Lets learn about ASTRO

ASTRO

(This document was put together by your faithful otters mirvale, liv, CabbageDynamite and Nicegirl, with generous help from Ria.)

ASTRO is a 6 member boygroup under Fantagio. They debuted in 2016 and are categorized as a 3rd Gen Kpop group. ASTRO is the Spanish word for "celestial bodies” (any type of astronomical body that can be seen from earth) and their official motto is "Wanna Be Your Star".
Their fandom is called AROHA. ​​The name consists of three different parts, ASTRO, Heart, and All fans. Official fan colors are Vivid Plum and Space Violet.

ASTRO Logo:  AROHA Logo:  

Members:

MJ (29)

Park Myunjun

Born March 5th, 1994

He is a trot enthusiast who lives with so much energy that he calls himself a happy virus. He is the oldest member (mathyung) of the group. His voice has earned him the spot as the main vocalist of the group and over the years he has participated in writing some of the group's b-sides as well as his own solo songs. Outside the group, he has acted in musicals; ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ (2020 as Jamie) and ‘Jack the Ripper’ (2021-2022 as Daniel).
He is also a model, television personality and was briefly a part of an Idol Trot project group ‘Super Five’, which he promoted under his real name Park Myungjun. MJ started his mandatory military service as part of the military band in 2022.

This is MJ having an absolute blast on stage promoting his solo ‘Get Set Yo’

featuring Kim Taeyeon:

[쇼! 음악중심] 엠제이 - 계세요 (feat. 김태연) (MJ -Get Set Yo (feat. Kim Tae-Yeon)), MBC 211106 방송

JinJin (27)

Park Jinwoo

Born March 15, 1996

As the leader, he ends up being the punchline of many jokes by the other members. When you watch him, you end up thinking "this person really has the patience of a saint". Either way, he knows they all love and respect him, though they did expose him for having lied about his height (official - 172cm, his actual height - 169cm). He is someone who has participated in songwriting since very early in ASTRO's career, and mentioned a few years back how he used to cringe at some of the hilariously cutesy lyrics they had to sing in the early days. He raps, writes, composes songs, and considers himself one of the best dancers of the group (he is). Outside of ASTRO, he is a musical actor, (in ‘Dream High’ (2023 as Jason)), a model, and had a podcast with Kino from Pentagon at Dive Studios in 2021 called ‘UNBOXING’. Up until early this year, he was a part of the ASTRO subunit JINJIN&ROCKY with Rocky.

This is Jinjin’s iconic solo performance of ‘Madmax’:

ASTRO 아스트로 - JINJIN 'Mad Max'

Cha Eun-woo (26)

Lee Dongmin

Born March 30, 1997

He is often the first member of the group that people come across, being easily the busiest outside ASTRO. He is a global supermodel and has been the brand ambassador and runway model for luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Dior and many others over the years, and he is also a well-known kdrama and movie actor. He is a walking Korean Beauty Standard! You want to know what the standard is? You pull up his picture. His good looks and polite, soft spoken nature have earned him nicknames such as “Korea's Boyfriend” and “Face Genius”. In January this year he was named the ‘Top Male Influencer in Fashion’ in 2022 by Lefty.

He made his acting debut in 2014 in a minor role as the healthy Ahreum in the film ‘My Brilliant Life’. Since his debut in ASTRO, he has acted in series such as ‘Hit the Top’ (2017 (as MJ)), the web drama ‘Sweet Revenge’ (2017 (as himself)), ‘Top Management’ (2018 (as Woo Yeonwoo)), his first television leading role in JTBC's ‘My ID is Gangnam Beauty’ (2018 (as Do Kyunseok)), ‘Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung’ (2019 (as Yi Rim (Prince Dowon / Maehwa)), for which he won the Excellence Award for an Actor and Best Couple Award with Shin Sekyung at the MBC Drama Awards. ‘True Beauty’ (2020’(as Lee Suho)), the urban terror action film ‘Decibel’ (2022 (as Jeon Taeryong)) and his latest work ‘Island’ (2022-2023 (as priest Johan)). Later this year, he is going to star in the webtoon-based series ‘A Good Day to be a Dog’ as Jin Seowon.

