Moon Bin (1998-2023) was a South Korean singer, actor, dancer, and model. He was a member of the popular K-pop boy group Astro and the sub-unit of the group Moonbin & Sanha. In 2023, he was found dead at his home at the age of 25.
Wiki/Biography
Moon Bin was born on Monday, 26 January 1998 (age 25 years; at the time of death) in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, South Korea. His zodiac sign was Aquarius. He studied Practical Music at Hanlim Multi Art School in Seoul South Korea.
A childhood image of Moon Bin with his sister and father
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 6′
Weight (approx.): 70 kg
Hair Colour: Black (dyed)
Eye Colour: Black
Body Measurements (approx.): Chest: 38 inches, Waist: 30 inches, Biceps: 13 inches
Family
Parents & Siblings
His mother’s name is Kim Hyosun. His younger sister’s name is Moon Sua, who is a member of a K-pop girl group named Billlie.
Moon Bin with his sister
Signature/Autograph
Autograph of Moon Bin
Career
Model
In 2004, he debuted as a child model after his mother introduced him to the modelling world. In 2006, he appeared in the music video of the song ‘Balloons’ by the South Korean male pop duo TVXQ. In the music video, he portrayed the child U-Know Yunho, who is one of the members of TVXQ. In September 2020, ‘Nerdy Cafe,’ a casual street brand, announced him as one of their fashion models.
Moon Bin modelling for ‘Nerdy Cafe’ fashion brand
On 3 September 2021, Neikidnis, a clothing and accessories brand, announced Moon Bin as their first muse.
Moon Bin modelling for Neikidnis
Music Artist
Astro
When he was in 5th standard, he began to train at Fantagio, a South Korean entertainment company which manages Astro. Later he was a part of iTeen, which was the boy group project of Fantagio. On 23 February 2016, he debuted as a music artist with the K-pop group Astro, when he was 19 years old.
Members of the K-pop group Astro
He was a vocalist in the group. They released their debut EP ‘Spring Up,’ which consisted of five tracks along with the lead single ‘Hide & Seek.’
Poster of the album ‘Spring Up’
On 12 November 2019, Fantagio announced that Moon Bin would not attend any promotions for the release of their EP ‘Blue Flame’ due to health reasons and went on a hiatus. On 14 February 2020, he returned from his hiatus. He wrote lyrics of many songs from Astro’s albums including ‘You and Me (Thanks Aroha)’ from the album ‘Winter Dream’ (2017), ‘Merry Go Round’ from the album ‘Merry-Go-Round (Christmas Edition)’ (2018), ‘One & Only One’ from the album ‘One & Only One’ (2020), and ‘Let’s Go Ride’ from the album ‘Drive to the Starry Road’ (2022). On 30 December 2022, Astro’s management company Fantagio officially announced that Moon Bin had made his decision to renew his contract with the company and continue being a part of Astro.
Moonbin & Sanha
On 14 September 2020, he debuted with his bandmate Yoon San-ha as the first sub-unit of Astro named Moonbin & Sanha. They released their first EP ‘In-Out’ with the song ‘Bad Idea’ as the lead single.
Poster of the album ‘In-Out’
After 8 days of the release of their album ‘In-Out,’ they had their first win on the South Korean music television program ‘The Show,’ which made Moonbin & Sanha the fastest sub-unit to win the first music show.
Moon Bin and Sanha after winning on ‘The Show’
Actor
Television Series
In 2009, he made his acting debut as a child actor with one of the most popular South Korean TV series ‘Boys Over Flowers’ in which he played the role of Young So Yi-jung.
In 2014, he made a cameo appearance in the TV series ‘Forever Young.’ In 2019, he played the role of Jung Oh-je in the TV series ‘Moment of Eighteen.’
Web Series
In 2015, he appeared as himself in the South Korean web series ‘To Be Continued.’ He made cameo appearances in many South Korean web series including ‘My Romantic Some Recipe’ (2016), ‘Idol Fever’ (2017), ‘Sweet Revenge’ (2017), and ‘No Going Back Romance’ (2021). In 2019, he played the role of Angel Muriel in the mini web series ‘Soul Plate,’ which was about members of Astro, who were angels and descendants of Raphael, running a restaurant.
