ASTRO member Moonbin was known for his warm and friendly personality. Since his untimely passing in April 2023, stories of his kindness have poured in from fans, industry peers, and colleagues who worked with him in various capacities.
A Personal Experience with Moonbin
Recently, a netizen shared her personal experience of working with ASTRO on the social media platform Threads, offering fans a glimpse into Moonbin’s angelic personality. The netizen, who works as an interpreter, recalled her first concert gig with ASTRO at their 2018 concert, ASTROAD, in Taiwan.
The touching part of this job opportunity wasn’t the fact that I got work at a concert but the fact that I saw people who shined on stage as they treated their performances with diligence. I even started stanning these dongsaengs, and my Robong is still in my drawer at home.
The netizen had the opportunity to work with ASTRO multiple times afterward, and her admiration for them grew with each encounter. She mentioned that all the members had amicable personalities even off stage, and thanks to their dedication, the working environment was charged with motivation, pushing everyone to do their best.
I liked them even more after seeing them with each other, because their personalities are really endearing, both onstage and offstage. Also, each of the members is really like a gem. Because of them, I really felt like I was working in an environment where people were working hard to chase their dreams, which motivated me to work even harder.
Touching Memories with Moonbin
The netizen shared some touching memories with Moonbin. In one incident, while working as an interpreter at the event management company MCD, she witnessed Moonbin’s thoughtfulness towards a fan. During a concert, Moonbin picked up a towel with a support message left behind by a fan. However, since it was a limited-edition fan merchandise, the fan requested a staff member to ask the netizen if she could tell Moonbin to return it.
But OP couldn’t directly interact with the artists. She could only talk through the managers or the producers. “So, when the PD was leading the members up onto the stage a second time,” she explained, “I took the opportunity to ask the PD if they could help get the towel back. But it turned out the PD didn’t know what that was.”
However, Moonbin, who was standing right beside them, heard her request and had the sweetest response.
Moonbin was right there, heard me, and said, ‘I have the towel. I know you can’t buy it anymore. I signed it and was going to return it to the fan! Please return it to them!’
In another incident, the netizen was tasked with addressing the issue of Korean fansites taking pictures of ASTRO without permission. The job was difficult since most fansites took out their anger on her as she was the only staff member who could understand Korean. It was Moonbin who unexpectedly offered her the kind acknowledgment she needed to keep her chin up!
Moonbin had a ‘you’ve worked hard’ stare and nodded at me. This was a big comfort for me as a newbie at the time. Not because ‘an artist did this for me,’ but because when I first started being an interpreter, I didn’t understand that the emotions from the other party were not directed toward me personally, so I always took the angriness to heart and thought I didn’t do well enough or did something wrong. I was so grateful for him at the time.
The netizen recalled him as a “really considerate person,” adding that he must be “the happiest star in the sky” now. Though Moonbin’s passing has left a permanent emptiness in the hearts of all those who knew him, it is astonishing to see how, even within his short lifespan, the idol left such a grand legacy of kindness behind.