In addition to acting, he has frequently appeared on the Original Soundtracks for the series he has been in and some he hasn’t, for example, he has recorded and released OSTs for popular webtoons, such as ‘Under the Oak Tree’ and ‘Villainess is a Marionette’.

In 2016, he was cast in SBS’s ‘Law of the Jungle’ in New Caledonia. In 2020, he was again cast in an SBS reality show, this time in the basketball reality program ‘Handsome Tiger’s. In the same year, he became a fixed cast member of the SBS television show ‘Master in the House’ from 2020 to 2021 and won Rookie award for his role in the show in 2020.

In ASTRO, he is a lead vocalist, the main visual and face of the group. He also participates in writing songs.

Army would know him best as a member of Jungkook's '97 liner's GroupChat. He is one of JK's best friends.

Cha Eun Woo - Don't Cry My Love - JOTM Seoul Day 2         Eunwoo, Jungkook, Mingyu, Yugyeom

Moonbin (25)

Moon Bin

Born January 26, 1998

Died April 19, 2023

This goofy social butterfly never missed a chance to make a dirty joke at the expense of something that was just said. He was a warm-hearted, sweet guy who cherished his family and friends, most notably his one year younger sister Moon Sua, who is a member of the girlgroup ‘Billie’. Having been in the industry since he was 8 years old, starting his career as a child actor in TVXQ’s MV for their song ‘Balloons’, it feels like almost everyone in the industry is his friend, or at least knew him. As someone who started his idol training at Fantagio when he was 10-11 years old, he was known throughout his career as someone who knows his craft and will give honest feedback when asked, helping others better their craft as well. He would often go live and play his favourite songs to Aroha and to share words of comfort to those who needed them.

As an actor, his most notable roles were in ‘Boys over Flowers’ (2009 as Young So Yijung), ‘Moment of Eighteen’ (2019 as Jung Ohje) and ‘Mermaid Prince’ (2020 as Choi Woohyuk), and he made many cameos in other web series. He was a part of the main cast of ‘The Ultimate Watchlist of Latest Trends’ for two seasons in 2018, hosted the music show ‘Show Champion’ in 2020 with his subunit partner Sanha and Veriveri’s Kangmin and joined the eco friendly cooking program ‘Food Avengers’ the same year. He also did a lot of model work outside of being a main dancer, lead singer, songwriter and center of ASTRO. His powerful stage presence earned him the nickname “Stage Genius”. He smiled with his whole face and made the world a better place just by being in it, which he sadly isn't anymore.

He passed away on April 19th. His manager went to find him after he failed to show up at rehearsal and found him dead in his apartment. Police confirmed there was no foul play discovered the next day. His funeral was announced on the 21st and he was laid to rest on the 22nd with no media, only his family and close friends present.

During ASTRO's breaks, Bin performed as part of a subunit MOONBIN&SANHA.

This is a live performance of his last solo song Desire

문빈&산하 (ASTRO) l '이끌려(Desire)', '바람(Wish)' Special Live Clip

Rocky (24)

Park Minhyuk

Born February 25, 1999

Rocky is one of those quiet guys, who will make you laugh by doing the most random shit you would ever imagine. The members said once that he was the funniest member until he realised he was funny, and even then he is still pretty funny. He is a talented choreographer, singer and actor. He is a main dancer, songwriter, composer and lead rapper of ASTRO. He is known as the “Ancestor Line” with Moon Bin, as the two of them trained under Fantagio since they were 10/11 years old. He writes songs for other groups too. He sang the National Anthem for the opening games of the 22nd Season of the KBO (Baseball) League in 2022. The same year he debuted as a part of subunit JINJIN & ROCKY.

