“I just went for it,” SEONGHYEON said matter-of-factly about the challenge he undertook. It was a dream that started with that same spontaneous spirit at an amusement park on his birthday in 2018. Now, seven years later, that dream has become the reality—his debut. And so, at sixteen years old, SEONGHYEON takes his first step.

So, you’re debuting next month. How did you feel when you first found out you’d officially be debuting? [Note: This interview took place on July 19.]
SEONGHYEON: It all happened so fast, I was like, “Already?” I mean, I wanted to debut soon, but I also wanted more time to prepare—enough to feel confident about it. So once my debut was set in stone, it made me work even harder. Once I told my parents it was official, they kept asking me when it’s going to happen. (laughs)

Is there anything you’re particularly looking forward to once you debut?
SEONGHYEON: I’m excited to perform live onstage, like at concerts. It feels like a great opportunity to show more of what we’re about. I’m looking forward to meeting fans, too, but it’s hard to imagine that since we haven’t even debuted yet. (laughs)

You were spotted attending j-hope’s concert in June. No doubt the experience felt different given you’re just about to debut.
SEONGHYEON: j-hope held his concert outdoors under the open sky, complete with fireworks and other fire and smoke effects onstage. It all made me think, “I want to perform on a stage like that, do something fun like that too.” The most memorable part for me was when he performed “MIC Drop.” It hit even harder for me because I did that song for my audition. I remember I chose it because BTS’s choreography was just too cool. (laughs)

I heard you were scouted at a theme park on your birthday in 2018 and that’s how you ended up auditioning.
SEONGHYEON: I went there with my cousin for my birthday, and on our way out, someone from the casting team stopped me and handed me a business card. They even asked if they could take my picture. I was so young back then that I was really into just giving it a try. My parents said the same thing and that I could just pull out if it wasn’t working out. I was in regular contact with the agency after that and joined in 2021.

What did you want to be before you were scouted?
SEONGHYEON: When you’re a kid, your dreams change all the time. I wanted to become a robotics engineer or a soccer player. (laughs) One of my friends’ dads ran a soccer center, so my friends and I played soccer there a lot. I got into music when I was in elementary school. It was vacation and my friend was learning guitar, so I started learning, too. And once I joined the label, I saw all the other trainees were making music, so naturally, I started to too. I think I really got into it after taking rap lessons and learning things more in-depth from my teacher. At first, I just liked hanging out with the older trainees during practice, but I started to enjoy music even more over time.

I heard you once got the top score among all the trainees during evaluations, even though you really only started learning music and dance once you got there. You must be quick at picking new things up.
SEONGHYEON: That only happened once, I think. I wouldn’t really say I’m quick to learn things. (laughs) I think I just dive in headfirst. I usually jump right in. I also got interested in video production, and honestly, if I tried learning it on my own, I might’ve given up on it pretty quickly, but because I learned it while hanging out with everyone, it was really fun. When I edit something like a music video, it’s so much fun playing around with the cuts however I want. Back in elementary school, my sister and I even made a video where we staged the game “PUBG” like it was a play and acted in it. I told my parents exactly how to film it and then they recorded it exactly like that. (laughs)

So it’s always been important to you to work with others when making music or videos. Do you feel sad about not being able to fully enjoy the school experience since you became a trainee at such a young age?
SEONGHYEON: A little bit. (laughs) When I moved from Daejeon to Seoul, I missed having my best friends by my side, but I found practicing with the other trainees at the label to be really fun. I can’t really say I ever felt lonely in Seoul or had a hard time here.

It seems like you don’t get stressed out very easily. (laughs)
SEONGHYEON: I’ve always been the kind of person who can just sleep off anything bad that happens. I don’t really stress much or dwell on things—that kind of vibe. (laughs) It’s not like I never get stressed at all anymore, but for the most part, I’m still that way. I’m also quite playful and always want to try new things. When I went to the US during my trainee days, I bought a skateboard and tried riding it. I like to keep putting myself in new situations, even if it isn’t anything big, like watching a new movie or trying a restaurant I’ve never been to. If I get more free time later, I’d really like to take up guitar again. And basketball! It’s just casual when we play together, but I want to improve. (laughs) I’m pretty good at shooting the ball, but not at dribbling.

Taking dance classes in the US must’ve been an all-new experience for you. Did watching other people dance and learning from them fill you with a new kind of motivation?
SEONGHYEON: It was my first time going to a workshop like that and it was a lot of fun. It was also fun learning choreography from new teacher after new teacher in the US. Dancing in front of other people made me nervous, but since there were so many people in the class, I just went for it. Plus, Sienna Lalau is famous for being a passionate teacher, so I received some intense training. Thanks to that experience, I got more interested in dancing and learned how to better convey certain vibes.

The track “GO!” off your upcoming debut album was released early, and you kick off that performance personally by walking in, cool and collected. Did you feel any pressure being the first one in the song that introduces your group to the world?
SEONGHYEON: Not at all. There’s a lot of hand movements in the song, and even though I practiced ahead of time, I tried to keep it natural by doing them based on how I felt in the moment. I think I have a pretty distinct style when I dance, but for the group choreography, there were times when I stood out too much, so I worked really hard to get in sync with the others.

You’re on moving treadmills for the choreography for the lead single, “What You Want.” That must’ve made practicing for it particularly hard.
SEONGHYEON: I even got hit with a bit of motion sickness at first, so I took medicine while practicing until I got used to it. I’m used to it now, though, so I don’t have a hard time with it anymore. We were using 11 treadmills while practicing for it, but for the actual performance film, we had to use 35. I heard we completely bought up all the treadmill stock of one company. (laughs) We found a place with enough treadmills and shot the film using those, but it took some time to get used to them. Those new ones were wider and higher than the ones we practiced with, so I had to get a feel for it all over again.

