Last night when I saw the news that Wonho (former member of Monsta X) had been cleared of criminal charges relating to false accusations, I couldn't help but cry. I watched as the tweets of celebration roll in on my fan account. People tweeting virtual hugs and how much it meant to them for this to finally be over. Because even though I hadn't been an official fan of them before he left, he was still a part of the reason I became a fan of them in the first place. His love of the fans was always so genuine that I couldn't help but make them my favorite group. And being an active person on Twitter, even before I became a fan, I couldn't help but see what he did for the fans.
It felt like every day since he made his announcement of his departure in October, fans had trended his name and various hashtags (over 500 to be exact). They knew he was innocent and didn't want his name or image to be slandered or erased. The unconditional love that their idol had shown them, was being reciprocated in the biggest way possible. Without going unnoticed as well. In the statement released by Starship Entertainment (Monsta X's company), they had stated that they were sorry for worrying fans over this. Not to mention their US manager making the tweet below last night. The hard work had finally paid off and celebrations were ringing out all over twitter and elsewhere.
Now as fans await his possible (very likely) return to their favorite group, as Starship said they will continue to support him in whatever way he chooses, fans are still thinking of fan projects to celebrate this huge win. And I can't help but learn something from this. As I was laying in bed trying to calm my excitement about this, trying to fall asleep, I started thinking about this. Monbebes (Monsta X fans) really gave me lessons of perseverance, community, and unconditional love.
They all came together for a united cause. And while there was definitely some drama as with anything, I still haven't seen a fandom like Monbebes. In Korea, it's very common for people to ditch idols after even small controversies, but Monbebes wouldn't give him up that easy. These fans, for four straight months, created new hashtags daily, invented new fan projects, constantly streamed music videos, bought billboards, just to name a few things they did for Wonho. And I just admire the creativity that had to be involved for all of these things to take place. It's only something I can only strive to do. They also showed huge amounts of unconditional love, not only to Wonho but to other fans who were fighting for the cause. They told themselves they would never give up on him no matter how long it took for him to be cleared and that really showed me what it means to love something so much. And while I saw some Monbebes feel like they had reached the end of their rope, they still didn't give up on him and fans would reach out to each other for support. They encouraged each other and helped each other fight. All of this for me to realize that for the first time in my life, I think, I feel like I knew what it meant to be a true fan of something.
And if you are a person who thinks that all of this is dramatic or crazy, I urge you to watch this TED talk that I had seen yesterday:
There's nothing dramatic or crazy about loving someone so much that you never give up on them. In fact, binding together for a community cause is so admirable to me. And being a fairly new Monbebe, I was welcomed with open arms to the fandom and fight for Wonho. It's the same with other new fans that I have met. They are all so welcoming and open and not quick to judge anyone. This is something I feel like this world needs to learn from, especially now. We need to come together for each other and be there for each other. There's no way we will get anything done if we don't. Celebrations can come but only if we bind together and work together.
And now as I sit here listening to Monsta X in celebration, I hope I can never forget these lessons. Monbebes showed strength, love, and creativity in a very hard time for them. We could all learn something from that. No matter how hard things might seem for us in whatever situation, we can still keep going. These fans aren't crazy, they're admirable. I give credit to all of them for persevering and showing me what it means to love something so much. I hope you can learn a few lessons from this as well. Alright, I'm stepping off my soapbox now.
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