Boy group CORTIS - the latest rookie of Big Hit Entertainment - is attracting great attention from the K-pop community with their debut through the digital single What You Want. However, instead of just revolving around the group's music and style, the debate on social media exploded because of the way a part of BTS fans left comments.
In many videos and forums, many ARMY (BTS fans) have called CORTIS the "successor" or "the youngest brother of BTS". comments like: "You are really BTS's younger brothers" or "The same look as BTS when debuting" continuously appeared, even in unrelated content. This made CORTIS fans feel uncomfortable, saying that this labeling unintentionally overshadowed the group's unique identity.
Meanwhile, there are still many compliments for CORTIS, from appearance, performance style to development potential. Some ARMY also affirmed that they will both support BTS and the boy group. However, the excessive comparison creates a tense atmosphere between the two fan communities.
On the forum, many CORTIS fans commented: "I hate every video mentioned BTS", "If you like it, just be a normal fan, don't bring BTS in", or "Even BTS fans feel embarrassed". Some other opinions also expressed concern that this situation would repeat itself like with TXT before.
The controversy has not cooled down yet. CORTIS fans want the audience to focus on the talent and identity of the group instead of assigning them the image of "BTS's younger brother". This is considered the first challenge for CORTIS in affirming its independent position on the K-pop map.
