Monsta X Isn’t Worried About ‘Lost Time’ — Just Continuing to Raise the Bar After More Than a Decade

Of all the muscles that Joohoney strengthened during his mandatory enlistment in the South Korean military, his mind was the most important. To carry out day-to-day tasks, the 30-year-old rapper found he needed to build up a solid mental core — and that stability has neatly carried over into his equally demanding civilian life as one-sixth of K-pop powerhouse group Monsta X.

“I’ve always loved the phrase ‘just do it,’” he explains to Billboard, sitting next to bandmates Shownu, Minhyuk, Kihyun and Hyungwon in a cozy L.A. studio (the final member, I.M, is recuperating from an injury back in Seoul at the time of the interview). “It was in the military that I took that further and started thinking, ‘No brain, no pain,’” he continues. “Right now, that’s pretty much been my approach. No matter