'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAUACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABhAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQcQAAEDBAEFAQAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQABRESBgcTFSFBIgEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAURAAICAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAQMRIUH/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/ALauCwZ9it12WWQ5cnGkyY4bX2HQI5m7OJ32U4T+SdgMfK2qH0R4omIwPI3wYaQMJktYHr5s0TSlDWtI4Umdpxs//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Moonbin, the vocalist of the six-member K-pop boy group ASTRO, was born on January 26, 1998. Throughout his climb up the ladder towards success, the idol had quite a diverse list of career embarkations proving that he was more or less made for the idol life. He initially started his career with explorations into acting, popping up in a few famous K-drama series.
His career trajectory soon took a swift turn in training as a K-pop idol, eventually placing him among the members of ASTRO. However, his journey wasn't simple. The idol had several ups and downs with several rocky roads to pass through. While the ASTRO member seemed to be healthy and active until recently, the unfortunate news of his passing away has saddened a large crowd. In an effort to remember Moonbin for his remarkable career, here's a rundown of the same.
From a child actor to a K-pop idol: A complete guide to ASTRO Moonbin's life journey
Acting career and filmography
Moobin's first step into the light of the media was through his mother, who was already involved with Korea's entertainment industry. His embarkation as a child model in 2004 had already won the hearts of many as they praised him for his unmatched visuals. However, his first appearance as an actor was in TVXQ's Ballons music video, where he played the role of mini U-know Yunho.
His acting project immediately received a peak with his role in the classic K-drama series Boys Over Flowers, where the idol played the role of Kim Bum's character in his childhood. After this, Moobin took a brief pause in his acting projects, given his debut in ASTRO in 2016. The next time fans saw Moonbin's acting dimension was in the web series that all the members of ASTRO starred in, To Be Continued.
A few other films and series where the idol has popped up include Moments of Eighteen, where the idol played the role of Jung Oh-je in 2018, which was followed by his role in the two seasons of The Mermaid Prince. Since 2020, Moonbin's acting career has more or less come to a pause, other than a few occasional occurrences of him on TV and in variety shows like Ultimate Watchlist of Latest Trends, Food Avengers, Saturday Night Live Korea, and Show Champion.
Journey with ASTRO
Following his participation in Fantahio's iTeen project, Moonbin was chosen as the second trainee to be introduced by the company with their Fantagio iTeen Photo Test Cut. Since 2009, the idol has been training officially under the company alongside his educational involvement. On February 23, 2016, ASTRO debuted with their EP, Spring Up, which had Hide & Seek as its title track with four other tracks accompanying it.
While ASTRO continued to grow in popularity and was consistent with their comebacks, Moonbin couldn't join the other members for their promotions of Blue Flame EP in 2019. This was when the idol went on hiatus on November 12 due to health reasons. On February 14, 2020, fully recovered from his health issues, he ended his hiatus with a live broadcast along with his fellow ASTRO members. Following this, the idol continued to participate in the group's comebacks and other promotional activities.
Solo and unit debut
When the idol returned to his idol career, Moobin became quite explorative with his involvement in the music industry. However, his solo discography stands limited to only two songs on the list. One was a solo song by him, titled Let's Go Ride, from ASTRO's album Drive to the Starry Road, where all six members rolled out their solo tracks into the album. Another was a collaboration between him and Ji Suyeon from Weki Meki called Language.
However, the exciting news that thrilled many fans was the debut of ASTRO's subunit with Moonbin and Yoon San-ha on May 26, 2020. The duo rolled out their debut EP, In-Out, with their title track, Bad Idea. The EP was well-received by fans, as the duo effortlessly won many awards like being the fastest sub-unit to receive their first music show win on The Show.
Education and personal life
While Moonbin's professional career has been quite impressive with his amazing MC skills and great vocal abilities, who's also a remarkable dancer and actor, the endless list only grows when one takes a look into his education and personal life's trajectory. The idol went to the prestigious Hanlim Multi Arts School, where he learned practical music and successfully graduated from the same.
With respect to his personal life, he was born in Cheongji, North Chungcheong, South Korea on January 26, 1998. The idol has a younger sibling who's also a K-pop idol and the two are quite famous for their duo as idol siblings. His sister, Moon Sua, is a part of the K-pop girl group, Billlie.
Death
Unfortunately, Moonbin's journey came to a tragic end on April 20, 2023, when the idol was found dead at his apartment in the Gangnam district of Seoul. He was twenty-five years old at the time of his passing, and the incident was reported to the police by his manager.
According to the manager, he visited the idol's apartment to check on him after his absence at the rehearsal practice that evening, as the following day was his performance at the Dream Concert in Busan alongside his fellow ASTRO member Sanha.
While the police are still investigating the incident, reports so far state that Moonbin has most likely taken his own life. Once the autopsy report is released, the legitimacy of the same will be showcased. Following the saddening news, Fantagio, ASTRO, and Billie have paused their promotional activities to mourn the dead.
While the K-pop fandom is heavily surprised by the shocking news of Moonbin's death, everyone's been taking their time to process them, remember the idol, and express their grief in ways they can.
