JYP Entertainment has shared a three-fold announcement for record-breaking boy group Stray Kids, spanning a new single, mini album, and world tour. The pre-release single, titled “RUN IT” will be released 24 June 2026, followed by the album THIS & THAT on 7 August, with details about the unveiled <RUN IT> World Tour expected in the coming weeks.

The announcement was accompanied by a teaser for “RUN IT,” which hints at a darker, dystopian theme. Shadowed clips of the eight members are positioned against open, almost apocalyptic settings, as they run and fight amongst backup dancers. Contrast between black and white clothing is consistent throughout, as are various symbols: yin and yang, Ouroboros, and their associated circular formations. Each denotes the cyclical nature of life and death, death and rebirth and the infinite loop of time, which therefore will no doubt contribute a significant aspect towards the song’s meaning. Sonically, the audio clip within the teaser brings layers of echoing synth, chants, and the expansion of Stray Kids’ iconic phrase “everywhere all around the world” over a powerful beat.

This release will be the group’s first since mini album DO IT, which dropped last November led by double title-tracks “DO IT” and “DIVINE” and scored Stray Kids their eight consecutive Billboard #1 album. Earlier in 2025, the group’s fourth full studio album KARMA shifted 2.27 million copies in its first week and broke the record for the highest single-day streams of a K-pop album of the year on Spotify. However, from the very beginning of the rollout for “RUN IT,” the group have already surpassed data from the previous year in regards to the initial teaser of the comeback – the video received 1.48 million views on YouTube within the first 24 hours, breaking the previous record set by “DO IT” as 1.45 million. If the sequence continues, Stray Kids are immediately set for another large-scale success.

As for what to expect visually, conceptual similarities can already be drawn between these three projects. SAMSON, director of the teaser and music video for “RUN IT,” shared on his Instagram that the video for "RUN IT started from the question, 'what identity is both the most SKZ-like and the most Korean?'" He previously directed the music video of “DIVINE” for the group, which similarly shared this focus on symbolism and Korean culture; hanboks, hangul and calligraphy stood out within the music video and in subsequent live performances such as that of Mnet’s MAMA Awards 2025. On the other hand, the music video for CEREMONY, directed by SEONG and leading the release of KARMA, featured the same repeating yin and yang symbols as seen in the teaser for “RUN IT.”

Through these visual representations and the explicit intentions behind them, a sequence is being established. Fans can expect Korean culture to remain at the centre of this new Stray Kids comeback, as the group continue to draft a unique image and sound by intertwining their Korean identities with their identities as members of Stray Kids. While K-pop songs continue to garner popularity overseas and more groups lean towards the English language and a Westernised image, maintaining a strong tie to Korean culture becomes significant to maintaining the genre’s unique identity as a whole, and Stray Kids are actively working to write themselves into its expansion.

To materialise this expansion, “RUN IT” will share its title with the group’s fourth world tour, <RUN IT>, as unveiled alongside the song. Again, details are yet to be revealed, but expectations are high given the record-breaking success of their third world tour, <dominATE>. The tour achieved historic milestones across several continents, becoming the largest tour by a K-pop act in Europe and the high-grossing in North America and Latin America. It consisted of 56 shows across 35 cities and 22 countries, many of which were held at stadiums of around 50,000 attendees. A tour sharing its name with the lead single suggests <RUN IT> is being positioned as the next chapter in that trajectory, not a step back from it.

More will be revealed about THIS & THAT as "RUN IT" promotions unfold. For now, the single sits at the centre of what looks like one of Stray Kids' most expansive rollouts yet.