One down, 5 more to go for Shinhwa

It has finally happened. The longest running boy band has temporarily called it quits because of the inevitable military service.

Eric of Shinhwa has finally left to fulfill his military duties at Choongnam Nonsan Military Center on October 9, 2008. He was sent off by 200 fans from both China and Japan.

His departure now signals the countdown for the rest of the 5 members. Dongwan is up next in November and Minwoo in May 2009. On the other hand, Junjin has postponed his start for February 2009 with his announcement on October 6, 2008, With Shin Hyesung exempted from service due to his physical condition, Andy will probably follow with an announcement of his own once his solo activities are also finished.

Although this is a sad time for many dedicated fans, it was probably a good thing. With the comebacks of what seems to be every “idol” group in Fall 2008, there would have been too much competition for them anyways…

Eric_1009_1Eric_1009_2Eric_1009_6Eric_1009_7Eric_1009_8Eric_1009_9Eric_1009_3
Eric giving his final goodbye of 2008 and 2009
Eric_1009_10Eric_1009_12Eric_1009_11

Fans asking him not to forget them

Junjin at the press conference announcing his intent to serve

52 Responses to “One down, 5 more to go for Shinhwa”


  1. 1 soohyun October 10, 2008 at 12:01 pm

    FIRST!

  2. 2 soohyun October 10, 2008 at 12:01 pm

    haha :D
    anyway i wish only good for eric in the future!
    we await your comeback! (:

  3. 3 inyange October 10, 2008 at 12:02 pm

    :( ……

  4. 4 soohyun October 10, 2008 at 12:03 pm

    oh by the way, shouldn’t it be five more to go? doesn’t shinhwa have 6 members?
    or did someone already go without me knowing…

  5. 5 skim October 10, 2008 at 12:03 pm

    first!!

  6. 6 dhkimboa October 10, 2008 at 12:05 pm

    first gl erick!

  7. 7 sharooonana October 10, 2008 at 12:06 pm

    um it’s one down, 5 more to go! ehem…

  8. 8 KPOPTV October 10, 2008 at 12:08 pm

    They should all go together and come back together, that would be awesome.

  9. 9 Satan October 10, 2008 at 12:10 pm

    Guys read please. Hye Sung’s is exempted aka he passed because of his physical condition. (Something to do with his leg.)

  10. 10 Lia October 10, 2008 at 12:18 pm

    Take care Eric! We wont forget you!

  11. 11 Jane. October 10, 2008 at 12:23 pm

    Junjin’s serving? What about his eyes? Take care Eric<3

  12. 12 Pinay Tayo! October 10, 2008 at 12:26 pm

    Aja Eric! He’s the happiest enlister(?) I’ve ever seen (among the celebrities that is)

    Shinhwa Changjo!

  13. 13 i don't like his shoes.... October 10, 2008 at 12:36 pm

    eric’s sweat shirt is too tight, but he’s still hot. even with shaved head.

  14. 14 Song October 10, 2008 at 12:38 pm

    aWW, Fighting Eric Mun! I’ll be waiting for your comback!! AWW, They should all go together and return together! I’m going to miss them so much! Shinhwa Forever!! Love Shinhwa Forever!! HWAitng!! ERIC!!!

  15. 15 megane October 10, 2008 at 12:50 pm

    …yes, HyeSung isn’t going because of previous knee injury…so there are only four left to serve, DongWan, MinWoo, and JunJin next and then lastly, Andy…Keep healthy Eric.

  16. 16 asianromance October 10, 2008 at 12:51 pm

    I sort of wish all of Shinhwa will go at once- so they can come back at the same time and produce a new album. feels like it’s been a while. And junjin looks good in that pic!

  17. 17 paDii October 10, 2008 at 1:30 pm

    yo he looks mad happy!

  18. 18 bubbles October 10, 2008 at 1:48 pm

    damn its official, one of kpop’s hottest men left…now we have to deal with U-Kiss and Dongbangshigay…. PLEASE COME BACK SOON!!! (thank the sky for KJK)

  19. 19 kristyyy October 10, 2008 at 2:21 pm

    don’t under estimate shinhwa’s ability. they can totally out-shine, out-sing, out-dance any of the bbands these days.

  20. 20 noone October 10, 2008 at 2:31 pm

    nooo…i really didnt want this day to come….o well…eric hwaiting!! I’ll wait for u! actually my fab member is hyesung….but i like all of them..its gonna sad when the second one goes n then the third…

  21. 21 noone October 10, 2008 at 2:31 pm

    fav*

  22. 22 ivanovie October 10, 2008 at 2:34 pm

    Aahh..’ET’ Eric..no tears in his dictionary except for the drama ofcourse..hehehe..he’s even trying to hide his smile during guerilla concert while everyone was busy wiping away their tears, as it was seen to me..

    Good luck Eric! come back safe and healthy! i’m sure gonna miss this guy sooo much…i’ll be waiting for you!

  23. 23 kate0423 October 10, 2008 at 2:39 pm

    I think he is the best looking shaved head entering the military training among the Korean actors/entertainers.

  24. 24 Bevis October 10, 2008 at 3:09 pm

    Hey, at least they’ll be together in the military camp. It must be fun, entering that place with your favorite friends.

  25. 25 christaluvsdrama October 10, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    Andy might get exempt as well, because he has bad Asthma. Though, many people still go and serve with having it.

  26. 26 Young October 10, 2008 at 3:45 pm

    I AGREED!!! Eric is the best looking guy with shaved hair!!
    I can’t imagine if all enlisted together… sure it’ll be fun for them but not sure if their officers can handle them. Haaa!

