Earlier on March 28, "Arirang" topped the U.K. Official Chart Top 100, continuing its dominance of the U.S. and British charts within the first 10 days of release and punctuating BTS' continued popularity.

kgh89@korea.kr