CORTIS at Gwanghwamun: Who Are They and Why Were They the Only K-Pop Group at Korea's World Cup Watch Party?
π· Photo: @BIGHIT_MUSIC · Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul · June 12, 2026
While aespa's Karina and Winter were cheering for Korea at the stadium in Mexico, back home in Seoul, tens of thousands of fans packed Gwanghwamun Square for the biggest street watch party of the year. And before a single ball was kicked, one K-pop group owned that stage.
CORTIS — BigHit Music's newest boy group — were the only K-pop act invited to perform at Korea's official World Cup street cheering event. And if you're just now asking who they are, this is the right place to start.
What Happened at Gwanghwamun
On June 12, 2026, Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul transformed into something between a concert venue and a football stadium. The event — officially titled "KT 2026 Support: Let's All Do It Together. Victory" — was jointly organized by KT, the Korea Football Association, and the Red Devils supporters' group ahead of Korea's opening match against Czechia.
By 9 a.m., hundreds had already filled the square. Police estimated 1,000 to 2,000 people by 10 a.m., with organizers expecting up to 6,000 by kickoff at 11 a.m. Office workers on half-days, students who'd skipped class, international tourists who wanted to experience Korean World Cup culture firsthand — all of them in red, under the June heat.
And then CORTIS took the stage. Dressed in red uniforms matching the Red Devils, faces and arms painted, they opened with the support song "For Victory" and led the crowd through chants, singalongs, and enough energy to make the summer heat feel irrelevant. One 19-year-old college student summed it up: "I came to see CORTIS, but I'll stay for the whole match."
Korea won 2-1. The square erupted. And CORTIS had already done their part before kickoff.
π· Photo: fan-captured · Gwanghwamun Square · 2026
So Who Is CORTIS?
Here's the short version: CORTIS is BigHit Music's first boy group in six years — the third boy group in the label's history, after BTS and TXT. That alone tells you the weight of expectation sitting on their shoulders.
The five members are Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon, and Keonho — all in their late teens, all heavily involved in producing their own music, choreography, and videos. The name CORTIS comes from "Color Outside the Lines," which is pretty much their entire philosophy.
Martin is Korean-Canadian — his father is Canadian, his mother Korean — and serves as the group's leader. James (Chinese-Thai) was a dancer on BTS Jungkook's "Seven" performance before debuting, and also contributed choreography to HYBE labelmates including the viral Illit "Magnetic" dance. Martin had production credits on TXT's "Beautiful Strangers," ENHYPEN's "Outside," and ILLIT's "Magnetic" before CORTIS ever released a single note.
They debuted on August 18, 2025 with "What You Want" — and within six days of launching their TikTok account, they had 1 million followers. Their debut MV hit YouTube trending charts in 11 regions on release day.
The Numbers That Made Them the Right Choice for This Stage
CORTIS were invited to Gwanghwamun because of what happened between their debut and now. Their second mini album GREENGREEN — released May 4, 2026 — sold over 2.31 million copies in its first week. It debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200. Their North American solo tour "PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN" sold out all seven dates immediately. The buzzy slang term "Yungkeke" (short for their track "YOUNGCREATORCREW") became a genuine Gen Z catchphrase in Korea.
Less than a year into their career, they're performing at Korea's most symbolically loaded public square, on the day of the country's World Cup opener. BTS received advice from nobody — they gave advice to CORTIS. The label's trajectory is showing.
Why Gwanghwamun Matters So Much
For anyone who wasn't around for the 2002 World Cup, Gwanghwamun Square is hard to explain. When Korea made its run to the semifinals in 2002, millions of people — millions — flooded the streets of Seoul in red. It became one of the defining collective memories of modern Korean national identity. Strangers hugging. The entire city united around a football match. It's the moment EJAE described as her favorite childhood memory. It's the moment the "Be the Reds" tradition was born.
Every World Cup since, Gwanghwamun has been the place to be. Having CORTIS — BigHit's new generation, the self-described "creator crew" — open that stage for 2026 is a statement. This is what the next chapter looks like.
π°π· THE KOREAN SIDE
Korean fans — particularly CORTIS's fandom COER — were buzzing all morning before the performance even started. The images of the group in red Red Devils uniforms, faces painted, performing at the same square where BTS staged events, hit differently for fans who've been with them since pre-debut. Comments like "our babies made it to Gwanghwamun" and "this is the moment CORTIS became a national act" were everywhere. The energy in the square when they performed "YOUNGCREATORCREW" was, by multiple accounts, as loud as the crowd when Korea scored.
π THE GLOBAL SIDE
International fans discovered CORTIS through clips of the Gwanghwamun performance flooding social media as Korea's World Cup win was being celebrated. For global audiences who hadn't caught up to CORTIS yet — GREENGREEN's Billboard 200 performance made them a blip on the radar, but this was the moment many actually looked them up. Reddit threads titled "who are these guys at Gwanghwamun?" spiked. New fan accounts appeared. The World Cup gave CORTIS their biggest international introduction yet.
π THE GAP
Korean fans already know CORTIS is the real thing — the sales, the sold-out tour, the slang term that escaped into everyday conversation — all of that was already established. The Gwanghwamun performance confirmed their status as a national-level act, not just a K-pop fandom act. International fans, meanwhile, are only just arriving at the starting line. The gap is enormous right now, but based on the trajectory — a debut-year Billboard 200 top 3, sold-out North American tour, now World Cup stage — that gap is closing fast. Watch this space.
Why This Matters
BTS headlining the World Cup final halftime show in July is K-pop's peak moment at this tournament. But the story of K-pop at the 2026 World Cup has layers — Lisa at the opening ceremony in LA, EJAE singing Korean at Estadio Azteca, aespa in the stands in Guadalajara, TWS as the official Korea FA ambassadors. And CORTIS, the newest generation, performing at Gwanghwamun before it all began.
Every generation of BigHit has its World Cup moment. BTS gets the final. CORTIS got the first morning. That's not nothing.
FAQ
Who are CORTIS?
CORTIS (Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon, Keonho) are a 5-member boy group under BigHit Music (HYBE), debuted August 18, 2025. They are BigHit's first new boy group in six years, after BTS and TXT.
Why were CORTIS at Gwanghwamun?
They were the only K-pop group officially invited to perform at the KT × Korea Football Association × Red Devils street cheering event ahead of Korea's World Cup opener against Czechia on June 12, 2026.
What is CORTIS's fandom name?
COER (μ½μ΄) — meaning the "core" driving force behind CORTIS, those who "color outside the lines" together with them.
Group: CORTIS (μ½λ₯΄ν°μ€) — Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon, Keonho
Label: BigHit Music (HYBE)
Debut: August 18, 2025
Event: KT 2026 World Cup Street Cheering · Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul · June 12, 2026
Latest album: GREENGREEN (May 2026) — 2.31M first-week sales, Billboard 200 #3
Fandom: COER (μ½μ΄)
Fun fact: Only K-pop group to perform at the official Gwanghwamun World Cup event
"I've been to Gwanghwamun during a World Cup. The energy is unlike anything else in Korean public life — it's the one moment the whole country becomes one red wave. Having CORTIS open that stage, less than a year into their career, is a serious statement from BigHit about what they believe this group can become. BTS is doing the World Cup final halftime show in July. CORTIS did the first morning. Different chapters, same label, same ambition. I'll be watching every match from here."
Related:
Korea Won the World Cup Opener — And K-Pop Was Right There in the Stands
EJAE at the World Cup: Who Is She and Why Did She Sing in Korean?
BTS to Headline the World Cup Final Halftime Show
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