Cortis Member: Ages, Nationalities & Debut Facts

When a brand-new K-pop group drops under Big Hit Music—the label behind BTS—fans pay attention. CORTIS landed on August 18, 2025, with five members and a debut single called “What You Want,” but the real curiosity is about the people behind the name: their ages, where they come from, and how this group came together.

Members: 5 ·
Debut date: August 18, 2025 ·
Company: BIGHIT MUSIC ·
Debut single: What You Want ·
Youngest member birth year: 2009

Who are the 5 members of CORTIS?

Introducing the members of CORTIS

The group consists of five young men: James, Juhoon, Martin, Seonghyeon, and Keonho. They trained together under the pre-debut project name BIGHITNBG before officially forming CORTIS in 2025 (Wikipedia (crowdsourced encyclopedia)).

• James — born in 2005, reportedly of mixed Thai-Hong Kongese heritage (KFriday (K-pop coverage site))
• Juhoon — born January 3, 2008, South Korean (KFriday (K-pop coverage site))
• Martin — Korean-Canadian, reported age 17 at debut (Rolling Stone (music magazine))
• Seonghyeon — born January 13, 2009, South Korean (KFriday (K-pop coverage site))
• Keonho — born 2009, youngest member, age 16 in 2025 (KProfiles (K-pop fan database))

Five members, one pattern: every profile source agrees on the same names and order, giving fans a stable lineup to follow from debut onward.

Quick member profile table

Across the five members, ages span about four years and nationalities lean South Korean with two exceptions.

The implication: CORTIS is a young group, with half its members still minors. Their mixed nationalities (James and Martin) could give them a broader appeal but also raise questions about visa and enlistment timelines later.

How old are the CORTIS members?

Age range and youngest member

The members range from 16 to 20 years old as of 2025. The youngest is Keonho, born in 2009, which makes him 16 (KProfiles (K-pop fan database)). The eldest is James, born in 2005, turning 20 sometime that year (KFriday (K-pop coverage site)).

• James — 2005 (age 20)
• Juhoon — January 3, 2008 (age 17)
• Martin — approx. 2008 (age 17 at debut per Rolling Stone)
• Seonghyeon — January 13, 2009 (age 16)
• Keonho — 2009 (age 16)

Full birthday list

Three members have exact birthday records, while two have only birth years reported.

What this means: fans who follow birthdays will find only three dates confirmed. The missing exact dates for James and Keonho leave room for future updates as the group releases more personal content.

Are any CORTIS members mixed?

Ethnic backgrounds of each member

According to available sources, most members are of full South Korean ethnicity. The two exceptions are James, whom KFriday describes as having mixed Thai-Hong Kongese heritage (KFriday (K-pop coverage site)), and Martin, identified as Korean-Canadian by Rolling Stone (music magazine). Juhoon, Seonghyeon, and Keonho are listed as South Korean.

Reported nationalities

• James: Thai-Hong Kongese (reported, medium confidence)
• Juhoon: South Korean
• Martin: Korean-Canadian
• Seonghyeon: South Korean
• Keonho: South Korean

The catch: only one source (KFriday) reports James’s mixed background, and no official BIGHIT MUSIC statement confirms it. Meanwhile, Martin’s Korean-Canadian identity comes from a Rolling Stone interview—a stronger, second-tier source. The group’s multi-national identity is likely a deliberate part of their image, but until the company releases official profiles, some claims remain unverified.

Do the CORTIS members live together?

Group living arrangements

It is common for rookie K-pop groups to share a dormitory, especially under Big Hit Music, which has housed groups like BTS and Tomorrow X Together in shared accommodations during their early years. However, there is no direct statement from BIGHIT MUSIC about CORTIS’s current housing. KProfiles does not mention a dorm, and no fan accounts have confirmed a specific address (KProfiles (K-pop fan database)).

Living together is standard practice to build teamwork and reduce costs. The trade-off: lack of privacy and potential conflicts over shared space are well-documented challenges for rookie groups.

Typical K-pop dormitory life

Most K-pop groups start in dormitories, often with two or three members per room. Given that CORTIS has five members, a typical setup might involve two rooms plus a common area. Until BIGHIT MUSIC releases a dorm tour or documentary, these details remain speculative.

The pattern: without official confirmation, the safest assumption is that CORTIS members live together, but fans should wait for a reliable source before treating it as fact.

Was CORTIS supposed to be 6 members?

Pre-debut lineup changes

Some fans speculated that CORTIS might have originally been planned with six members because BIGHIT MUSIC’s previous boy groups (BTS with 7, TXT with 5) had varied numbers. However, there is no verifiable evidence that CORTIS ever had a sixth member. The pre-debut name BIGHITNBG did not indicate a specific member count (Reddit r/kpop (community discussion)).

Why CORTIS has 5 members

All reliable sources—KProfiles, Wikipedia, KFriday, and Rolling Stone—consistently list five members. No member has been added or removed since the debut announcement. The group’s official Instagram (@cortis) also references five profiles. The five-member lineup appears final.

The implication: the 6-member rumor lacks a factual basis. Fans looking for a “missing member” narrative will not find one in the available data.

CORTIS timeline: from training to debut

• Pre-2025: Members train under BIGHIT MUSIC as part of BIGHITNBG (Reddit r/kpop (community discussion))
• August 18, 2025: Official debut with digital single “What You Want” (Rolling Stone (music magazine))
• 2025 (post-debut): Release of 2nd EP “GREENGREEN”; growth on social media (KFriday (K-pop coverage site))

Rolling Stone framed CORTIS as “a new K-pop debut of 2025” and highlighted Martin’s Korean-Canadian identity as a point of distinction (Rolling Stone).

What’s confirmed and what’s not

Confirmed facts

• Five members: James, Juhoon, Martin, Seonghyeon, Keonho (Wikipedia (crowdsourced encyclopedia))
• Group under BIGHIT MUSIC (HYBE subsidiary) (KProfiles (K-pop fan database))
• Debut date: August 18, 2025 (KFriday (K-pop coverage site))
• Debut single: “What You Want” (Rolling Stone (music magazine))
• Youngest member (Keonho) born in 2009, age 16 (KProfiles (K-pop fan database))

What remains unclear

• Exact ethnic background of James beyond “Thai-Hong Kongese” report
• Current living arrangements (dormitory vs. individual housing)
• Original planned member count (no evidence of 6)
• Which member is least popular (no reliable metric)

Perspectives from the press

“Rolling Stone identified Martin as a Korean-Canadian leader and said he was 17 at debut.”

Rolling Stone (music magazine)

“CORTIS is a South Korean boy band formed by Big Hit Music, consisting of five members: James, Juhoon, Martin, Seonghyeon, and Keonho.”

Wikipedia (crowdsourced encyclopedia)

“Kprofiles states that CORTIS debuted on August 18, 2025, and is represented by Republic Records in the United States.”

KProfiles (K-pop fan database)

These sources provide a consensus on the basic lineup but leave many individual details open.

CORTIS enters the K-pop scene with a clear Big Hit pedigree but a fog of basic details still unsorted. For fans following the group’s debut era, the confirmed facts are solid: five members, a summer debut, and a debut single. The unknowns—mixed heritage, living arrangements, future membership changes—are typical for a rookie group that hasn’t yet done a full press run. For Big Hit Music, the next step is clear: release official member profiles and a dorm-style content series to build intimacy with the fanbase, or risk leaving those gaps filled by rumor.

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For a deeper look at each member’s position and background, check out these detailed member profiles.

Frequently asked questions