“Start-Up” Actor Nam Da Reum Stuns The Nation By Enlisting In The Military At Just 19-Years-Old
It’s become a well-known fact that all eligible male Korean citizens in the nation must serve their mandatory military service. All healthy males from ages 18-28 are required to enlist and partake in their national duty for 1.5 years, including all of our favorite stars. To elongate their stay in the Korean entertainment industry, however, our favorite male stars will try to prolong their enlistment for as long as they can.
Due to this, it is more common to see male celebrities enlist closer to the age of 30—which may be the exact reason why Nam Da Reum‘s enlistment came as such a shock.
Actor Nam Da Reum, who has been acting since 2009, recently began to see a surge in popularity following his appearance in tvN‘s Start-Up. The talented actor showed off his abilities as a young Han Ji Pyeong (Kim Seon Ho) and has been smooth sailing ever since. Following his appearance in the tvN series, Nam Da Reum was cast in several other productions, such as Strange, Sinkhole, The 8th Night and as the male lead in The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim.
In addition to that, the shock was even greater since the actor barely made the enlistment age at just 19-years-old (international age). On February 1, Nam Da Reum’s mother took to her personal Instagram page to share the news of her son’s sudden enlistment date.
In a heartfelt letter, this is what she had to say.
I hope everyone has a wonderful 2022 and a Happy New Year.
My son, whom I have not spent more than 3 days apart since his birth, will be leaving his home for 18 months in one week.
Ever since he was younger, he always shared his plans to enlist in the army at 20-years-old (Korean age). Due to various reasons, he had to push his enlistment back by one year,,,my heart and I are still not fully ready yet so I’m worriedㅜㅜ
Following his enlistment date confirmation last fall, everyone around us became more concerned for the mother who has to send off her son, rather than the son who has to go serve in the military. As I usually do, I will remain strong as I spend my time. Please send your support so that Da Reum may serve and return well.
— @namdareum_mom/Instagram
Upon reading this, netizens gathered online to send their words of encouragement to the actor, with many having a hard time understanding why the 19-year-old (international age) actor enlisted so early.
- “Da Reum-ah. I can’t believe Da Reum is going to the armyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ I think it’s a good idea to go early but ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ hurry back so I can see you then.”
- “Whoa. Da Reum-ah, serve wellㅠㅠㅠㅠ!!!!”
- “Wasn’t Da Reum still a student thoughㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ.”
- “Da Reum is already going to the army…?”
- “Hurry back so that you can be case as adult characters. He grew up well.”
- “He’s going so early. Serve well.”
- “Da Reum is already going to the army? ㅠㅠ Serve well!!”
Nam Da Reum will be enlisting in his mandatory military service on February 8, 2022 at 19-years-old. He will return from his duties sometime around August 2023. Until then, be sure to check out the talented actor in his upcoming productions!
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