2nd edit: I know it’s a long post, but this additional information needs to be said. I just found out this isn’t fantagio’s first sudden death. A rookie actor Cha in ha was found dead in his apartment in dec/2019, moonbin was admitted to the hospital and ordered by the doctor to take a leave in nov/2019. 2 weeks later, an actor died at the age of 27, his acting career was just taking off. Fantagio released a statement that’s identical, identical to moonbin’s. “Police may conclude it as suicide/police believe it’s a suicide”, it’s been 4 years, still no cause of death was released. Most of the articles grouped him with the suicide ones saying online criticism was to blame. However, that actor only debuted 2 years ago, he was not well known yet, not many people knew who he was to criticize him yet. It doesn’t add up.
Also neither “cha eun woo” or “cha in ha” was their real names, the founder wife’s family name is “cha”, they named their best pick after the wife, which also means it’s impossible for cha eunwoo to leave, cuz he doesn’t own the “cha eun woo” name, and everything that’s associated with it. It is concerning cuz the company has managed to successfully sneak under the radar on both counts of sudden death with their “suicide” media play, basically blaming it on the victims themselves. They aren’t gonna change, which means cha eun woo is still as risk of overworking. He actually also had risks of developing a depression due to all of this, he knew better than anyone what really happened to moonbin and he can’t even talk about it. On top of that, he has to go around and smile and sing to people who don’t really understand any of this. Fans should demand the company to reduce his workload and check his health conditions regularly.
Original post:
Moonbin died of an accident. Now it’s reported as a stoke or heart attack. It’s an accidental death. He also collapsed in 2019 and was admitted to the hospital and ordered by the doctor to take a medical leave. It was pretty serious already. Looking back there are numerous signs that he had been overworked and his health conditions had been neglected, both physically and mentally. I’ve seen multiple clips that he was visibly exhausted and his heart was pumping out of his chest and he couldn’t catch a breath to speak, but he kept working. He might just wanted a good rest and recover from the tour cuz he had work lined up and he needed to rest. The company should have given him a break when he said in the live that it was hard for him to hide his exhaustion and he even apologized to the fans. And given the fact that he had a medical history so recent. they should have checked his health regularly.
I found this reel on instagram, it shows the times he was struggling on stage. I’ve actually seen more other similar moments like this. He’s had a health problem that was neglected.
⚝All about ASTRO⚝ on Instagram: "Rest In Peace with Love You don't feel pain anymore, be a shining star in the sky
. 늘 함께 할게
#문빈_가수해줘서_고마워 #문빈 #MOONBIN _ #아스트로 #ASTRO #MJ #엠제이 #KimMyungJun #김명준 #JinJin #진진 #ParkJinWoo #박진우 #ChaEunWoo #차은우 #LeeDongMin #이동민 #빈이 #Rocky #라키 #ParkMinHyuk #박민혁 #YoonSanHa #윤산하"
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrUgB1OJ2hm/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
When I first heard the news I thought the same that he’d been depressed cuz people immediately grouped him with other suicide ones. But I’ve been binging on his content trying to understand why he would do something like that and the more I watch, the more clips of him being exhausted to the point of collapsing come out. He also said he went through an extreme diet to build muscles and his body changed after that. He was asked how much alcohol can he tolerate, he said it used to be 4–5 bottles of soju, now it’s 1–1.5 bottles. He had to maintain a low body fat so his abs are visible. Most of his outfits are focusing on showing his muscles. That might be the reason his tolerance went down. Which I’m suspecting that he might have taken some muscle relaxers, or sleeping pills, and mixed with alcohol. Cuz he was exhausted from the overseas tour, and with more work lined up, he couldn’t adjust fast enough and he couldn’t sleep, he was trying to get some rest but his tolerance was already so much lower than he thought, and his body was also drained from working nonstop, and it just gave up.
When Heath ledger died, people were saying the joker character had got to him and he committed suicide, but later his documentary showed that he had the best time filming for it, and the time of his death, he was in the middle of shooting another film, and unfortunately caught a cold filming in the winter rain. He’d had trouble sleeping since he was a child and and he was self-medicating with sleeping pills, and the complications of having a cold made it worse. His body was already short of oxygen due to the cold and a mild pneumonia, and the sleeping pills slowed down his heart rate and his body was starved of oxygen. He just fell asleep and didn’t wake up, which I’m suspecting a similar case has happened with Moonbin.
Moonbin also said that thanks to a show that he got to have a meal with his little sister in 10 years. He’d been working since he was 8 as a child actor and became a trainee at 12, he was 25, but he’d been working in the industry for over 13 years. Also his best friend said that moonbin once overslept and missed their meetup, they were supposed to meet at 7pm, but moonbin was still sleeping at 9pm, he’d had a sleeping problem. His company keeps asking fans to not speculate and keep everything extremely close to their chest, cuz they knew they neglected his health conditions and signs of him struggling, they knew they are at fault and failed him, of course by accident, but the company is responsible for packing his schedules and working him nonstop. His body said “f this, I give up”. He was worked to death.
