Absolutely Fabulous

Ending last year on a high note with the launch of his first solo album and a new Netflix drama, South Korean singer and actor Choi Minho is now ready to shine even brighter in 2023.

- Azhar Rahim

As a member of SHINee, Choi Minho's teens and twenties have revolved almost wholly around the South Korean boyband since its debut in 2008. Outlasting many of its fellow second-generation idol groups in the ever-evolving K-pop scene, SHINee is now into its 15th year. Boybands with such longevity are rare, particularly when their members are called up for mandatory military service, causing them to go on hiatus. This was the case for the group, when three members-including Choi, who is better known by his mononym Minho-were called up for military duty in 2018. He enlisted in 2019, taking his first real break from the entertainment scene since joining the group as a fresh-faced 16-year-old.

On the positive side, his time in the Marine Corps allowed him to reflect on himself and his career ambitions, away from the limelight. "Going to the army meant that I was able to take a breather and take a closer look at myself," he shares. "I realised that to be more creative so as to show a different side of myself, I had to have free time to do things outside of the entertainment world." For instance, he adds, it is now part of his routine to do something completely different from what he usually does at work, like going on long walks to clear his mind.