In February this year, he sadly didn't renew his contract with the company and left the group in good spirits. He has since appeared in the credits of his brother’s idol group’s song, and in HAWW’s debut showcase where he danced with his brother.

This is a music video of S#1, Rocky self-produced self-written song from their last studio album as OT6. The music video was also produced by him. Unfortunately no subs.

ROCKY l 'S#1.' 📽 Produced by 라키

Yoon Sanha (23)

Yoon Sanha

Born March 21, 2000

Youngest of the group (maknae). If aegyo was a 6-foot-tall person, he would be Sanha, the cutest baby giant the lord ever created. He has been wanting to out-grow this image in the past years but unfortunately, his face doesn't let him. He is a lead vocalist of ASTRO, an actor, a tv personality and a model. He was 16 years old when Astro debuted.

He began his tv career in 2018 as a host for ‘Yogobara’ (with Gfriend’s Umji), a show where teenagers could send their worries through social media and get advice from. Later he was cast on SBS’s ‘Law of the Jungle’ Myanmar, and in 2019 he got a lead role in a popular Web Series ‘Love Formula 11M’, as Taeoh. In 2021 he appeared as a side character in a web series ‘Your Playlist’ (as Big Daddy) and in 2022 he was cast in a supporting role in his first tv-series ‘Crazy Love’ (as Lee Suho). He even has theater experience, as he was cast as Abraham in the musical ‘Altar Boyz’, which ran 2021-2022.

He plays the classic guitar and although he has participated in lyric writing before, on his subunit’s last EP he wrote a whole song for the first time alone. He said it was an intimidating experience. He also tried rapping for the first time on the lead single. He was a part of the subunit MOONBIN&SANHA. After Bin’s passing we expected he wouldn’t continue promotions, but it seems he is at least attending the fanmeets that were scheduled in Asia.

This is a performance of his latest solo song Wish, that he wrote himself:                    문빈&산하 (ASTRO) l '이끌려(Desire)', '바람(Wish)' Special Live Clip

AND THUS WE HAVE FINALLY REACHED THE GROUP PORTION OF THIS INTRODUCTION PLAYLIST! You’re doing so well, we’re proud of you!

ASTRO was formed through the rookie talent development program “iTeen boys”. The final member line-up and the group name were announced in August 2015 and later in the same month they were introduced to the public in a web drama called ‘To Be Continued’. The group debuted on February 23rd, 2016 and their debut EP ‘Spring Up’ garnered them lots of positive attention from South Korea and internationally, reaching #6 on the Billboard World Album Chart in the USA and #4 on the Gaon Music Chart. Their concept was fresh and cute and the lead single ‘Hide&Seek’ is so catchy.

ASTRO 아스트로 - 숨바꼭질(HIDE&SEEK) M/V

Their second EP ‘Summer Vibes’ was released on July 1st 2016 and like its predecessor, it reached #6 on the Billboard World Album Chart. The lead single ‘Breathless’ continued the cute style they were starting to get known for. ASTRO’s leader JinJin talked about the lyrics in an interview with Eric Nam in 2020 (Short clip). This EP also included one of my obsessions, which is the live performance of ‘My Style’. I’ll add it to the end of the list if you make it there! Here is their performance of ‘Breathless’ on Show Champion.

[SHOWCHAMPION] 아스트로 - 숨가빠 (ASTRO - Breathless) l EP.197

They continued on, releasing two more EPs in their Seasons Project. ‘Autumn Story’ on November 10th, after which they got named one of the best new kpop acts of the year 2016 by Billboard, and ‘Winter Dream’ in the January of 2017, that unfortunately they couldn’t promote on Korean music shows nor receive an MV. I’m assuming it had to do with the company’s bad financial situation, but I need to dig into this a bit more before I state it as a fact. They released two more EPs that year, ‘Dream part.01’ and ‘Dream part.02’, the latter which included the lead single ‘Crazy Sexy Cool’ which is self-explanatory.

