On the second anniversary of his solo debut and in his most wide-ranging interview yet, ROCKY reflects on the most meaningful moments of his decade-long career.

WHEN ROCKY FIRST debuted as a soloist in 2023, the question that weighed most heavily on him was, "What kind of first impression do I want to give of myself as an artist?"

At the time, ROCKY was only a few months removed from leaving ASTRO, the boy group he had spent seven years with and recorded multiple hit records alongside. The training he received as an idol was formative to ROCKY, but he was eager to show his own color. Who could ROCKY, the artist, be with only his voice to guide him?

"I spent a long time figuring out how to express my sound and identity, and what tone I wanted to set for the journey ahead," he told me this week in an interview.

"Lucky Rocky" was the funky lead single in which ROCKY confessed, "I want to make people move" and "any genre is good". (ROCKY can make any beat or sound his own.) But I was most intrigued by the B-side, "Music Is My Life", where he proclaims, "Nobody can control me/ I want to break free" and sings, with gratification, "Everything I dreamed of is coming true."

ROCKY categorizes "Music Is My Life" as the most honest song he's ever released, particularly as it relates to the relationship he has with the art form. "At one point, I realized deeply that everything I dreamed of and achieved was possible because music was always there," he explained. "So I made this song with the idea, 'I can't explain my life without music.'"

Last week, ROCKY released a new single, "Forever and Ever," to commemorate his second anniversary as a soloist. The digital single comes exactly two years to the day of ROCKY's first EP release and is, above all, dedicated to HAMO, his fans. Their love and support, as he repeated frequently in our interview, have been the most gratifying part of becoming a soloist.

"I'm sure I made mistakes," he said, mentioning that his debut was the first time he had done anything like set up an agency or create his own music, "but the fans warmly embraced the entire process and supported me no matter what. Their faith gave me immense strength and kept me moving forward."

ROCKY has several events lined up to commemorate his second anniversary, including a special pop-up store opening in Seoul on December 27, 2025. The event will feature the 2026 Season's Greetings, limited-edition merchandise, and exhibition-style content showcasing ROCKY's inner world and thoughts.

But looking back, ROCKY sees ROCKY ST as seminal to understanding who he is today. "This album feels like the starting point of who I am as an artist," he told me, "and the project that set the foundation for my musical world."

ROCKY'S STORY BEGINS in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do in South Korea, where he was born and raised.

ROCKY was introduced to dance early in Jinju. When he was four years old, he accompanied his mother to a dance academy and fell in love with the art form. "That moment became the very beginning of who I am today," he recalled.

In fourth grade, ROCKY auditioned for the lead role in Billy Elliot, a musical production of the American film that follows a boy learning how to become a dancer. He landed the role and moved to Seoul, where he began an immersive training program in the performing arts. The lessons were extensive, introducing ROCKY to ballet, tap dance, contemporary dance, hip-hop, vocal training, and acting.

"Right when I was preparing to debut as Billy, one of the older trainees I practiced with suggested that I audition for an entertainment company," he said, referencing fantagio, the company he would eventually debut under. "Almost as if it was fate, I passed, and my path shifted from musical actor to singer."

While many idols are scouted, ROCKY's acceptance into fantagio was based on his own merit. "I earned the opportunity through my own effort," he emphasized. ROCKY trained with fantagio from fifth grade through his second year of high school, and was diligent in his efforts to stand out. "I believed my strengths were sincerity and hard work, so I prepared as thoroughly as I could every time."

"I brought more than ten performances each week," he continued, "songs I wrote myself, raps, covers, my own choreography, cover dances; everything I could possibly show." ROCKY found the training system to be intense but also necessary in how rewarding it could be. "It was a time when I was desperately passionate and worked like crazy," he explained, "and that's why it remains one of the most fulfilling periods of my life."

