Star of K-pop Moon Bin was discovered dead at home .AP — SEOUL, South Korea South Korean boy band Astro vocalist Moon Bin was discovered dead at his Seoul residence on Thursday, according to his management company.
According to reports, the 25-year-old was discovered by his manager, who went to the singer’s house Wednesday night since he wasn’t returning calls. According to the Yonhap news agency in South Korea, police are looking into his death but have not yet discovered any indications of criminal activity.
Calls for comment to the Gangnam district police station in Seoul went unanswered.
Moon Bin’s management agency, Fantagio, confirmed his death in a statement, saying that he “suddenly left us and became a star in the sky” and that fellow artists and company staff were mourning him with “very deep sadness and shock.”
Fantagio said Moon Bin’s funeral will be held “as quietly as possible,” with the attendance mostly limited to family, close friends and colleagues, based on the wishes of his relatives.
( Star of K-pop Moon Bin was discovered dead at home ).
Moon Bin began his music career in 2016 as a member of the six-member boyband Astro, which debuted shortly after the singers appeared in a TV reality show. The group quickly found success in South Korea and Japan and was listed on Billboard’s top 10 list of new K-pop groups that year, with the magazine praising them for their “bright, synthpop sound that won over K-pop lovers from around the world.”
Fans flooded Moon Bin’s social media accounts with comments expressing grief and shock over his death, which came months after he renewed his contract with Fantagio along with four other Astro members. ( Star of K-pop Moon Bin was discovered dead at home ).
“It’s hard to believe,” radio host Jang Seong-kyu wrote on Instagram. “We only met several times over broadcasts, but whenever we met, Moon Bin was always bright and expressed immense love for his family. I can’t imagine the pain he was going through.” Moon Bin had also performed as a member of the duo Moonbin & Sanha with Astro bandmate Yoon San-ha. Indonesian event promoter Lumina Entertainment on Wednesday announced the cancellation of the duo’s performance in Jakarta due to “unforeseen circumstances beyond our control.”
Helix Publicity, a U.S.-based public relations agency that has represented Moonbin & Sanha, issued a statement on Twitter that it was “absolutely heartbroken.”
“Sending our thoughts, prayers, and deepest condolences to Moon Bin’s family, friends, loved ones, and to AROHA who always cheered for him and supported him,” it said, referring to the name that Astro’s fans call themselves.
Moon Bin entered the entertainment industry as a child actor and landed a role in the 2009 TV series “Boys Over Flowers,” which was hugely popular in Asia. His sister, Moon Sua, is also a K-pop artist, a member of the girl band Billlie.
Several South Korean singers and actors have died by suicide in recent years, which has touched off soul-searching about harsh competition in the fast-growing entertainment industry, an abusive online culture and failure by management to address the mental health problems of their stars.Last week, 26-year-old actress Jung Chae-yull was found dead at her home. Her agency did not say what caused her sudden death.( Star of K-pop Moon Bin was discovered dead at home ).
South Korea has the highest rate of death by suicide among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, countries.Celebrities in South Korea face many issues, said Kwang-min Lee, a professor at the Seoul National University College of Medicine and the director of the Seoul-based Mind Lab Space Mental Health Clinic.
They often live in “closed environments as companies restrict their privacy and a lot of their actions,” he told NBC News. “It is also hard for them to request mental health support and manage it as this may also turn into gossip for people to talk about.”
( Star of K-pop Moon Bin was discovered dead at home ).
The celebrities, music labels and the country’s society generally have a stigma against getting therapy, Lee said, with many thus staying quiet instead of seeking help.
Those issues, Lee said, are often amplified by an internet fandom culture that can be toxic.
( Star of K-pop Moon Bin was discovered dead at home ).