ASTRO 아스트로 - 니가 불어와(Crazy Sexy Cool) M/V

Their company ‘Fantagio’ experienced major root canal treatment under their new Chinese ownership in 2017-2018. I am writing an essay on the subject if you’re interested at a later time. Things seem to have stabilized by the end of it, as ASTRO ended their 14 month hiatus of no full comebacks, on January 16th 2019, when they released their first full studio album ‘All Light’ with the lead single ‘All Night’, the song that got the group their first ever music show win on SBS MTV’s The Show on January 29th. The song was a step towards a new more mature direction, while still keeping the sweet air the group is known for. Here’s the dance practice to show you one of their most satisfying choreos, and also a sneak peak behind the scenes.

ASTRO 아스트로 - All Night(전화해) DANCE PRACTICE

Moon Bin announced a health-related hiatus from all activities on November 10th, ten days before the release of their 6th EP, ‘Blue Flame’, and did not participate in any of the promotions, only the studio version of the EP and the MV. The group took yet another step into a different musical direction which didn’t resonate with everybody. Personally, I find the song makes me happy.

ASTRO 아스트로 - Blue Flame M/V

Moon Bin returned to the group activities on February 14th 2020, well in time to prepare for their 4th anniversary. On May 4th it was ‘Time Gateway’, their 7th EP and the lead single ‘Knock’, which earned them their second music show win. The lyrics of this song have really helped me pick myself up and I’d love to offer you a live performance with subs but it didn’t happen. Thus enjoy the visuals and vocals!

Astro - Knock Comeback Stage  [THANK YOU KIT FOR SUBBING THIS FOR US! 💜]

2020 was also the debut year of ASTRO’s first subunit MOONBIN&SANHA. Their first EP was called ‘In-Out’ featuring a lead single ‘Bad Idea’, which was vastly different from ASTRO’s music and style. They became the fastest subunit ever to receive their first music show win, just 8 days after debut. In 2022 they released their second EP ‘Refuge’, with two lead singles, ‘WHO’ and ‘Ghost Town’. On January 4th this year they released their third and last EP, ‘Incense’, with the lead single Madness.

Madness - MOONBIN&SANHA(ASTRO アストロ ) [Music Bank] | KBS WORLD TV 230106

In December 2021, ‘Fantagio’ announced ASTRO’s second subunit, JinJin&Rocky.  Their debut EP ‘Restore’ was released on January 17th, 2022, with the lead single ‘Just Breath’. Their music was (again) very different from the usual ASTRO sound than their vocal counterparts. The song is So Much Fun. First link is the MV, second link is Moon Bin’s birthday performance of the song from 2022. One has lyrics, one has ENERGY FOR DAYS. Pick one! 💜

ASTRO 아스트로 진진&라키 - 숨 좀 쉬자(Just Breath) M/V

[쇼챔직캠 4K] ASTRO JINJIN & ROCKY -  Just Breath (아스트로 진진&라키 - 숨 좀 쉬자) l Show Champion l EP.422

Here are two more live performances in case you feel like you still have energy. This is one of those groups who really thrive on stage!

ONE was the lead single on their second studio album ‘All Yours’, which was released on April 5th 2021. It won a total of three music show wins, and was yet another huge leap to another musical direction. This performance from SBSgayo is one of my favourites. The stylist needs to be fired though.

아스트로(ASTRO), 야성미 넘치는 ‘ONE’ 무대!ㅣ2021 SBS 가요대전(2021sbsgayo)ㅣSBS ENTER.

The older live I promised up there, this is ‘My Style’ from their 2nd Astroad to Seoul Tour [Star Light] from 2018.

내 멋대로 (My Style) - ASTRO The 2nd ASTROAD to Seoul [STAR LIGHT]