Moon So-ri Becomes ‘CORTIS Mom’ After Falling for ‘JoyRide’

Moon So-ri has made no attempt to hide her affection for the boy group CORTIS. The veteran Korean actor, who was once called “IU’s mother” because of a drama role, has now picked up a new nickname among fans: “CORTIS mom.”

Moon So-ri personally requested CORTIS’s “JoyRide” when she appeared on SBS Power FM’s radio program “At 12, Joo Hyun-young” on January 27. She had already mentioned CORTIS at an awards ceremony and received a response from the group’s fans, and on the radio broadcast she opened up in more detail about what had happened behind the scenes.

“I watched their performance that day, and I became a fan,” Moon said. She also shared that her daughter had first told her the group was “so good,” and that she was surprised after seeing their actual stage for herself.

After Moon’s public show of support, fans began calling her “CORTIS mom” in comments on her Instagram. Moon drew laughter by saying, “After all these years, I ended up playing IU’s mom, and now I have become CORTIS mom.”

Moon also revealed that she had taken a photo with the members of CORTIS. After she mentioned the group by name at the awards ceremony, the members personally came to the waiting room to greet her, and she described them as “polite young men.”

After seeing CORTIS perform in person, Moon said, “Only now do I understand the true value of why K-pop is shaking up the whole world.” Her comment landed less as a prepared publicity line than as the response of an audience member whose feelings changed after watching the stage directly.

CORTIS will hold “2026 CORTIS TOUR IN INCHEON” at Incheon Inspire Arena on July 18 and 19. The North American performances will continue in August.

CORTIS is the five-member boy group introduced by BigHit Music six years after BTS and TOMORROW X TOGETHER. The group consists of Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon and Keonho, and its name comes from “Color Outside the Lines.”

The official music video for “JoyRide” also makes CORTIS’s color clear. Rather than pushing scenes forward at a frantic pace, the video foregrounds the members’ expressions, the elasticity of their bodies and the rhythm they create as they move together.

Following the Incheon concerts on July 18 and 19, CORTIS’s North American performances will continue in August with stops in Toronto, New York, Atlanta, Irving, Los Angeles and San Francisco.