After Winter, Spring Will Come — A Tribute to K-pop Boy Group ‘Astro’ and Their Life’s Work of Holding On

For MJ, Jinjin, Eunwoo, Moonbin, Rocky, and Sanha

“To the members, thank you for holding on.”

“Holding on is winning.”

“Holding on is no big deal.”

— Astro on their 9th anniversary, 2025

On February 23, Astro celebrated its 9th anniversary since debuting as a K-pop boy group in 2016. A lot has changed since I discovered them in 2020, and it’s safe to say my ‘stanning’ days are long gone. Sometimes, the Twitter algorithm presents me with nuggets of news — one of the members bagging the lead role of a musical, another releasing a solo album. My OG bias, Cha Eunwoo, is still the first circle to pop up on my Instagram stories. I repost his pictures like a dutiful wife.

But on rare occasions, pictures of them as a group get sent to my timeline like gifts. Their bare faces smiling above grilled meat are faces of old, good friends. But as with any old, good friendship, history streams through us like in an electric circuit. A lot has changed for Astro, too. Four smiling faces instead of six. An unspoken hope that one member is sitting out of frame (for contract reasons), but laughing along all the same. And painful glances at the moon in the sky, a fitting symbol of one’s life beyond death. In their faces and my own, I see love, pain, happiness, hardship, and a lifetime of holding on. As I celebrate Astro’s 9th anniversary in an unforgiving industry, in the aftermath of tragedy, in an uncertain future, I want to pay tribute to their journey, their friendship, and the hope they have inspired in the lives of fans like me.

—

I discovered Astro during the most devastating breakup of my life. For months, my body had been carrying the negativity and hatred that permeated the final days of the relationship. I laid paralyzed in bed for hours on end. I lost interest in hobbies and social interactions. I couldn’t sleep, stuck in a cycle of trying and subsequently failing to be a productive member of society again.

It was these insomnia attacks that first led me to Astro. In pandemic-stricken 2021, people’s boredom had manifested in debating the merits of Red Flag Nam Do San and Good Boy Han Ji Pyeong via Facebook group. These Start-Up fight clubs led me to free episodes of a K-drama called True Beauty. Halfway into Episode 1, I was convinced I had met the love of my life, and proceeded to spend the next four hours scouring the internet for every trace of Cha Eunwoo. I woke up well into the afternoon, crying silently, like I had been for the past month. But I dried my tears quickly, because I had fifteen episodes to go.

I hadn’t been able to stick to a routine in months, but in those next few nights, I was promptly in bed by 7 PM, fully locked in for seven to eight hours of Cha Eunwoo content. After finishing True Beauty, participating in a handful of internet fights, and taking a stab at his older dramas, I dove deep into his idol career, as a member of the group Astro.

Astro emerged as a six-member boy group in the so-called “third generation” of K-pop, alongside groups like Seventeen, Monsta X, and NCT. Astro was the first boy group of an agency called Fantagio, virtually unknown in an industry dominated by JYP, Hybe, and SM. With an unknown agency and no survival shows to secure a pre-debut fanbase, Astro seemed to have the odds stacked against them. Nevertheless, they made their debut, dancing to a bubble gum pop song in bright outfits and even brighter smiles, already carving out their own path in a time where boy groups were debuting with dark concepts. There is the leader Jinjin, a house dancer and rapper whose easy personality made him friends with the entire industry. There is the oldest MJ, who seemed anything but that, with a loud, wacky personality and a voice the quality of honey. There is Rocky, the energetic taekwondo black belter who translated those skills into dance, and became a breakthrough talent among pre-teen trainees. He was the company’s second trainee, only after Moonbin, who stepped into the limelight as a child actor with a sweet smile and a cheeky personality, and trained for years and years with Fantagio. There is the youngest, Sanha, who would become the youngest male idol to debut at the time, and the first to debut with braces still on his teeth. And then there is Eunwoo, a straight-A student who was followed to the bathroom by a talent scout, convinced he had found the most handsome boy in the world. From physics classes and school presidency, he entered trainee life and won over Korea’s hearts before he even introduced himself.

