Astro’s studious Chan Eun-woo dreamt of being a doctor or lawyer until K-pop came calling

Cha Eun-woo, a member of boy band Astro, is one of the most popular K-pop stars working in the industry today. The multitalented Cha plays the piano, guitar and violin, and despite being only 23, he already has a successful career in film and television. Here is a look at his life so far. His early life Cha Eun-woo was born Lee Dong-min in the Korean city of Gunpo in March 1997. He has one younger brother, who is serving in the military. During an appearance on South Korean variety show Problematic Men, the hosts compared him to the perfect student in comic books. He was once ranked third in grades in his entire school, was class president for several years and captain of his middle school’s basketball and football teams. He was involved in debating and was in an IT class for the gifted, where he programmed robots. A talent scout waited for Cha to leave the toilet during a festival at his middle school and offered to cast him. How HyunA became one of K-pop’s biggest and sexiest solo stars He did not dream of becoming a singer, but rather, a doctor, prosecutor or judge, he said during the music programme Immortal Songs 2. But Cha’s father encouraged him to try being a trainee. “He told me, ‘You can try it out for a year, and if you think it’s not your thing, you can always come back’,” Cha recalled his father saying. Cha’s training started during his first year of high school – and it wasn’t easy. During the variety show Handsome Tigers he said the weekly and monthly evaluations made him realise idol training was more about teaching him perseverance and patience than dancing and singing. His role in Astro Cha is Astro’s main vocalist and his voice suits Astro’s focus on more melodic pop music, unlike other K-pop boy groups whose music is more inspired by EDM and hip hop. The lightness in his voice at higher registers is best heard in their 2017 single Baby and 2020 single Knock. Cha is also known as an energetic and smooth dancer. He is often placed at the centre of the group in performances. His solo career Cha has considerable experience of acting. He began his acting career with a cameo in the 2014 South Korean film My Brilliant Life. He played himself in web drama To Be Continued – which starred the rest of Astro – and the male lead in the 2016 romantic web series My Romantic Some Recipe. He continued to portray himself and K-pop idols in various romantic dramas until his breakthrough in the 2018 romcom Gangnam Beauty, in which he played a college student who falls in love with a woman being bullied for having plastic surgery. He also made his solo debut singing the theme song for the drama, Rainbow Falling. More recently, Cha starred in the 2019 South Korean historical drama Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung as the male lead, Prince Lee Rim. His performance won him the excellence in acting award at the 2019 MBC Drama Awards. Before his debut with Astro, Cha also modelled for South Korean web company Naver, cosmetics brand Shara Shara and Korean pizza chain Mr. Pizza. His image Astro have been very consistent with their preppy fashion style, dressing in a pastel colours, while giving off a “boys-next-door” vibe. As the best-looking member of Astro and known as the “king of visuals”, Cha is most confident about his face. Even during high school, Cha was famous for being a handsome trainee, said South Korean actress Park Yu-na, who attended Hanlim Multi Art School in Seoul with Cha. Cha also volunteers to read books at an institution for the visually impaired and told fashion magazine Vogue that he learns a lot from helping others. In his own words Despite his success, Cha has said he is careful not to become infatuated with himself. When he was young, his mother posted quotes around the house such as “you should be thankful” and “know thyself”, which Cha told the fashion magazine GQ Korea were the most important values to him. “The old me had no interest in celebrities, so I never tried dancing or singing. I was always showered with compliments and took them for granted,” he said of his life as a perfect student. “But when I faced harsh criticisms like, ‘You can’t dance, you can’t sing and you can’t act’, and coming last in competitions, I cried every day. “I started to be stricter with myself after going through my harsh training and making mistakes.” Cha said it was like his world was turned upside down. “Everything crumbled at once. That’s why I’ve grown stronger.”