Wonho

Biography

Lee Ho-seok (Korean: 이호석, born March 1, 1993), known by his stage name Wonho (Korean: 원호), is a South Korean singer under Highline Entertainment. He is a former member of South Korean boy group Monsta X under Starship Entertainment. In 2020, he made his solo debut with the EP Love Synonym Pt.1: Right for Me, alongside its lead single "Open Mind", which charted both on the Gaon Chart and Billboard charts. In 2021, he signed with Intertwine Records, a partnership between Eshy Gazit and BMG, for his activities in the United States. He also made his Japanese debut with the single "On the Way", which charted on the Oricon Singles Chart. After his South Korea's mandatory military service discharge in 2024, he released "What Would You Do". In 2025, he released his first studio album Syndrome, supported by the singles "Better Than Me", "Good Liar", and "If You Wanna", under Intertwine Records.

== Early life == Lee Ho-seok was born on March 1, 1993, in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Raised in Sanbon-dong, Gunpo, he lived with his parents, grandmother and younger brother; the family experienced financial hardship during his childhood. He has spoken about being bullied during elementary school and later becoming involved in juvenile delinquency as a teenager. After developing an interest in music during high school, he moved to Seoul to train under Starship Entertainment.

== Career ==

=== 2014: Nu Boyz and No.Mercy === Prior to his official debut, Wonho became part of a project group called Nu Boyz, alongside his labelmates #Gun, Shownu, and Joohoney, formed under Starship Entertainment in August 2014. The quartet uploaded multiple tracks to the label's channel on YouTube, including performing at the opening show of the Starship X concert on December 5, 2014. In late December, Starship Entertainment and Mnet launched a survival competition program called No.Mercy. On its final episode, Wonho was selected, alongside the other six contestants, including the Nu Boyz's members Shownu and Joohoney, as a member of the label's new boy group Monsta X.

=== 2015–2019: Monsta X ===

Wonho debuted in Monsta X, a hip-hop boy group, upon the release of their first extended play Trespass, on May 14, 2015. Wonho was a vocalist in the group and beginning in 2017 regularly participated in writing, composing and arranging songs for the group. Since 2018, Wonho has featured in several photoshoots for magazines, as well as partnering with some brands and promoting campaigns by various fashion magazines. He has appeared alongside his groupmates on several occasions, including Nylon, alongside Shownu in January 2018 and GQ in August, in both Ceci Korea in June 2018 and MAPS, with Minhyuk in December, lastly, Grazia, with Hyungwon in March 2019. He also participated in the collaboration project, with Elle and Tom Ford, alongside Shownu, in promotion of Tom Ford's latest perfume line in August 2019. He also made solo appearances, such as a feature in Dazed in November 2019. Wonho has been recognized as the Korean celebrity who focuses on fitness and physical training, while in several interviews surrounding his photoshoots, he has talked about healthy habits, and emphasized the importance of exercising. In October 2018, he partnered with Under Armour, as part of the collaboration with Dazed, to promote an active and healthy lifestyle. He again promoted healthy lifestyle, as part of a photoshoot for Elle's "Body Challenge" campaign, in May 2019. On October 31, Starship Entertainment announced Wonho's departure from Monsta X following allegations of him not paying back money he owed to a friend, after rumors about the illegal use of marijuana when he was younger surfaced on social media.

=== 2020: Solo debut with Love Synonym Pt.1: Right for Me and first solo concert === On March 14, Starship Entertainment released an official statement announcing that the investigation made by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's narcotics investigation team had been concluded; Wonho had been cleared of all allegations and the rumors were false. Wonho signed with Highline Entertainment, a subsidiary of Starship Entertainment, as a solo artist on April 10. The agency announced that he would be promoting as a solo artist and producer going forward. On May 6, Maverick revealed through a Twitter post that they had signed a management agreement with Wonho for his international activities. On August 9, Wonho announced the release of his first solo EP Love Synonym Pt.1: Right for Me. On August 14, he then released the pre-release English-language single "Losing You", along with its music video. "Losing You" gained praise for showing Wonho's all-around musicality, including his vocals, participation in the songwriting, composing, and producing of the song. The album was released on September 4 with the title track "Open Mind", accompanied by a music video. Wonho had his debut showcase the same day, hosted through V Live. Wonho held his first solo concert on September 27. Due to restrictions from COVID-19, the concert was held online through the streaming platform LiveXLive. During his concert, Wonho announced his first comeback, with a new EP, which was originally intended to be released by the end of 2020, although without a set date. He pre-released a song from the upcoming EP "Flash" through his concert.

=== 2021: Love Synonym Pt.2: Right for Us, second concert and Blue Letter === Wonho's second part of his first EP Love Synonym Pt.2: Right for Us was released on February 26. All five songs from the EP debuted on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart, occupying twenty percent of the entire World Songs chart for that week. He held an online concert WeNeedLove, through LiveXLive on March 28. During the concert, Wonho announced his intention for his next comeback in summer of 2021. In May, Wonho released a music video for the song "Ain't About You" from his second part of his first EP, in collaboration with Kiiara. On June 15, his American manager, Eshy Gazit announced the launch of a new label venture Intertwine, in partnership with BMG, with Monsta X and Wonho as the first two artists involved in the partnership. On July 19, Wonho joined NCSoft's global K-pop entertainment platform Universe. In July, it was announced that Wonho would release his debut Japanese single album on October 27, with the lead single "On the Way". On August 4, he pre-released the Japanese version of the song "Lose". Wonho released his second EP Blue Letter on September 14, with the title track "Blue". On December 1, Wonho released the Japanese digital single "White Miracle".