ROCKY was eventually paired with five other boys who would debut in ASTRO together. While he was not the oldest, as is tradition, JINJIN was selected as leader and given the position of a rapper. MJ, CHA EUN-WOO, MOONBIN, and YOON SA-NHA were chosen as the group's vocalists, among other roles. ROCKY proved to be a true all-rounder, holding the official positions of Main Dancer, Lead Rapper, and Vocalist.

Looking back now, ROCKY considers ASTRO's debut showcase the most memorable moment of his time with the boys. Nearly a decade later, he can still feel the excitement the members experienced the first time they performed together. "Far more fans came than I imagined, and I was so moved seeing them," he recalled.

Stepping on stage, ROCKY told me, "I had this overwhelming realization: 'My journey as a real artist is starting now.'"

OVER THEIR SEVEN years together, ASTRO would become one of the most popular groups of K-pop's third generation. They portrayed a bright, cheery genre of K-pop, which I see represented in today's fifth-generation boy groups like TWS or EVNNE. Their music could be comforting, like the gentle ballad "Knock", and at times electric, such as "ONE", a comeback near the end of ROCKY's tenure with the group. Above all, ASTRO was remarkably consistent in their image and stayed on message: They were a light for their fans, known as ARHOAs.

In early 2023, ROCKY announced that he would end his exclusive contract with fantagio after thirteen years and leave ASTRO. I was eager, though, to see what ROCKY’s next move would be. For most of their time together, ROCKY had collaborated with JINJIN on rap lyrics, but I wondered what kinds of stories he could write on his own.

Two months after ROCKY’s departure, though, MOONBIN passed away unexpectedly at 25 years old. In the following months, AROHAs, ASTRO's fanbase, mourned the loss of MOONBIN and reflected on the meaning of their favorite group. The members had been such a bright light and solace for them, and suddenly, what was left felt very fragile. Yet in the ensuing months, there was a consensus among members and fans alike that preserving ASTRO's legacy was important.

In November of 2023, ROCKY made his solo debut under his own agency, One Fine Day Entertainment (now renamed as WONIJIN ENTERTAINMENT). That he continued to pursue music and reintroduce himself in the face of significant grief and upheaval is something that I still find remarkable about ROCKY.

Many idols have admitted that when it came time to record their own music, they didn't know what their identity should be. But ROCKY didn't appear to share that struggle. ROCKY ST, the debut EP, was extremely confident. It was bright, like ASTRO's best music, but also more freewheeling and experiential in parts, too, like the jazzy sax on his lead single "Lucky Rocky".

When I asked ROCKY what he most remembered about this period of starting a new agency and debuting alone, he admitted, "The strongest feelings were the coexistence of fear and excitement." He added, "It was my first time being fully responsible for everything alone, so I felt nervous and unsure, yet I also calmly accepted [the feelings] and tried to take things one step at a time."

ROCKY felt a mixture of several emotions as he made the EP, none of which were easy to pin down. "But that year ultimately made me stronger," he surmised.

Over the next two years, ROCKY released music at a breakneck speed. His second EP, BLANK, is my favorite. The EP, ROCKY explained to me, was made for listeners to fill in their own stories and interpretations. "That's why the album title is BLANK," he said." It's an empty space. I wanted to leave room so listeners could fill it however they wished."

The EP deals with complex feelings, from the fear that jealousy could ruin a relationship ("Jealousy") to the unpredictability of a partner you can never fully understand ("Read You"). But I'm most taken by "We Still Love You", a song about grief. "How lonely could it have been?" he asks in the opening line. "I've been scared to look up in the night sky/ Wondering how you've been."

The song was cathartic for ROCKY to write as it let him lay out exactly how he had been feeling. When writing about sadness, he explained, "I let the messy emotions sit as they are and just follow them slowly, shaping the order and expression as I go." He then went deeper. "For me, the most important thing is not hiding how I feel, really facing it, and giving those emotions enough time to settle naturally into the language of music."