  27. 27 dingdong October 10, 2008 at 4:44 pm

    Same Here!! I agree that Eric’s way hotter than even Gong Yoo. Sigh.. now I can’t see him for a while.
    Nevertheless, Shinhwa Changjo!!! I’ll be missing you Shinhwa!!

  28. 28 W-1-n-d-z October 10, 2008 at 5:10 pm

    Eric!!! no….hahahaha damn I surely going to miss Shinhwa…my GOD I have been their fans for almost 8 years, the longest band I ever like. but I’m surely going to wait for them to come back and when they do, all the fans will welcome them….so sad it means I dun have chance to watch their concert :(

  29. 29 KC October 10, 2008 at 7:03 pm

    I don’t think they need to worry about competition cause they have a dedicated bunch of fans that make sure they are as Shinhwa. So don’t you worry.

    I’m sad Eric is leaving…I can’t wait till he comes back, all of them and become Shinhwa again :D

  30. 30 wz October 10, 2008 at 8:33 pm

    gah, eric.. T.T

    yeah, can’t wait till he comes back. love shinhwa!

  31. 31 phiphi October 10, 2008 at 9:08 pm

    Aahh..’ET’ Eric..no tears in his dictionary except for the drama ofcourse..

    @ivanovie haha…..agree, agree. He’s one tough boy!
    Eric, all the best

  32. 32 HongGi October 10, 2008 at 9:48 pm

    blah, he looks like an ajusshi

  33. 33 natalie October 10, 2008 at 10:08 pm

    oh…i love eric he is a good actor. anyways good luck.

  34. 34 rubylovefaith October 10, 2008 at 11:07 pm

    We will miss you Eric…………

    SHINHWA is a legend and will always be……no other band can surpass that……….And they share a bond, friendship that is admirable……so dont ever under estimate them, because they are the best, they are gorgeous, sexy, hot, mature, funny, dorky,………….and they have what other groups lack…………REAL TALENT………..

    SHINHWA CHANJO WILL WAIT FOR YOUR RETURN………

  35. 35 jam October 10, 2008 at 11:57 pm

    Shinhwa Forever!!!
    Fighting Eric!!!

  36. 36 KyuMin October 11, 2008 at 12:41 am

    oooh been waiting for this to come out Good Luck ERIC and all the other members SHINHWA CHANGJO!!!!

  37. 37 rainonmebi October 11, 2008 at 1:08 am

    oooOOOOoooo

    eric looks gooooodd.

    unlike some other celebs when they shaved their heads..

    *cough*sung shi kyung*ahem*

  38. 38 vivian October 11, 2008 at 3:23 am

    awwww Eric, he has killer smile and keep smile all the time, love him, will wait for SHinhwa to comeback, Shinhwa fighting

  39. 39 ct77 October 11, 2008 at 3:59 am

    Take care eric.. Will be missing u…:’(

  40. 40 Izumi October 11, 2008 at 6:32 am

    I wonder if the exemption from military service for Hallyu stars will ever get anywhere near going into action.

    If that does happen, it means a nice exemption break for TVXQ!, Rain, and ss501, I suppose, but what would be the line for being a “successful Hallyu star” I wonder.

    Anyhow, I hope they serve their time well, best of luck to their physical conditions (given that they don’t just do janitorial or office work).

  41. 41 lindaalove g-dragon October 11, 2008 at 9:22 am

    omg i use to love leeminwoo..he still hot

  42. 42 stalker93 October 11, 2008 at 11:15 am

    We will be awaiting your return, Eric oppa.

  43. 43 laiza October 11, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    HongGi ..

    and so what if he’s ajjhusi??!
    at least
    they are really successful!..and i think
    you are blind,,
    try to buy eyeglasses..
    ahaha.. LOL..are you girl or boy???
    and dont forget to look
    in the mirror.
    and you will see who looks ajhussi,
    and if you are girl??
    AJHUMMA..

  44. 44 pat October 11, 2008 at 1:03 pm

    HA!! KRISTYY i TOTALLY agree with u!! shinhwa is like TOTALLY better than now a say groups! [no offense]

  45. 45 xproud2bapnayx October 11, 2008 at 1:32 pm

    Leader ssi! gud luck wid everything!! come back a more handsome and muscular u! take care! and we’ll miss u much!

  46. 46 anna106 October 11, 2008 at 2:53 pm

    AWWWWWWWWWW!!! Eric, you left!!! And won’t be back until 2 years from now… (Sighs) I lOVE U!!!!!!! :(

  47. 47 myeongeun October 11, 2008 at 10:14 pm

    we’ll wait for you.
    same goes for others. :)
    shinhwa jjang!

  48. 48 angelfish09 October 12, 2008 at 2:33 am

    *sniff sniff* I wiss miss Eric.
    But I guess at the same time it is somewut good for him, cuz he taking a break from the business.
    For some reason… I kinda like his shaved hair :)

  49. 49 grignard08 October 13, 2008 at 12:52 am

    oppa! we’ll miss you.
    and oh, he looks good with his haircut.

  50. 50 ronnhie October 13, 2008 at 3:28 am

    good luck Eric! and for the rest of the Shinhwa boys i wonder though if this line:
    “With the comebacks of what seems to be every “idol” group in Fall 2008, there would have been too much competition for them anyways…”
    …………was for…..d….b…..

  51. 51 Ashley October 17, 2008 at 8:09 am

    Awww…. Eric left! I’ll miss him definitely!

  52. 52 funkeom December 2, 2008 at 2:19 pm

    Shinhwa seriously is the best boy band out there.
    Better than any current group out there.
    He’ll do well in the army.

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