7 Facts About “Twenty Five Twenty One” Actor Nam Joo Hyuk That Only His True Fans Know
Twenty Five Twenty One male lead Nam Joo Hyuk is well known and cherished both in Korea and around the world. Since his debut in 2013, the model turned actor has come a long way. Here are seven facts about Nam Joo Hyuk that only his true fans know.
1. He came from poverty but turned things around for his family.
Like his K-Drama character Baek Yi Jin, Nam Joo Hyuk grew up with financial struggles. In a 2018 episode of Radio Star, Nam Joo Hyuk revealed that he lived in a struggling household. “My family had it hard back then. I ate cup noodles for a year in third grade”. He also added that his house didn’t have a bathroom. Fortunately, things started to get better after his role in KBS’s Who Are You: School 2015.
2. He used to be short.
Also on Radio Star, he revealed, “My height grew drastically in two years. I was 158cm in 7th grade and grew 30 cm in two years, becoming 184cm by 9th grade”. He added that his knee bone stuck out because of his rapid growth spurt. “My mom is on the tall side. She is 169cm”.
3. He wanted to become a basketball player, not a model or an actor.
During his studies in Gyeongnam Middle School, Nam dreamed of becoming a professional basketball player, hence he played on the basketball team for three years, however after sustaining an injury and later undergoing an operation, his basketball days soon came to an end.”
In an episode of tvN’s Unexpected Business, he revealed that his friends made fun of him after sharing his dream of becoming a model. “One day when I was a high school freshman, I had to share what I wanted to be in the future with my class. I said I wanted to become a model and everyone laughed at me”.
He decided that he would show everyone that he could do it and that he would be a model in three years. And this dream became a reality as three years later, he officially became a model.
4. He rose to fame with a music video.
He was in AKMU’s MVs and “went viral” for his visuals in it. He appeared in both “200%” and “Give Love” music videos released in 2014 and received much attention online for his visuals.
5. He is a homebody.
During an interview at the afterparty for the finale of Radiant, he talked about “staying home looking at the ceiling” being the most comfortable thing for him.
Also on Radio Star, he talked about how he likes to game at home and is quite famous for being a game fanatic in the Korean entertainment industry.
6. He has two poodles.
Nam Joo Hyuk is the dad of two adorable poodles, Ga Eul and Gob Soon.
He posts photos of them through his Instagram and are popular with his fans too.
7. He has a popular webtoon character modeled after him.
The webtoon writer for Yumi’s Cell’s previously revealed that the character Yoo Ba Bi was modeled after him. “I first referred to G-Dragon’s hair style for Ba Bi, but later referred to actor Nam Joo Hyuk. Truthfully, I didn’t create the character Ba Bi with the intent of being the lead male role. I first introduced the character to bring tension to the webtoon, but because he gained so much popularity, he became the lead role.”
