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On June 4, 2023, ASTRO's agency Fantagio announced a new public memorial place for the late singer Moonbin at a Buddhist temple in Gyeonggi Province. A few hours later, fellow groupmate Cha Eun-woo posted photos and videos with Sanha at the memorial overlooking Seoul on his Instagram account. The post garnered 3.7 million likes within five hours.
The memorial space was earlier relocated to the rooftop of Fantagio's building. As the current space for fans to mourn the late singer, the location will be open till June 6, 2023. However, starting June 7, the agency, along with the bereaved family, has decided to open 'Moon's Space' at the Gukcheongsa Temple at the mountain fortress Namhansangseong.
Cha Eun-woo and Sanha of ASTRO hug each other as they visit Moonbin's public memorial at Buddhist temple
On April 19, 2023, the K-pop industry received the devastating news of 25-year-old Moonbin's death. The ASTRO member was found unconscious in his apartment in Gangnam, Seoul, by his manager. Although the internet has been rife with speculations, the cause of his death has not been made public.
Fantagio announced a new public memorial place for the late Moonbin on June 4, 2023. The agency released a statement explaining the operating hours, directions to reach, and information regarding leaving floral tributes. It also stated that although the late singer did not practice Buddhism, the agency and his family decided that the Gukcheongsa temple would be the long-term space for people to mourn the singer.
Called 'Moon's Space,' the new memorial space will open on June 7, 2023, at 5:30 am KST. The agency added that although the route is uphill, it hopes that the space will become "a space that AROHA (ASTRO's fandom name) can comfortably visit anytime and feel at least a little soothed and comforted."
Before the space's opening, fellow ASTRO members Cha Eun-woo and Sanha visited the memorial space to pay their respects to the late Moonbin. The post uploaded by the former showed the two looking at Seoul city and hugging each other.
The late Moonbin was known to share a deep bond with his group mates. Netizens believed that his passing away was much harder on Sanha, who was in the midst of their subunit promotions and the DIFFUSION tour when the incident took place. Cha Eun-woo was also seen taking an urgent flight back home on April 20 as he was in the US attending Coachella at the time.
Meanwhile, Moonbin's sister, Moon Sua of the idol group Billlie, also sat out her group's comeback activities in Japan after the tragic news came to light. Billlie's agency, Mystic Story, earlier announced that Moon Sua will not be participating in the group's Japanese album release, GingaMingaYo, in May.
In other news, Cha Eun-woo was recently roped in for a revenge thriller alongside Kim Nam-joo, titled Wonderful World. The series is expected to release in the first half of 2024.
