50 Fun Facts About Monsta X

Monsta X helped inspire which fictional boy band, the demon idols of a 2025 animated Netflix film?

Saja Boys were modelled on real groups, with director Maggie Kang naming Monsta X alongside BTS, Stray Kids and Ateez. They are the rival act in KPop Demon Hunters.

During President Moon Jae-in's 2019 state visit, Monsta X performed for the king of which European country?

Norway's King Harald V was the royal audience, at a performance marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations with South Korea.

Months after their 2015 debut, Monsta X became promotional ambassadors for which Korean youth organisation?

The Girl Scouts of Korea made the boy band their seventh promotional ambassadors, a job that covered events and the federation's newsletters.

The 'Mon' in Monsta X and the fan name Monbebe both come from which language?

French supplies 'mon', meaning my, so the group's name can be read as 'my star' and Monbebe as 'my baby'.

What role did Monsta X take in Seoul in January 2018, weeks before the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics?

Torchbearers was the job: on January 13, 2018 the group joined the Olympic torch relay as it passed through the South Korean capital.

Monsta X guest-starred as themselves, staying at a hotel, in a 2019 episode of which Cartoon Network series?

We Bare Bears built the episode Panda's Birthday around the group, with Grizzly and Ice Bear taking Panda to their hotel as a birthday treat.

Which founding Monsta X vocalist left in October 2019 and later went solo with the EP Love Synonym Pt.1?

Wonho left on October 31, 2019 amid allegations that police cleared him of the following March. He then signed with a Starship subsidiary as a soloist.

Which Mnet survival show, where trainees wore name tags showing their rank, formed Monsta X?

No.Mercy ran for ten episodes from December 2014, with artists such as Hyolyn, K.Will and Mad Clown mentoring and judging the Starship trainees.

Monsta X leader Shownu spent six years competing in which sport, reaching provincial championships?

Swimming filled six years of Shownu's youth, long before he debuted as the group's main dancer.

Which reptile gives its name to the lead single of Monsta X's 2019 album Take.2 We Are Here?

Alligator uses the animal as a metaphor for someone going all out to catch the attention of a romantic interest.

Which Monsta X member learned English before Korean and spent part of his childhood in Boston?

I.M lived abroad because of his father's work as a scientist, including time at Harvard University. He joined the group's formation show late, as its thirteenth contestant.

Which Monsta X member began hosting SBS's Inkigayo in 2019 with April's Naeun and NCT 127's Jaehyun?

Minhyuk fronted the Sunday music show every week from October 2019. He later launched Vogue Ship Show, a weekly Naver Now series built around making art with fans.

Before debuting, Monsta X's Shownu was a backup dancer for which soloist, appearing in her Bad Girls video?

Lee Hyori took the young dancer along on her promotions, and he also appeared in her video for Going Crazy.

Monsta X's Shownu won a 2009 audition and trained for two years at which agency before joining Starship?

JYP Entertainment was his target because it had been the company of Rain, the star who inspired him to chase a stage career.

Why did rapper Joohoney take a break from Monsta X in January 2020, returning before the EP Fantasia X?

To focus on mental health, Joohoney stepped away on January 11, 2020 and rejoined promotions in late March, ahead of the EP's release.

Which 2017 single from the EP The Code gave Monsta X their first music show win, on The Show?

Dramarama took the trophy on November 14, 2017, two and a half years after the group's debut. Its music video plays with the idea of time travel.

Which Monsta X album, released on Valentine's Day 2020, was their first recorded entirely in English?

All About Luv entered the US Billboard 200 at number five, the group's first appearance on that chart.

Which religious concept drives the light-against-dark story of Monsta X's 2018 album Take.1 Are You There?

The seven deadly sins are each expressed on the album, which shows the members wandering in search of salvation.

Which American DJ made Play It Cool with Monsta X in 2019 and later performed it with them in Saudi Arabia?

Steve Aoki teamed up with the group for the single that March, and in December they played it together at the MDL Beast Festival.

In 2018 Monsta X became the first Korean group to perform on which annual iHeartRadio concert tour?

Jingle Ball invited the group back in 2019, 2021 and 2025, when their stops included New York, Philadelphia and Miami.

Which 2018 single brought Monsta X their first trophy on Music Bank, a public broadcaster's chart show?

Shoot Out won there on November 2, 2018 and ended up with trophies from four different music shows.

Which 2021 single from the EP No Limit earned Monsta X five music show trophies?

Rush Hour likens the crowded K-pop industry to heavy traffic. Its EP was the first the group made without leader Shownu, who had enlisted that July.

Which title track led Monsta X's first studio album in 2017 and gave their first world tour its name?

Beautiful peaked at number four on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart, while its parent album went to number one on World Albums.

Which Monsta X series about youth has parts subtitled Lost, Guilty and The Final Chapter?

The Clan ran from 2016 to 2017, moving from the loss and pain of youth to guarding innocence and, in its last part, rebellion.

Monsta X made their debut in May 2015 with which EP, its title song produced by Rhymer?