Poster of the 2019 web series ‘Soul Plate’
Television Shows
In 2018, he appeared in seasons 1 and 2 of the South Korean TV show ‘The Ultimate Watchlist of Latest Trend.’ In 2020, he appeared as one of the cast members of the TV show ‘Food Avengers,’ which aims to combine eco-friendly cooking with fun. From 2020 to 2022, he hosted ‘Show Champion,’ a South Korean music TV program, along with his fellow bandmate Yoon San-ha and K-pop boy band Verivery’s member Kangmin.
Web Shows
In 2021, he was cast in the South Korean web show ‘Inssa Oppa.’ He appeared in the Korean version of the American TV show Saturday Night Live (SNL), Saturday Night Live Korea, in 2021.
In 2022, he appeared as a host, along with fellow bandmate Yoon San-ha, on the web show ‘Challenge.’
Host
In 2018, he hosted Incheon K-Pop Concert with South Korean singer and actress Kim Do-yeon. In 2020, he hosted the Gangnam Festival K-Pop Concert alongside Tiffany, an American singer and songwriter.
Awards
Solo
- 2020: Nominated for Entertainer of the Year – Male at the APAN Music Awards
- 2020: Nominated for Male Actor Idol of the Year in the South Korean TV series ‘The Mernmaid Prince’ at the Brand of the Year Awards
- 2022: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the South Korean TV series ‘Find Me If You Can’ at the Seoul Webfest Film Festival
Group
- 2016: Astro won K-Pop Artist Award at Korean Culture Entertainment Awards
Astro won K-Pop Artist Award in 2016
- 2017: Astro won New Wave Award at the Asia Artist Awards
- 2017: Astro received Outstanding Guest Star at Dahsyatnya Awards
- 2017: Astro received K-Wave Special Award at the Seoul Music Awards
- 2019: Astro won Global Hot Trend Award at Soribada Best K-Music Awards
Astro after winning Global Hot Trend Award at Soribada Best K-Music Awards 2019
- 2019: Atro received Best Artist — Philippines at Ten Asia Global Top Ten Awards
- 2020: Astro won K-Pop Artist Award at Korean Culture Entertainment Awards
- 2020: Astro won Bonsang Award at Soribada Best K-Music Awards
- 2020: Astro received Global Artist Award at Soribada Best K-Music Awards
- 2020: Astro received Best Artist — Mexico at Ten Asia Global Top Ten Awards
- 2020: Astro won Best Male Performance Award at Golden Disc Awards
Astro with Golden Disc Award for Best Male Performance in 2020
- 2021: Astro won Best Musician Award at the Asia Artist Awards
Moon Bin with the Asia Artist Award for Best Musician in 2021
- 2021: Astro won Artist of the Year (Bonsang) at The Fact Music Awards
Death
On 19 April 2023, he was found dead at his residence in the Gangnam district of Seoul. His manager was the first one to find his dead body after he tried to contact Moon Bin because he did not attend the rehearsals. According to Seoul Gangnam Police, he allegedly committed suicide.
Favourites
- Place: Uyuni desert in Bolivia
- Subject(s): Physical education, Language arts
Facts/Trivia
- Moon Bin’s stage name was Moonbin.
- He had a pet cat named Loa.
Moon Bin with his pet cat Loa
- He was a fitness enthusiast and used to work out regularly.
- His favourite pastime activity was sleeping, reading webtoons, and working out.
- In an interview, he revealed that he likes to write about any random thing such as a kite, a cup, or a microphone.
- In an interview, he expressed his fascination for Harry Potter and said that if he would ever get a chance to meet a fictional character, it will be Harry Potter. In the same interview, he said that out of all birds, he would like to become an eagle, and among all superpowers, he would like to have the superpower of teleportation.
- If he could listen to one song for the rest of his life, he would like to listen to the Korean national anthem.
- If he were a teacher, he would like to teach physical education.
- In 2017, during his live stream on V Live, he made a joke about Astro disbanding after two years. In the V Live, he said,
5 years? Aren’t we (ASTRO) going to be over in 5 years? I mean, formally wouldn’t it be over?”
Astro’s fans did not like him talking about the disbandment of the group, even in a funny way and got offended. However, many other fans defended Moon Bin and later, the matter was brushed off.
- On the day before his death, 18 April 2023, it was announced that Moon Bin and Yoon San-ha were scheduled to perform as the sub-unit Moonbin & Sanha at the Dream Concert in Busan, South Korea in May 2023.
- On 13 Mar 2023, he was set to attend a Fan Con Tour event in Jakarta, Indonesia; however, the event was cancelled after hearing the news of his demise.
- He followed a non-vegetarian diet.
Moon Bin having a non-vegetarian meal