On stage, they sang bubbly songs and bounced around in colorful hairstyles. Off stage, they were teenage boys who rode each other on piggyback and chased each other around with water guns. They radiated a type of closeness exclusive to friends who grew up together — maknaes Rocky and Sanha copying their older brothers’ every move, same-age friends Eunwoo and Moonbin always synched in mind and body, oldest members Jinjin and MJ bickering like an old married couple. No one can ever be sure about what goes on behind the camera, but what drew me to Astro was the joy of watching six genuine souls lean on each other, practically bound by fate along the path towards their dreams.

Astro’s early years were not groundbreaking in the Kpop world, but there were some high points. For one, they became the first male idols to advertise sanitary napkins! They reached mall-music status with songs like “Baby” and “Crazy Sexy Cool”, which at least in my opinion are two of the best tracks to come out of a Kpop boy group. “Baby” came nail-bitingly close to a national music show win on KBS Music Bank. Members Eunwoo and Moonbin were steadily moving towards mainstream popularity.

Astro lost their slow yet steady momentum in 2018, following the Fantagio CEO’s arrest on charges of fraud. With the company in hot water, Astro’s activities staggered, and their ongoing Asian tour was cloaked with the tension of an uncertain future. Half-jokes are made in the fandom about “the lights being kept on” by Eunwoo, who had gotten his first big acting break as male lead of the drama Gangnam Beauty. Astro vocalized their fears in a tearful ending moment on the last night of the concert, with Eunwoo sharing the immense pressure he felt to stay afloat, and the group enveloping him in a hug.

Astro won their first music show in 2019, three years after their debut, for the fantasy-inspired single “All Night”. At this point, they were well-behind their fellow 2nd Gen groups in popularity, but a relatively small group of hardworking fans, who are called “Arohas”, persevered to secure a win on ‘The Show’. With so-so album sales and digital streams nowhere near the Top 100, Arohas poured boundless energy into online and physical votes — so much so they had earned “Voting Monster” status among fellow fandoms. Astro worked three years for one of their songs to receive a taste of recognition, but the fans know the real triumph was that they had held on long enough to experience it.

Leading up to 2020, instabilities in Fantagio’s leadership continued to wreak havoc on Astro, alongside the medical hiatus of Moonbin and other artists in the agency. Astro pushed out another single as a group of five, but didn’t see another award. After Moonbin’s comeback and short-lived success with a new single, “Knock”, the world shut down.

There is a point in an artist’s trajectory where mainstream success begins to float further and further out of reach. Such seemed to be the case for Astro. But popularity isn’t the only measure of an artist’s success. Against all odds, Astro had a solid fanbase — their “Astro Ddoca” videos being watched from Latin America, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Scandinavia, and all across the world. And instead of drifting apart, Astro seemed to grow closer with each other as time went by, and were equally loved and respected by their peers in the industry.

In 2020, Eunwoo landed the role that would skyrocket him to fame, as the male lead of webtoon adaptation True Beauty. Devotees of the webtoon clamored for him to be cast, seeing him as the only fitting candidate for the role of a man who was described to have come straight out of a comic book. Eunwoo amassed millions of followers in the span of two months, and consequently drew thousands of fans to Astro, me included.

In the next years, Astro would experience the renaissance that they absolutely, undoubtedly deserved. Back-to-back comebacks, drama and musical roles, and milestones such as Rocky joining King of the Masked Singer, after years of being pigeonholed as a rapper. Astro received not two, not three, but four music show wins for their title track “After Midnight”, which also happened to be the first album where all members had writing credits. The fourth win was the most special of all — clinched on the 2000th day since their debut at ‘Show! Music Core’. Eunwoo, who had handed other idols their trophies for years as an emcee on the show, cried throughout the entire encore. It was equally special for the fans, who were anxious to give them their first win on a national TV program. Us Arohas watched predictions for Astro go from a 4% chance of winning to an 85% chance of winning after we tapped a previously overlooked streaming platform. In the middle of my final exams, I collected hundreds of emails from Twitter to make accounts that would contribute to streams. The win on Show! Music Core was the highlight of my journey as a fan, crying with the rest of the fandom on Twitter Spaces, saying thank God, thank God we didn’t give up. Thank God Astro didn’t give up.

