

“Monbebe like to see new things,” Minhyuk points out, and Hyungwon adds that the best thing about the movie is showing fans “different sides” of them. At the meetings, the five of them take turns to express their opinions and visions for the performance stage it is clear that they know exactly what they want to show their fans, and what their fans would want to see. Viewers are also brought along to production meetings, dance practices and even a re-recording session that showed both the members’ serious and lighthearted sides, particularly Joohoney’s. “We have to generate the energy of six members with just five,” adding how this can be “a risk”.

“It’s confusing,” admits Minhyuk, while Joohoney explains how performing with one less member isn’t as easy as it looks.
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But the absence of their leader is something that the group address candidly, as they’re shown discussing how to rework the choreography and the songs’ parts for five. Shownu can still be seen in the movie, of course: there are throwbacks of him in MONSTA X’s emotional first-ever music show win with ‘Dramarama’ in 2017 and their US promotions in early 2020. Described as a “gift to their fandom” – known as Monbebe – the movie is also interspersed with archive footage from past performances, along with insights from staff members and one-on-one interviews with all the members sans leader Shownu, who’s currently enlisted in the military. Their collective confidence and self-assuredness is evident throughout their first-ever concert film, which brings viewers behind the scenes as they prepare for the performances filmed exclusively for it. READ MORE: The 25 best K-pop songs of 2021.

Fast forward to 2021, and they are now considered “seniors” in the industry, but as Kihyun emphasises, “We didn’t fall from the moon, we climbed the stairs step by step, little by little.” Early footage of Shownu, Minhyuk, Kihyun, Hyungwon, Joohoney and I.M shows them as young, wide-eyed trainees, eager to show their potential and talent in hopes of achieving their respective showbiz dreams. In the opening scenes of MONSTA X: The Dreaming, we see the beginnings of the K-pop group that would eventually come to be known as MONSTA X.