Another reason that made it obvious is another idol in another group immediately asked for an anxiety break, also red velvet joy suspended her performances mid-concert cuz she wasn’t feeling well. Aespa winter taking a break, le ssearfim sakura…. Before moonbin’s accident, this wasn’t really an option, they would give them injections, steroids… to keep them going. Especially SME, who has a long history of abusing their artists. But they knew what really happened to Moonbin. If someone strong like moonbin can collapse, they are not gonna push themselves as hard cuz the reality hits that it’s just not worth it losing life working nonstop.
Super junior back in the days were given IV drips in their van in between performances, as soon as they got off one stage, they got in the van, hooked up with the IVs and moved to the next location and got on stage. They were also given steroids shots if their voice conditions weren’t good. These were exposed cuz some members sued the company. V also said he got multiple IV drips when he got back from filming in Mexico, he said it as a joke that they were promised a 2 day break but they didn’t get that. Even someone famous like V, they put him to work. Imagine the less famous ones. JK also collapsed one time on stage cuz he was hosting and performing, he fell at the end when it was finally over. In BTS concert footages they were immediately given oxygen as soon as they got off stage, they always give their all and it’s up to the company, the staff to take care of them. And moonbin’s company failed.
The pandemic has made a huge financial hole in most entertainment companies and they are putting their idols to work to make the money back that’s lost in the past 3 years. These are genetically superior men at the prime of their lives, it takes A LOT to exhaust a 25 year old young man. They’d be fine not sleeping for 2–3 days, but with a strict diet and constantly dancing with a lot of energy, different timezones, it’s exhausting af, and they do that on a daily basis, without a break. Moonbin’s company was busy counting bills and forgot he is human.
The company is trying to make it as quiet as possible, as private as possible, it is not cuz they wanna respect moonbin’s families, it’s cuz they want this to pass soon so no one is putting the blame on them. Or damaging headlines like moonbin ODed on something. But Moonbin did NOT commit suicide, he was overworked and neglected by the company. He probably wouldn’t blame anyone cuz he was just such a sweet sweet precious person, but his death should not be in vein. It was preventable and it should not be buried like the company wanted.
I believe we’ll get to see more idols taking a break when they feel like they are exhausted, there’s some comforting knowing that moonbin’s passing is bringing awareness to young idols who are so focused on “making it”, that they are human and humans need rest. And the companies won’t notice cuz they are busy counting money, the fans won’t notice cuz all they wanna see is the smiles and charms. The idols need to take care of themselves and put their own health first. Both mentally and physically.
I’ve been a big K-pop fan and I have to admit and face the fact that the industry does exploit the young and innocent. Moonbin is an extreme, he practically was brought up and shaped by the industry and he was exploited and gave his all, his everything, literally. Learn to draw a line, be mindful of your own mental and physical conditions, know when and how to say no to exploitations.
edit: I found this article cuz I saw in one clip that cha eun woo was crying and saying he was going through a hard time because the staff he worked with for years had left the company due to a management change.
Cha Eunwoo Sheds Tears And Apologizes To Fans... You Won't Believe Why
Cha Eunwoo cried as he apologized to his fans during ASTRO's recent concert, but the reason behind his tears is absolutely shocking.
https://www.koreaboo.com/news/cha-eunwoo-sheds-tears-apologizes-fans/
Fantagio, the company went through quite a few ownership and management changes since 2018, the original founder was kicked out. Remember the whole HYBE x SM x kakao drama, similar, but in the worst way possible, they were first brought out by a Chinese owner, who then was arrest for fraud, the company was running without license for 14 months, that they couldn’t work, then other Korean buyers fighting for ownership, and finally settled in 2021 with one owner. But all this time 2018–2021, there was nonstop management fights going on. And once the drama settled, the new owner put them to work, they also moved into SME’s previous building. Astro was raised and formed with the original staff who they were really attached to. Moonbin had been in that company since he was 11, he was raised by these people. And they all left.
Since the new management clearly only cares about money. And they spent a lot money to win the battle, they put these artists to work, on top of moonbin’s underlying high blood pressure problem that wears out the blood veins over the years cuz he started working way too young, when he pushes himself really hard, which he tends to do, his heart pumps out so much blood all over his body, and the veins in the brain being the most dedicated are the most vulnerable, high risks of having a stroke. When he fainted on 04/07, before heading to Thailand, that was already a sign from his body, that something was wrong, the new management sent him on a plane instead of a hospital and he pushed for another 12 days before his body gave up.
The company under the new ownership has no sentimental relationship with Astro members or their families like the previous management, eun woo’s crying, Rocky quitting the group even tho he loved his members, moonbin also mentioned that there are things that bothered him that he can’t really talk about with fans, all because of the new management. When they renewed their contract in December of 2022 with the new management, they became money-printing machines, and that’s when moonbin’s health problem deteriorated, and ignored. And the company is trying to paint the picture of him committing suicide, knowing fans would easily jump into conclusions, absolutely despicable. But the industry knows, other companies know, and they let their artists take a break, rest, whatever they need to recover, which wasn’t possible before.
Moonbin sacrificed himself to save all these young artists from overworking so they have an easier time living the idol life. A young artists protection act was also just passed, moonbin’s passing has made an impact on the industry that they need to take care of their young artists, even tho it might not be talked about as much, but it’s left a mark that’s changed the industry forever.
www.quora.com