As the Philippines slowly returned to face-to-face life in 2022, I retired from stan Twitter and instead followed silently along Astro’s succeeding happy moments. Eunwoo was getting more and more drama roles and endorsements by the minute. Moonbin and Sanha released their second album as a sub-unit, with a handsome vampire concept and tall, elegant choreography. Jinjin and Rocky debuted as the most fun and unserious sub-unit in Kpop, with a song entitled “Just Breathe” that celebrated a hodgepodge of different styles. MJ lived out his dreams of being a trot artist, becoming the first Kpop idol to win The Trot Show before he enlisted in the military. Amidst their busy schedules, Astro returned with summer song “Candy Sugar Pop” — and we won music show awards with ease. We celebrated Moonbin’s birthday and Astro’s 7th anniversary in February. By this time, my life was wrapped up in all sorts of drama. But on quieter nights, I would watch Astro V-lives until I fell asleep — their comforting presence imprinted deep inside me.

In the aftermath of Astro’s 7th anniversary, Arohas sensed a shift in energy from the content being released by Fantagio. Beginnings of the year are always made tense for all fandoms by news of contract non-renewals, but this time around, something really did feel different. The next day, the news came out about Rocky not renewing his contract with both Fantagio and Astro. He was with the company for 14 years. We were devastated. But beyond that, we were angry. Long before I joined the fandom, there were already demands from fans for Rocky to get more exposure, more opportunities to showcase his different talents. Despite having a great voice and expressing a desire to sing, he was still being given only rap parts in group songs. He had so many dreams to achieve as a dancer, a singer, an actor, an artist, and with his talent, we knew he could do all of it — but Fantagio had not given him a fighting chance. Despite the anger at Fantagio and the heartbreak of Rocky leaving the group, we truly understood. His members understood, too, and wholeheartedly supported him — even attending his debut as the CEO of his own entertainment company and as a solo artist. It’s no coincidence that even until now, Astro members draw six stars in their Instagram stories. Astro has a brotherhood that runs deep, even in an industry rife with competition and complications behind the scenes. Astro as a group is in a way separate from who they are as people and friends, in that no matter what happens to the group, the friendship remains as strong as ever.

—

On April 19, 2023, I woke up to news of Moonbin becoming a star in the sky. When it finally sunk in that nothing about it was false, I cried the entire week. Just like me, the rest of the world was in utter disbelief, unable to grasp that he was found lifeless in his room at the age of 25. In the days before, Moonbin and Sanha’s sub-unit tour was cut short due to Moonbin’s declining health. Everything after that happened too quickly — the memorial, Eunwoo rushing home from a shoot in the US, handwritten letters from the members found taped on a nearby tree. Moonbin, who loved Doraemon, webtoons, cats, and chocolate milk. Moonbin, who had been singing and dancing since he was a little boy. Moonbin who played a gay Kdrama character in a society as conservative as that of South Korea. Who was kind to everyone and had kind eyes and a kind smile. Moonbin who was beloved by so many — a brother to his members, to his same-age friends born in the year 1998, and a younger sister named Sua. His best friend, Seungkwan of Seventeen, wrote a letter to Moonbin that would remain with me forever. To Moonbin, he said: “you are my life’s pride”. Standing next to Arohas in a memorial space prepared for him in the Philippines, I silently mourned the child he would never have. He would have made the greatest father.

It would be 40 days before the members began to pay tribute publicly to Moonbin. Jinjin released a song entitled “Fly” as a tribute to Binnie, its cover art inspired by the last picture he posted before his death: a dandelion on the ground, signifying the arrival of spring. Sanha, who had been closest to him before his passing, sang a devastating tribute, and wrote a message with profound grief over the loss of an older brother: “I’m happy because of you. I love you so much.” MJ, who had to continue his military service, revealed that he had asked Bin to live together after his discharge. In Astro’s later years, they grew closer to each other, Bin keeping MJ close so he would catch his ‘happy virus’. Eunwoo sang a cover of “Stalker” by 10cm, Bin’s favorite karaoke song, accompanied by a shaky video of Bin singing it at Eunwoo’s house. The dedication was simple: “my friend” — how Eunwoo has referred to him all those years. His partner in crime, his other half, his friend. In a letter, Rocky referred to Bin as his oldest friend, with whom he trained with for endless hours in the basement of their company.

