About A Boy

Nam Joo-hyuk may have found success as one of South Korea’s top entertainers, but he remains doggedly focused on taking his career to greater heights

- JAMIE TAN

CALLING NAM JOO-HYUK AN ACTOR-MODEL doesn’t quite hit the nail on the head. The South Korean leading man and style icon isn’t just well-established in both areas, in spite of his mere 25 years, but also evidently possesses a mystique that allows him to command a vast fan base and an Instagram following that numbers in excess of 10 million. Not bad at all for a man who never had it in his head to become a model or an actor in the first place.

What Nam originally wanted was to become a professional basketball player, until his ambition got sidetracked by injury. Picking up the shattered pieces of his dream, the strapping lad found he could put his 188-centimetre athletic frame to good use on the runway. He won a modelling contest sponsored by leading South Korean agency YG KPlus and signed on with the company.

Following his debut as a runway model in 2013, Nam also found opportunity to make forays into the entertainment industry. Appearances in music videos led to supporting roles in South Korean dramas, which in turn brought him leading roles in both television and film projects.

Along the way, he also managed to pick up a string of awards. In a poetic twist that brought his career full circle, Nam was appointed brand ambassador for luxury fashion house Dior Men in 2019.

While he may have found success at a young age, Nam remains incredibly grounded and holds tightly to the work ethic that has brought him to where he is. He sees many more peaks to climb, so we are going to have much from him to look forward to.

It’s been an eventful 2019 for you, hasn’t it?