ROCKY also leveled up the quality of music video output as a soloist. For "BA BA BYE", a digital single, he shot a short film that played out like a dark and gritty drama. "I was drawn to short-film-style content mainly because I wanted to challenge new formats," he said of his decision to produce bigger productions. "I constantly think about what kind of images and messages I can show within my abilities, so naturally I expanded into these experimental forms."

Perhaps the most significant change in ROCKY's releases as a soloist is how much he sings. But when I pointed this out, ROCKY asserted that he doesn't see himself as strictly a rapper or vocalist. "The two forms differ in expression, but both are tools for conveying the message I want to deliver through music," he said, noting that he chooses which songs to sing or rap on based on which form expresses his emotions most accurately.

"But I don't want to divide myself between vocalist and rapper," he insisted. "I want to be an artist who expresses myself freely, depending on the mood and message of the music."

When I asked what ROCKY felt was most different between the boy he was in ASTRO and the person he is now as head of his own agency, he singled his mission down to connecting with his fans – and listening to their own stories. "Back then, I focused mainly on music and the performance itself: showing good stages and growing musically," he told me. "Now, my perspective is much wider. I think deeply about the fans who support and love me – what their tastes are, what kind of daily lives and emotions they have when listening to my music, and how my songs give them strength."

Most importantly, he is in charge of where he goes next artistically. "I decide for myself what music and messages to share and build my career," he said. "My core as a singer is the same, but now I also think about what meaning my music reaches others with."

THIS SUMMER ASTRO reunited for a series of concerts titled the 4th ASTROAD: STARGRAPHY. What was notable about these concerts, beyond the fact that it was the first time the members had shared a stage in nearly three years, was that ROCKY joined them.

"It was EUN-WOO who suggested it," ROCKY told me about his decision to return for the shows. "But this performance wasn't just an ASTRO stage. It was our late member MOONBIN's dream, and it was for him. That made it even more meaningful for me. I naturally felt, 'Of course I should be there,' and joined with that mindset in my heart."

The concerts were a triumph, with ASTRO playing their biggest venues yet, such as Japan's Tokyo Dome, and a cathartic experience for members and fans alike. The most emotional stage, "We Still", was dedicated to MOONBIN with a mic stand left in the center for him. Near the end of the performance, I was touched when EUN-WOO held his microphone up to the sky and blinked away tears, while SAN-HA sang with such ferocity that it was as if years of grief and pain over his friend were tumbling out. Glancing up at the sky together, I thought that the members seemed lost in their shared history.

"I was grateful just to stand beside the members again," ROCKY told me. "And above all, it was a truly happy time because we were able to create a stage for Bin together."

Following ASTRO's concerts, ROCKY set out on his own fan-con tour in the Philippines, South America, and Japan. "Meeting fans directly through solo concerts and fancons always fills me with deep happiness. Sharing the same space, singing together, laughing, sometimes crying," he said tenderly, "those moments are more precious to me than anything."

He considered this for a moment. "Hearing fans sing my songs with me and sharing their hearts gives me enormous strength and reminds me why I exist as an artist."

Next year will mark a decade since ROCKY debuted as an idol. That he is still here in this industry and still creating is a testament to his mindset and love for the craft. It is rare for idols to last in the industry as long as ROCKY has. Perhaps even rarer for them to thrive. But ROCKY's endurance is due to something that he feels has sustained him: love.

When I asked what he would tell himself if he could go back in time to his debut day, his answer was touching. "I'd tell myself, 'You're going to receive so much love—don't feel pressured by it. It's okay to enjoy it," he said. "Back then, I always felt like I had to do better, but looking back now, I think I could've let myself be a little happier in those moments."

He thought about his dreams with ASTRO and what they meant to him then. "My goal at the time was to win first place on a music show, and thankfully I was able to achieve that," he said. "And the next dream, performing at the Super Bowl, is something I'm still steadily working toward."

"The dreams I had back then shaped who I am today," he added, "and I feel like I'm still moving forward, one step at a time, toward new goals."

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