Trespass drew most heavily on rapper Joohoney, who composed several of its songs, including One Love and Blue Moon.

Under which stage name did Monsta X's Hyungwon start performing DJ sets in 2017?

H.ONE first appeared at KCON 2017 Japan beside DJ Justin Oh, and the pair went on to play Ultra Music Festival Korea that June.

Monsta X vocalist Kihyun made his solo debut in March 2022 with which single album?

Voyager came out on March 15, 2022, and he followed it that October with a first EP, Youth.

Weeks after debuting in 2015, Monsta X's Joohoney auditioned for the fourth season of which rap contest?

Show Me the Money eliminated him in a one-on-one battle in the third round, then brought him back for a second chance, which he also lost.

On which singing show did Monsta X's Kihyun compete in 2016, beating Apink's Namjoo in round one?

King of Mask Singer billed him as 'Tell Them I'm the Dragon King', and he went out in the second round by a margin of three votes.

Shownu and Hyungwon launched Monsta X's first official sub-unit in July 2023 with which debut EP?

The Unseen was led by Love Me a Little, a single Hyungwon produced while Shownu worked on the choreography.

Which English-language Monsta X single earned a Best K-pop nomination at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards?

Who Do U Love? also became the group's first song on Billboard's Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart, where it peaked at number 26.

Monsta X recorded How We Do for a 2020 SpongeBob SquarePants film alongside which American rapper?

Snoop Dogg joins them on the soundtrack of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. The song came out in November 2020, weeks after the group's album Fatal Love.

Which Colombian pop star joined Monsta X on the 2019 single Magnetic, sung in English and Spanish?

Sebastián Yatra sang his parts in Spanish, while the group moved between English and Spanish on the December release.

In 2019 Monsta X became the first Korean act to perform at which fan-voted American ceremony?

Teen Choice Awards producers booked them for the 2019 ceremony. The group has also sold out Los Angeles's Staples Center.

Monsta X's 2020 album Fatal Love, led by Love Killa, took its concept from which type of movie character?

Villains from films such as Kingsman, American Psycho, Fight Club and Joker were referenced, to explore temptation and the darker side of romance.

Monsta X have cited Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars and which Korean boy group as early influences?

Big Bang were the act they named early on as the one that inspired them; Chris Brown is another international name on their list.

Monsta X formed a 2016 project group with which Starship labelmates to promote a KT phone plan?

WJSN joined them on the single Do Better, made for a mobile rate plan that the telecom company aimed at teenagers.

Monsta X's Shownu served as a public service worker, not an active-duty soldier, after surgery on what?

His left eye needed emergency surgery for a detached retina in July 2020, which pushed a livestreamed concert back by two weeks.

While still a Starship trainee in 2014, Monsta X's Hyungwon was already working in which profession?

Fashion model was his job in 2014, when he walked in events such as the Ceci Fashion Show and a show for W Hotel.

Monsta X's Kihyun spent his army service, from 2023 to 2025, in which kind of unit?

A military band with the 25th Infantry Division at Yangju was his posting, and bandmate Hyungwon also played in one during his own service.

Which title is shared by Monsta X's second English-language album and their 2021 documentary concert film?

The Dreaming reached cinemas in seventy countries that December, mixing interviews with footage from the group's first six years.

Which American label signed Monsta X in May 2019 to release their English-language music outside South Korea?

Epic Records announced the deal on May 28, 2019, and the first single under it followed less than three weeks later, on June 14.

Monsta X's Shownu joined which Mnet dance competition as a judge when it began in August 2023?

Street Woman Fighter 2 gave the group's main dancer a seat on the panel, a month after he launched a duo with bandmate Hyungwon.

Monsta X's first Japanese studio album was released in April 2018 under which title?

Piece, led by the track Puzzle, reached number three on the weekly Oricon Albums Chart, and its release was followed by the group's first tour of Japan.

Before Monsta X, Shownu and Joohoney belonged to which Starship project group that posted mixtapes on YouTube?

Nu Boyz, a quartet formed in August 2014, also performed at the opening of the label's Starship X concert that December.

Which Dutch DJ teamed up with Monsta X for the 2022 summer single Late Night Feels?

Sam Feldt released the track with them in July 2022, weeks after the group finished a nine-city tour of the United States.

Which Korean cosmetics brand credited Monsta X's fans abroad, above all in Thailand, for its rising share price?

Tony Moly had signed the group in October 2018 as the print advertising faces of its lip tints, moisturiser and hand cream.

Monsta X's Kihyun sang One More Step, his first solo soundtrack song, for which 2015 MBC drama?

She Was Pretty gave him the first of many solo drama credits; that May he had duetted with Joohoney for the series Orange Marmalade.

Shownu co-wrote Monsta X's 2019 English single Someone's Someone with members of which American pop band?

Before You Exit's members shared the writing with the group's leader, who also has a writing credit on Mirror from the EP Follow: Find You.

Monsta X's 2017 Japanese debut single came out on Mercury Records Tokyo, a new label of which parent company?

Universal Music launched them in Japan with new versions of Hero and Stuck, and the single reached number two on the weekly Oricon chart.