Your raspy vocal delivery in “What You Want” really stands out, including how you open it with, “Crash, Smash, Rock, Mash up / Ohh Take what you want.”
SEONGHYEON: When I was recording that intro, I put a lot of thought into how to capture the energy of the song since it needed to grab people’s attention right away. The rapper Teezo Touchdown helped with the melody, and for the part that goes, “A late-night, dawn delivery kind of fresh song, I need that / (What you want?!),” the producer asked me to channel the raspy, gritty tone Teezo used. Trying to pull off singing in a new style with those rough vocals could get tricky. (laughs) But I was pretty satisfied with it when I heard the recording later.

I heard your debut album was a collaborative effort between the whole group, yourself included. Are there any moments that stand out in your memory?
SEONGHYEON: “GO!” came out of a song camp way back at the beginning, and it was such a great song right off the bat that I thought, “We have to do this one!” Writing the lyrics as a group for the album was a first for me. It took a long time and was harder than I expected, but I’m happy to say that we came up with something great in the end. The “bring the” parts in the post-hook were my idea! (laughs) I usually don’t hesitate when I come up with an idea. I just throw it out there. Running around randomly with the 360 cam in our mouths while shooting the music video was also really memorable. (laughs)

What’s your usual approach to making music?
SEONGHYEON: For the debut album, we wrote toplines together over the producers’ beats, and we also worked on some beats of our own. Sometimes I draw inspiration from another song if I’m really into one at that point, and other times I just go with the flow and work from there. I was super into rage music at one point, so the songs I made during that phase had a similar vibe. I always try to listen to a wide variety of genres, and whenever an artist I like drops a new album, I listen to it right away. Justin Bieber’s new album is one I listened to recently. I heard the producers sometimes refer to the music I’ve been listening to for inspiration, too. But the main place I get my musical inspiration from is real-life experiences and everyday life.

It does seem like your instincts for constantly exploring new things and drawing inspiration from everyday life is reflected in CORTIS’ songs. I think the clever lyrics in “FaSHioN” that reference places like “Hongdae” and “Dongmyo,” and lines like, “Dongmyo’s where we gather, like a seminar,” really bring out the kind of youthful, fresh vibe that your group can deliver on.
SEONGHYEON: The lines “Hongdae, Wassup” and “Hongdae got them inspired” in that song were actually my ideas. When I was a trainee, the older guys and I would go shopping for clothes in Hongdae on the weekends. Whenever someone bought something, we’d all take turns trying it on. (laughs) These days, my tastes lean toward taking slightly fitted flared jeans—bootcuts—and pairing them with a tight top. I also like rings and really thin string necklaces or the sort of pearl necklaces that you can find in Dongmyo. I went to the Dongmyo flea market this one time with KEONHO, but it was harder than expected to pick out some clothes, so we ended up just buying accessories. (laughs) I’d love to explore more vintage shops all across Korea someday.

Tracks like “GO!” and “FaSHioN” capture the carefree spirit of being a teen, but the album’s closer, “Lullaby,” takes the concerns that surround teenage dreams and lays them bare. What’s something you’ve been concerned about or grappling with lately?
SEONGHYEON: “I wish the day was just a little longer.” (laughs) There’s so much I want to do, but between training and everything else, there just isn’t enough time. I want to go shopping, work out, and focus on my personal music projects. And like I mentioned earlier, I’d love to see some new movies. I want to watch tons of them!

Have you seen anything good lately?
SEONGHYEON: I saw “F1 The Movie” while in New Zealand. I probably understood, like, half the dialogue (laughs) but the camerawork was so cool that it really stuck with me. To be honest, I actually watch more TV than movies. These days, I’m watching a show called “Peaky Blinders.” It’s set a long time ago in Britain, and it’s so cool. I’m not picky when it comes to genre.

It sounds like consuming a lot of content has been helpful for giving you new ideas. I also understand MARTIN, as the leader of the group, trusts you to come up with fresh musical ideas. What kind of influence do you two have on each other?
SEONGHYEON: MARTIN’s done a lot of different work on music, including beats, and he always says to me, “Let’s work on this together.” He does the most work of anyone in the group, and he’s always looking for opportunities to grow, which really motivates me to think, “I better step up too!” The two of us talk a lot about music and different content, even when we’re not working.

You’ve probably grown really close with the group while preparing for your debut. If you think back to when you first met, does it feel like you’ve gotten a lot closer?
SEONGHYEON: Absolutely. KEONHO reminded me so much of an old friend of mine when I first met him. It was surreal. I’ve known MARTIN longer than the others, but the only thing I thought when I first saw him was, “Wow, he’s tall!” (laughs) But once I got to know him, I realized he’s a deep thinker and a lot of fun. JAMES can come across as tough on first impression, so I felt a little intimidated by him before I really got to know him. Once we got closer, I found out he’s quirky, random, and just hilarious. (laughs) As for JUHOON, I got the impression he’s really kind. Once we got closer, I could see how steady and easygoing he is, but he can be hilariously random and quirky at times, too. I guess we all just naturally bonded by spending time together at the end of the day, seeing movies together, and just talking. We have a lot more fun hanging out together than each doing our own thing. (laughs)

The way the five of you are totally unique individuals and come together to form CORTIS makes your group feel so special.
SEONGHYEON: It’s like all the little things, from our shared vocabulary to the way we’ve started to sound like each other the way we talk, makes this a CORTIS world that’s uniquely ours. Plus, since each of us has such a strong personality and our own unique charms, we come across as really diverse when we’re all together, I think, so I don’t want us to be mysterious or anything, just show people our genuine selves. We hope people will like us when they see how good our music, our lyrics, and our dancing is, and for how talented we are, not just because of how we look. I want people to come to our shows especially for the music.