In an interview over drinks with news outlet Ilgan Sports, MONSTA X took time to look back on how far they have come and what lies ahead.

Having debuted in May 2015, the group will soon be in their fourth year following their third year anniversary later this month. Minhyuk shared, “It still feels like we are rookies. They have been the fastest three years of my life. It is amazing that we are reaching our fourth year.”

Wonho continued, “I think other groups are still confused over whether we are rookies or senior artists. I think other groups tend to see us as junior artists,” and Kihyun added, “Thinking about it, we have really done a lot over three years, so I think time went by really quickly.”

On their continuous growth since debut, Wonho commented, “I think it’s thanks to the fans who have worked hard for us. We are just doing things how we have always done them, but I think it’s because our fans are supporting us well.”

Minhyuk agreed and added, “We really do a lot of performances, so I think our choreography, skills, and ease on stage are improving.”

When asked why they have even higher popularity outside of Korea, Shownu responded, “I think it might be because I.M is good at English.”

Wonho revealed that outside of Korea, they seem to receive the best response in Japan or the United States. “A lot of people recognize us [there]. I think Japan is the country where we feel the greatest reactions when walking on the streets.”

Minhyuk commented, “I hope we can receive more love in Japan and try a dome concert.”

The members shared that for their upcoming world tour, they plan on showcasing a lot of different choreography. “We will continuously show powerful choreography without getting worn out. There are also unit stages. We worked hard on discussing the performance setlist. It seems that we will perform at least 25 tracks, and all but five or six stages will include choreography,” Wonho said.

MONSTA X was asked about their upcoming goals, to which Wonho replied, “We want to receive a daesang (grand prize) at a music awards ceremony. We plan on working each year with a daesang as the goal, because it’s good to have big goals. Also, you never know what could happen. We want to receive a daesang one day.”

Minhyuk chose as his goal, “Artist of the Year. Of course I want to receive Song of the Year and Album of the Year, but I want to receive Artist of the Year the most, because it means you are the artist that represents that year.”

Jooheon chimed in, “All of us have the goal of receiving a daesang.”

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