Moonbin: An Ode to His Life

On the night of April 19, 8 pm KST, 25 years old ASTRO singer and dancer Moonbin was found dead in his apartment.

The sudden news shocked everyone, Aroha, K-Pop fans, and the general public worldwide.Moonbin's death was unexpected, and many are speculating about its cause, but there is no specific information as of today.

We want to write this article to remember some of his most outstanding achievements as an artist and share comforting words many have written about him these days. We express deep condolences, especially to his family, friends, and group members.

ASTRO is a K-Pop boy group that debuted on February 23, 2016, composed of MJ, Rocky, Cha Eunwoo, Yeon Sanha, Moonbin, and JinJin.

The group was created through the program "iTeen Boys," organized by Fantagio, and released their first EP, Spring Up, right after their debut.

Their second extended play Summer Vibes was released in the same year, in July, and just a month later, they held their first mini concert titled "ASTRO 2016 MINI LIVE".

In 2017, they released their special album Winter Dream to celebrate their debut. In the months after their EPs Dream Part.01 and Dream Part.02, containing their iconic songs Baby and Crazy Sexy Cool. 

On January 16, 2019, after a long hiatus, Astro released their first studio album, All Light, and on January 29, they received their first music show win for "All Night."

In 2020 Fantagio announced Moonbin and Sanha subunit called Moonbin & Sanha, and they debuted with the EP In-Out and the lead single Bad Idea. 

On December 31 of the same year, Astro released the single "We Still (Be With U)" as a special year-end gift to their fans.

In 2021 they released their second studio album, All Yours, and MJ debuted as a solo artist with his semi-trot single album, Happy Virus.

On December 28, 2021, Fantagio announced that Jinjin and Rocky would form Astro's second sub-unit, Jinjin & Rocky. The duo released their EP Restore and its lead single, "Just Breath," a month later. 

In February 2023, it was sadly announced that Rocky had decided to leave the group.

Moonbin participated in writing the lyrics and composing many of the songs Aroha loves, among them:

A song dedicated to his fans, part of the album Winter Dream and released in 2017.

I'm your sunflower, you're my light

I'm happy because we're looking at the same place

I hope we'll be together and create our own story

Wanna walk together? On this flower road ahead?

This song is one of the latest Astro group releases, part of the album Drive to the Starry Road.

Candy sugar pop is an upbeat love song that became a significant success on Music Shows.

The cool breeze wraps around us

A light swaying in the waves and brilliant blue

Get off the path

This moment together

Drive to the paradise

Released in 2021 as part of the album Switch On, this was a song Moonbin was very proud of.  

This Twitter post also contains many other beautiful songs written by Moonbin :  

The 98 line consists of SEVENTEEN's Seungkwan, ASTRO's Moonbin, VIVIZ's SinB and Umji, and iKON's Chanwoo. 

In particular, Moonbin, SinB, and Chanwoo were childhood friends, while Seungkwan was a later addition to the group. Besides that, as shown in the video below, the four were very close to a show they participated in together.

As a plus, there is this cute interaction between Moonbin and SEVENTEEN's members DK, Seungkwan, and Jeonghan:

Moon Sua, Moonbin's younger daughter, made her first TV appearance in 2015 in the famous program Unpretty Rapstar 2, where she came third on the podium.

Firstly under YG Entertainment, Sua later moved to MYSTIC §Story, where she debuted under the girl group Billie in 2020.

Moonbin has always been an inspiration and point of reference for his younger sister, and they share a really close bond.

Here is their exhibition together on stage:

Another sweet moment between the two, who appeared together on video various times:  

Here are some edits, pictures, and art shared by Aroha online in the last few days.

Many expressed their condolences for Moonbin's family. In particular, SHINEE's members KEY and Taemin shared their thoughts and tried to comfort fans, ASTRO members, and his family with their wise words.

Many are still mourning privately, as they should have a right to do.

Moonbin was very talented and bright, and his words comforted many people. These words and the things he created will stay even after his sudden departure to comfort us.