As the months passed, both Astro and Arohas struck a balancing act between grief and normalcy. Jinjin completed his run as Jason in the musical ‘Dream High’. Eunwoo resumed filming. I graduated from college, accompanied during my all-nighters by Youtube playlists of old Astro content, feeling strangely fortunate that Bin left behind so much to look back on.

The members would continue celebrating Moonbin’s life, sharing bits and pieces with us fans along the way. Peaceful videos at Bin’s memorial space atop a mountain, pictures of the moon shining brightly at night, and perhaps the most precious — pictures of them spending time with his sister Sua and his family. It’s incredibly rare for idols to reveal pictures of their families, but on Parent’s Day in Korea, they uploaded a picture of them with all their families sitting in one table. It’s this same familial bond that became the focal point of their digital single, ‘Circles’, the first release after Rocky’s departure and Moonbin’s passing. It’s an upbeat song, but the lyrics truly represent the optimistic spirit that has guided Astro’s journey:

As spring comes (It’s natural)
After winter
We’re going in circles, circles
It’s universal
As the moon comes (It’s natural)
After the sun
We’re going in circles, circles
It’s universal, oh

— Astro, “Circles”, 2024

Every year since Moonbin’s passing has been as difficult at the last — a wound that feels brand new with the arrival of each April 19th. And if it is difficult as it is for a fan, the grief felt by his loved ones and his members is unimaginable. Eunwoo’s first solo album was entirely a tribute to Moonbin. He decidedly begged off traditional promotions to preserve the album’s intent. The song ‘Where Am I’ encapsulates his feelings about Moonbin’s passing most clearly, with a music video that shows him sitting motionless on a sofa as water begins to fill the room and drown him. He has not been able to sing the song live without breaking down into tears.

Yesterday, Astro celebrated its 9th anniversary, marked by a half-hour Youtube video of their anniversary dinner party. Sanha is the tallest of everyone, and is strikingly handsome with a sharp jaw and wide shoulders. MJ and Jinjin are teased about being old, but they age with grace, and have the same warm personalities. Eunwoo gets more handsome by the day, if more handsome is even possible. He wears a bracelet from Moonbin’s memorial everywhere he goes, and smiles quietly as he watches his members bicker. Rocky is on the popular TV show ‘Immortal Songs’ once again, coming back as a three-time undefeated winner. In the first part, we see Astro banter and laugh and make up silly skits just like they have all these years. But towards the end of the video, they sit down, eat, talk about old times, and speak sincerely about their hopes for the future. Eunwoo says that even after another 10 years pass, he knows they will be sitting around a dinner table once again, or having a drink at each other’s houses.

In the video’s final moments, Jinjin speaks up as the leader and thanks the members for holding on. “Holding on is winning”, Eunwoo says. Sanha replies, “Holding on is no big deal”. Let’s keep holding on, they decide — a promise to each other and to their fans, both of whom have known nothing else than to hold on.

Astro’s journey up to now has been mired with more hardship and tragedy than any group ever deserves. But against all odds, they have created beautiful memories, gained devoted fans, earned awards and industry respect, danced and sang in sold-out shows, and formed a friendship that transcends all else. Like the North Star in the sky, Astro is a constant source of light, of comfort, of assurance that spring will always come. During one of the darkest times of my life, Astro’s light saved me. They helped me hold on to life, and I am eternally grateful. Astro may not be a name known by everyone, even among those who are familiar with K-pop, but their story is worth being told. Writing this long piece is my way of contributing to their legacy, in hopes of even one more person bearing witness to these six wonderful people and the beautiful story they are still writing.

To my Astro, to MJ, Jinjin, Eunwoo, Moonbin, Rocky, and Sanha, thank you, thank you, thank you a million times for holding on. Just like you, we are still here. We will never let go.

Even after the seasons that can not be passed together
Like this we still, we still
Still we are together
No matter what time we meet again
Still we still, we still
I’ll protect you, an unchanging confession

— Astro, “We Still”, 2020