Nam Joo-hyuk is a model and actor from South Korea. His most well-known roles have been in the television shows Bride of the Water God, Who Are You: School 2015, and Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo. Additionally, he has contributed to a few music videos for well-known performers. Regarding the accomplishments of the young Korean celebrity, he has received several accolades for his acting work.
Bio, Education, and Family
On February 22, 1994, Nam Joo-hyuk was born in Busan, South Korea’s Yeongdo District. Nam participated on the basketball team for three years at Gyeongnam Middle School because he wanted to play professionally. The 1.87-meter-tall actor spent three years as a middle school basketball player. However, after suffering an injury, he had to have surgery on both of his legs, ending his hopes of playing for the national team. That did not, however, diminish his passion for the game. He was granted the chance to meet Stephen Curry in 2017 during an episode of the Korean variety show Infinite Challenge. He even triumphed in a one-on-one contest against the NBA superstar. He won the K-Plus-sponsored Top Model competition after relocating to Seoul. Nam soon afterward agreed to an exclusive modeling agency deal.
His upbringing was spent in a low-income home without a restroom. He didn’t eat noodles for a whole year in third grade, but that didn’t stop him from working harder in class.
Relationship
Since Yuk is one of the most attractive celebrities in Korea, people are often curious about what a perfect girlfriend would be for Nam Joo-Hyuk. The actor stated in one of his interviews that he liked Lee Sung Kyung’s portrayal of Kim Bok Joo’s attitude and demeanor. He expressed his admiration for Bok Joo’s treatment of her partner. He is looking for someone who will always be there for him. The actor is indifferent to a person’s physical attributes as long as they are in love and caring for one another. Speaking of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, Nam Joo-Hyuk and Lee Sung-Kyung brought the love tale between Bok Joo and Joon Hyung to life. Joo Hyuk shared a picture of himself and Sung Kyung in mid-January 2017, leading some of their admirers to believe that the two of them were already dating.
After a while, online fans noticed the two during a Coldplay performance in Seoul. Fans of NamLee responded to the image on various social media networks with varying degrees of passion. As soon as the rumor started to circulate, YG Entertainment, the actress’s agency, verified it. When they confirmed it, fans lost their minds. Sadly, their romance continued for several months. Fans of Nam Joo-Hyuk are optimistic that the two would reconcile since, surprisingly, he has maintained a photo of Lee Sung Kyung on his Instagram account even after their breakup. All NamLee fans will always hold a special place in their hearts for the love tale between Lee Sung-Kyung and Nam Joo-Hyuk. The friendship between Ji Soo and Nam Joo Hyuk, however, is still going strong. Since the two have been great friends for so long, some have begun to believe that they are brothers or perhaps even twins. Ji Soo went so far as to say that the first thing he does when he gets to Joo Hyuk’s house is climb in bed with him and watch TV. For the time being, Joo-Hyuk may find that dating his closest buddy suffices.
Career
Model Nam made her runway debut in 2013 for SONGZIO Homme’s 2014 S/S collection. He made appearances in the 2014 music videos for fellow YG Entertainment singer Akdong Musician’s songs 200% and Give Love. He soon made his stage debut in the television drama The Idle Mermaid, playing a supporting part. In KBS’s coming-of-age teen drama Who Are You: School 2015, Nam received his first significant role as Han Yi-an, a high school student going through growing pains including a crush on a classmate and injuries that hamper his swimming career.
His performance in the series brought him recognition, and he went on to win other awards, such as the Popularity Award at the 2015 KBS Drama Awards and the Best New Actor at the 4th APAN Star Awards. He portrayed minor parts in the historical drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo and the college romance serial Cheese in the Trap in 2016. Nam joined the cast of the variety show Three Meals a Day that same year. Then, he co-starred with Lee Sung-kyung in his second starring role as a skilled yet lighthearted swimmer named Jung Joon-hyung in the young sports drama Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo. Nam gained increased public exposure and positive praise for his work in the series.
He starred as the lead in tvN’s fantasy romance series The Bride of Habaek in 2017, playing the role of a conceited Water God vying for his rightful kingdom opposite Shin Se-Kyung. Then, in 2018, Nam made his big screen debut in the historical drama The Great Battle. The Korea Herald’s Yoon Mi-sik praised Nam’s performance, saying that he “delivers a rock-solid portrayal of a wavering youth who is unsure of what is right or wrong.” He won the coveted Blue Dragon Award for Best New Actor as a result of his performance in the movie.
Alongside Han Ji-min and Kim Hye-ja, Nam participated in the fantasy romance drama The Light In Your Eyes in 2019, earning praise for his performance. Nam featured in two television shows in 2020: Start-Up, a romantic series on TVN, and The School Nurse Files, a supernatural criminal thriller on Netflix. In the same year, Nam appeared in another romantic picture, Josée, which was a reimagining of the Japanese film Josee, the Tiger and the Fish from 2003. Han Ji-min, Nam’s co-star from The Light In Your Eyes, is back together in the movie. In 2021, Nam was listed in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia list in the “Entertainment & Sports” category, because of the popularity of The School Nurse Files and Start-Up. Nam later co-led the TV drama Twenty-Five Twenty-One alongside Kim Tae-ri.
The show debuted in February 2022 and chronicles the tale of a man and woman who fall in love while navigating the 1998 IMF crisis. As a result of his portrayal of Baek Yi-jin, he garnered positive reviews. The Korean media site OSEN called Nam the “symbol of youth” and praised his acting abilities, which gave rise to the “Joohyuk’s Pain” syndrome. His “solid physique, warm-hearted visuals, and deep sensibility” made him “look like a character in a teen comic,” according to writer Kim Bo-ra. Kim continues, “[Nam’s] affectionate warm voice and clear gaze make viewers’ hearts flutter and fall for Baek Yi-jin.”
Remember, which debuted in theatres on October 26, 2022, starring Nam. He portrayed a young man who aids a person suffering from Alzheimer’s in exacting retribution. One critic praised his portrayal for being able to “show sympathy that transcends generations in a way only [Nam] can.” Based on Kim Gyu-san’s drawing of the same name for the Naver webtoon, Nam played the lead in the drama Vigilante in 2023. He played a police student attending college who covertly functions as the vigilante of the title.
Drama
- Here
- Vigilante (2023)
- Twenty-Five Twenty-One (2022)
- Start-Up (2020)
- The School Nurse Files (2020)
- The Light in Your Eyes (2019)
- The Bride of Habaek (2017)
- Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (2016)
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016)
- Cheese in the Trap (2016)
- Glamorous Temptation (2015)
- Who Are You: School (2015)
- Surplus Princess (2014)
Movie
- Remember (2022)
- Josee (2020)
- The Great Battle (2018)
Special
- Strong Woman Do Bong Soon Special (2017)
- Cheese in the Trap SP (2016)
TV Show
- Unexpected Business Season 1 (2021)
- Three Meals a Day: Mountain Village (2019)
- Coffee Friends (2019)
- Omniscient Interfering View (2018)
- Candy in My Ear Season 1 (2016)
- Three Meals a Day: Gochang Village (2016)
- Celebrity Bromance (2016)
- Off To School (2014)
- Saturday Night Live Korea Season 5 (2014)
- Running Man (2010)
- Radio Star (2007)
- Infinite Challenge (2005)
- Entertainment Weekly (1984)