Nam Joo Hyuk, happy birthday! The Korean superstar is celebrating his 28th birthday. Hallyu Star was born in the South Korean city of Busan. He aspired to be a basketball player as a child and played on the school team for three years. However, a fatal injury cut short his evolving basketball career, and he shifted his focus to the performing arts. After coming to Seoul, he won the K-Plus-sponsored Top Model competition. Nam Joo Hyuk soon obtained an exclusive deal with the modelling agency. He began his career as a model and quickly moved on to acting gigs.
Here are some facts every fan should know about Nam Joo Hyuk
1. He started out as a model
Joo Hyuk chose to try modelling at the age of 19 by entering a contest hosted by YG KPlus under YG Entertainment. Following his victory, he got several modelling jobs, including an appearance at the 2014 Seoul Fashion Week. Throughout his successful modelling career, he was able to acquire more coveted tasks. He was designated Dior Men’s first Korean ambassador in 2019 and Dior Beauty Korea’s official ambassador in 2021
2. He won an award for his debut film in 2018
In 2018, Joo Hyuk got the lead part in The Great Battle, a historical action film set in the late 7th century. That same year, he received the Blue Dragon Film Awards’ Best New Actor Award for his role in the movie.
3. His breakout role was for “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo”
Joo Hyuk rose to fame after starring as Jung Joon-Hyung in MBC’s Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo in 2016. In the coming-of-age love drama, he co-starred with Lee Sung Kyung. It was his second time playing a swimmer in a series, which helped him gain a dedicated worldwide fanbase!
4. He’s handled by Management SOOP
Joo Hyuk departed from YG Entertainment in 2020 to join Management SOOP, a South Korean acting agency founded in 2011. This firm also includes great actors like Gong Yoo, Choi Woo Shik, Seo Hyun Jin, and his Start-Up co-star Bae Suzy.
5. He’s appeared in a number of music videos
Joo Hyuk’s experience in front of the camera did not begin with the TV dramas for which he is most known. He originally starred in the music videos of K-pop duo group Akdong Musician, better known as Akmu, a fellow artist in his old agency, YG Entertainment, before becoming the sought-after actor he is now.
Joo Hyuk got a prominent part in Twenty-Five Twenty-One, his fifth drama with tvN, two years after his legendary portrayal of Nam Do-san in Start-Up. Twenty-Five Twenty-One is a bright, lighthearted drama about the love tale of fencing athlete Na Hee-do (Kim Tae Ri) and working student Baek Yi-jin (Nam Joo Hyuk). The drama takes place in 1998, during the aftermath of Korea’s IMF crisis.
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