If you've been on Twitter at all in the past few months, it's likely you've seen a hashtag trending at any given time about something called "Wonho".
What's a Wonho?
Throughout October of 2019, Wonho was (falsely) accused of doing illegal drugs and owing his friend a large amount of money. I could go way more into what all went down during this time, but for sake of that not being what this blog post is about, I'll continue with the timeline of events.
Monbebe's Trust
Monbebe is the official fandom name for Monsta X, and it's important to note that Monbebe knew from the beginning that these accusations were not true. At the time though, it obviously didn't matter what we thought.
Halloween 2019 was one to remember, and not for anything good. Instead, we woke up to the news that our beloved Wonho was no longer a part of Monsta X. Monsta X's company, Starship Entertainment, posted a notice explaining that Wonho decided it was in the best interest of Monsta X that he part ways, as to not cause the other members harm with the accusations being made against him.
Soon after the announcement from Starship Entertainment was posted, Wonho himself uploaded a handwritten letter to fans apologizing for not being able to keep his promise of giving Monbebe only good and happy experiences and reiterating that he didn't want harm to come to the other members because of him.
The Monbebe forces came in full that day....and for 133 days afterward.
The thing with Wonho leaving Monsta X was that it was so sudden. Usually if a K-pop artist is involved in a scandal, there is some speculation for quite a while before the entertainment company decides to part ways with the artist.
Also, in a lot of cases, the accusations are so obviously true that the decision to leave the group is easily foreseen. With Wonho, however, the accusations were so obviously false that it seemed like he and Starship Entertainment didn't even try to fight back.
So Monbebe fought for him.
The Power of a K-pop Fandom
This is where Monbebe's power comes in. Beginning the day that Wonho announced his departure from Monsta X, a new hashtag for him trended every single day. If it didn't trend in Worldwide Trends, it trended in K-pop.
I myself thought that Monbebe would eventually give up and accept his absence, seeing as we hadn't heard from him since Oct. 31, 2019. Basically, Wonho ghosted us.
But no. Every day I would pull up Twitter and see a new hashtag, paired with words of encouragement for Wonho, words of anger for Starship Entertainment, and words of unity for Monbebe.
The tweet below includes a screen capture of every hashtag used since Halloween. You might notice the last one: #WonhoIsBack.
The Fight Continued
On March 13, 2020, Monbebe got the first word from Wonho in months. News was released that an investigation had taken place and he was cleared of all drug charges. Um, we told you so?
This was monumental for Monbebe. The announcement itself wasn't a surprise, but it felt like the efforts made during the previous five months of not letting the situation alone were working.
Monbebe didn't have what they wanted yet though. More hashtags, more encouragement, more pleading for Wonho to come back to Monsta X. And then, there was an announcement on April 10.
Was Wonho back with Monsta X?
Well, no.
Instead, he signed as a solo artist with Highline Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Starship Entertainment. Even though this is when the #WonhoIsBack hashtag appeared, the reactions from Monbebe were, and are, all over the place.
Bittersweet Endings
Some Monbebe consider this a win, as we thought we would never hear anything from Wonho again, music or otherwise.
Some Monbebe consider this a fail, as we were fighting for Wonho to return to Monsta X.
Most Monbebe consider this something in between, a bittersweet compromise of hearing his music again but without his band members as we'd hoped.
Despite all this, I may never get over how firm Monbebe were in their #FightForWonho. There was no motivating stimulus between Oct. 31, 2019 and March 13, 2020 other than Monbebe's sheer disapproval of the wrongdoings against Wonho. They let no one forget that, which ultimately led to Wonho's reappearance in the music scene.
People might speculate, was it really Monbebe that made it possible for Wonho to come back? Well, according to Wonho himself, yes.
After the announcement of signing with Highlight Entertainment on April 10, Wonho uploaded his first letter to fans as a solo artist. He acknowledged Monbebe's efforts and how difficult those months must have been. He ended by thanking Monbebe for making it possible for him to keep that promise he mentioned before of providing good and happy experiences.
K-pop is Family
The relationship between K-pop artists and their fans is more than just providing and consuming music; they're a family. They protect and support each other even when it's hard, not just when it's convenient.
Because Highline Entertainment is a label under Starship Entertainment, there's still a possibility of Wonho participating with Monsta X in the future. However, please support Wonho as he launches his new solo career, and continue to support Monsta X as they venture forward as a six-member group.
Here is Monsta X's last music video with Wonho, which was released just three days before his departure:
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