ASTRO member Cha Eun Woo is the next K-pop idol in line to kick off his mandatory military service this month. The 97-liner, who recently debuted his shaved-head look ahead of preparing for the enlistment, has now shared a message to fans, which many found to be a ridiculously heartbreaking plea. The idol, usually low on interaction, opened up after wrapping his solo concert in June and fan meets in July across Korea and Japan.
ASTRO Cha Eun Woo asks fans to not forget him
The K-pop idol-turned-actor just wants to be remembered. Earlier, on Fantagio’s fan interaction platform, several photos of Eun Woo replying to fans’ posts went viral. He responded to a fan’s question about his current status as he nears enlistment, and why he was online at all, considering he had just returned to Korea after an overseas trip. “Thank you. I have been doing well meeting people. I miss Aroha (fan club name). That’s why I came here,” he said. Eun Woo then added, “You must miss me a lot, right? I still can’t really feel it,” while adding, “But since the album, movie, and drama are all coming out, please don’t forget me.” The last line was what caught fans’ attention, as they found it heartbreaking given the 18-month-long absence, but also ridiculous for him to be questioning the loyalty of his fans.
Meanwhile, Eun Woo’s enlistment was announced on May 9, 2025, where the singer/actor arrived for an interview with the Republic of Korea Army’s military band unit. According to his agency Fantagio, Eun Woo had been trying to apply to this band for a while now, but luckily he cleared the interview and secured the position this time. On July 21, the singer dropped a bunch of photos of himself with a short caption that read “these days.” The pics showed him in a sleeveless tee, flaunting his short haircut, announcing that he’s officially paused all activities and is now on hiatus. Later, a pre-enlistment party with close acquaintances was organised.
Speaking of his work commitments, the singer will shortly be seen in the K-drama Wonder Fools alongside Extraordinary Attorney Woo star Park Eun Bin. The release date for the same has not been locked in. On the other hand, he has also starred in a movie called The First Stride, which is set to premiere soon. The release date of the album is yet to be announced. So far, only MJ has completed his service in the K-pop band. JinJin, meanwhile, has been exempted from military duty due to health issues. Rocky left the group last year and hence no update about his military has been made yet. Moonbin: Passed away in April 2023.
