Nam Joo-hyuk is a South Korean actor and model, born on February 22, 1994, in Busan being the only son of his parents. He grew up in his hometown until he was 16 and moved to his home in Suwon and to this day he still lives there..
He began his career as a model in 2013, debuting at the SONGZIO Homme Spring/Summer 2014 collection. Nam transitioned into acting, making his television debut with a small role in the 2014 drama “The Idle Mermaid.” He gained recognition for his role in the popular teen drama “Who Are You: School 2015,” which led to more prominent roles in dramas such as “Cheese in the Trap,” “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo,” and “The Bride of Habaek.”
In addition to his television roles, Nam has appeared in films like “The Great Battle” and “Josee.” He has also hosted the music program “Inkigayo” and participated in the reality show “Three Meals a Day: Fishing Village.”
Throughout his career, Nam has received numerous awards, including the Best New Actor award at the 36th MBC Drama Awards for his role in “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo” and the Best Actor award at the 13th Asian Film Awards for his performance in “The Great Battle.”
Facts
- Debut as a model: As a model on October 17, 2013; SONGZIO Homme Spring / Summer collection.
- Debut as an actor: As an actor on August 7, 2014
- Education:
- Kyungnam Middle School
- Day School
- Seoul Hoseo University of the Arts (internship and model)
- Languages: Korean (mother tongue) and English (fluent).
- Hobbies: Listening to music, playing basketball, going to the movies.
- Best Friend: Ji Soo
- Religion: Protestant
- He is in the basketball team ‘수원 비상’ (Suwon B) as a defender.
- He likes listening to music, his favorite group is Busker Busker.
- Nam Joo Hyuk didn’t go to college. Because he thought it was not necessary.
- He was reading a book about dreams and future.
- He likes to dress in casual clothes even though he is a model.
- He wishes to do a variety show that talks about sports.
- He doesn’t have a favorite brand, he said he buys whatever he finds beautiful.
- He learned a serious career in modeling.
- He didn’t study acting.
- One day Nam Joo Hyuk looked at a hairdressing magazine and realized that his dream was to be a model.
- His parents did not allow him to join the modeling academy. He would hold auditions without his parents’ knowledge.
- In free time, he wants to go to the movies alone, play basketball with his friends, travel around Korea and lastly, be the rest at home.
- He has a strong resemblance to CNBLUE’s Lee Jung Shin, they have even been close friends for a while, as they were both models and B.I.G.’s Heedo.
- Park Hae Jin and Nam Joo Hyuk held a free hug event due to the popularity of Cheese in the Trap.
- He made a special appearance at MAMAs 2014 along with SISTAR, Junggigo, Block B’s P.O and actor Lee Jong Hyuk.
- He stated in Running Man program that he had a one-sided love for 3 years when he was in high school, they were together for 50 days until he was dumped.
- In Red Velvet’s WGM Joy said that maknae Yeri likes him.
- As shown in Who Are You: School 2015, one of his favorite sports is basketball and in fact, he is very good at it.
- On November 23, 2015, Nam Joo Hyuk’s agency YG Entertainment made an official statement, saying, “He is positively considering the role in ‘Moon Lovers’. Right now we are just waiting for a final decision.”
- On April 24, 2017, it is confirmed that he is in a relationship with Lee Sung Kyung, a source from YG Entertainment confirmed the news and stated, “After talking to them we confirmed that after being friends since their modeling days, the couple developed romantic feelings for each other and are now dating.”
- On August 18, 2017, it was revealed that Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk have ended their relationship.
- It is ranked #23 of the 100 most handsome faces in ” the 100 most handsome faces 2017″.
- On April 6, 2020, Management SOOP confirmed that the agency signed an exclusive contract with Nam Joo Hyuk, and it was confirmed that he had left YG Entertainment.
- In early June 2022, a person who claimed to have been bullied by Nam Joo Hyuk during his school days gave an interview to a media outlet about his alleged experience. Nam Joo Hyuk’s agency, Management SOOP, firmly denied the allegations. Days later, they announced that they had taken legal action against the reporter, the accuser and the publication in which the interview was first published.
- A week later a second individual came forward and claimed to have been a victim of school violence at the hands of the actor and his friends during high school. SOOP denied this second round of allegations as well.
- On July 6, 2022, another media outlet reported that they had obtained evidence from a third accuser, this time a woman, who claims that Nam Joo Hyuk and his friends had bullied and sexually harassed her during her senior year of high school. This third accuser provided text messages from a KakaoTalk group chat where she had been forcibly invited against her will. The accuser revealed that she reported the incident to the school at the time and the perpetrators’ punishment was mandatory community service within the school. She also claimed that, at the time, the perpetrators only apologized when their teacher forced them to do so. Management SOOP later issued an official statement confirming that the text messages provided by the third accuser were real, but claimed that they were an out-of-context fragment of a larger image. The agency also confirmed that the incident had ended with an apology at the school.
- On January 31, 2023, a source from Nam Joo Hyuk’s agency, Management SOOP, shared that the actor was accepted into the military police force and will enlist in the police squadron on March 20.
