Namkoong Min

Namkoong Min (, born March 12, 1978) is a South Korean actor, director, and screenwriter. He first gained recognition with neo-noir film A Dirty Carnival, and has since given notable performances in Remember (2015–2016), Beautiful Gong Shim (2016), Good Manager (2017), Hot Stove League (2019–2020), and My Dearest (2023).

He won the Grand Prize (Daesang) at the 2020 SBS Drama Awards for Hot Stove League; the drama also gained Namkoong his third Best Actor nomination at the Baeksang Arts Awards. The next year, he received the Grand Prize at the 2021 MBC Drama Awards for The Veil.

Early life Namkoong was born on March 12, 1978, in Seoul. He has a brother, Namkoong Yoon. His father, Namkoong Hwon, was a principal of Sinneung Middle School (2005–2009). Namkoong was educated at Daeseong High School in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, and Ilsan Seongsa Elementary School. He graduated from the Chung-Ang University with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Namkoong subsequently received acclaim with neo-noir film A Dirty Carnival (2006), and drew widespread notice for his performance in melodrama Listen to My Heart (2011). Namkoong subsequently returned with a changed mindset and new-found determination. His efforts paid off when he achieved recognition for his villainous role as a serial killer in A Girl Who Sees Smells (2015), and he won the Best Villain Award at the annual 2016 DramaFever Awards. Since then, he has received praise for his performances in legal thriller Remember: War of the Son (2015–2016) and romantic comedy Beautiful Gong Shim (2016).

Namkoong's breakout role was in the hit comedy drama Good Manager (2017), where he played the central protagonist. Namkoong was praised for his "perfect amalgamation of character creation and acting" which contributed to the success of the drama.

In 2018, Namkoong starred alongside Listen to My Heart co-star Hwang Jung-eum in the romantic comedy series The Undateables.

In 2019, Namkoong starred in the medical prison drama Doctor Prisoner.

From 2019 to 2020, Namkoong starred in the sports television series Hot Stove League. The television series received positive reviews for its high quality script and attained high ratings. He played the role of the new leader of the last-place team, the Dreams. Hot Stove League won 56th Baeksang Arts Awards 2020 for best drama. Through that drama, he also received his first daesang/grand prize in his career from 2020 SBS Drama Awards.

In September 2021, Namkoong decided to renew his contract with 935 Entertainment. This is the third contract renewal.

Personal life Namkoong has been in a relationship with model Jin Ah-reum since late 2015, who he met while filming movie Light My Fire as a director and actress. They married in a private ceremony on October 7, 2022, at Hotel Shilla in Seoul. The ceremony was attended by the couple's closest family and friends, including actors Jung Moon-sung as host, and TVXQ performed the congratulatory song. Min's wife announced on June 18, 2026, that she is expecting the couples first child. On July 26, 2026, the couple welcomed a son.

Other activities Endorsements On February 6, 2023, Namkoong introduced as the new model of WELLMADE, a fashion editing shop.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2001 Bungee Jumping of Their Own Kim Sung-chul 2002 Bad Guy Hyun-soo 2006 A Dirty Carnival Min-ho 2007 Beautiful Sunday Min-woo 2015 Hot Service: A Cruel Hairdresser ( credited as production staff Light My Fire short film; credited as director/screenwriter 2016 Moonlit Motive Chowbei Chinese film 2017 Part-Time Spy Min-seok

Television series Year Title Role Notes 2002 Dae Bak Family Namkoong Min 2003 Rose Fence Han Dong-hyun Drama City – "To William" Yoon Joon-ho Wedding Story – My Love My Oppa Sung-soo Pearl Necklace Hwang Joon-ho HDTV Literature – "Mould Flower" Ki-hoon 2004 Drama City – "After Love" Eun-jae My Lovely Family Ahn Jin-gook 2005 My Rosy Life Dr. Ji Bak-sa 2006 One Fine Day Kang Dong-ha 2009 Iris Cameo 2010 Becoming a Billionaire Chu Woon-seok 2011 Listen to My Heart Jang Joon-ha / Bong Ma-roo 2012 KBS Drama Special – "Still Picture" Kim Hyun-soo Cheongdam-dong Alice So In-chan Guest (Episodes 1–3) 2013 Hur Jun, The Original Story Yoo Do-ji Unemployed Romance Kim Jong-dae 2014 I Need Romance 3 Kang Tae-yoon 12 Years Promise Yoo Joon-soo My Secret Hotel Jo Sung-gyeom 2015 A Girl Who Sees Smells Kwon Jae-hee 2015–2016 Remember Nam Gyu-man 2016 Beautiful Gong Shim Ahn Dan-tae / Seok Joon-pyo The Doctors Nam Ba-ram Guest (Episodes 13–15) 2017 Good Manager Kim Sung-ryong Man to Man Cameo Distorted Han Moo-young KBS Drama Special – "You Are Closer Than I Think" Cameo 2018 The Undateables Kang Hoon-nam 2019 Doctor Prisoner Na Yi-jae 2019–2020 Hot Stove League Baek Seung-soo 2020–2021 Awaken Do Jung-woo 2021 The Veil Han Ji-hyuk 2022 One Dollar Lawyer Chun Ji-hoon 2023 Taxi Driver 2 Cameo (episode 9) My Dearest Lee Jang-hyun 2025 Our Movie Lee Je-ha Dynamite Kiss Chun Ji-hoon Cameo (episode 9), as his character from One Dollar Lawyer 2026 The Husband Kang Tae-ju

Television shows Year Title Role Notes 2004–2005 Music Bank Host with So Yi-hyun 2014 We Got Married Season 4 Cast member with Hong Jin-young 2016 Saturday Night Live Korea Host Episode 142 2016–2017 Singing Battle Host (Pilot, Episode 1–21) 2020 I-Land Storyteller

Hosting Year Title Notes 2017 2017 KBS Drama Awards with Lee Yoo-ri, Park Soo-hong

Music video appearances Year Song title Artist 2002 "" Cool "" 2006 "The Thing That I Forget You" Lee Jung Bong 2014 "Cheer Up" Hong Jin-young 2016 "Sketch" Hyomin

Accolades Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result APAN Star Awards 2016 Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Remember: War of the Son 2021 Top Excellent Actor in a Miniseries Hot Stove League Popular Star Award, Actor 2022 Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries The Veil Asia Artist Awards 2016 Best Celebrity Award, Actor Remember: War of the Son 2017 Best Artist Award, Actor Good Manager Baeksang Arts Awards 2016 Best Actor – Television Remember: War of the Son 2017 Good Manager 2020 Hot Stove League 2024 My Dearest Grimae Awards 2020 Best Actor Hot Stove League 2023 My Dearest KBS Drama Awards 2003 Best Actor in a One-Act/Special Drama To William Best New Actor Pearl Necklace 2005 Popularity Award My Rosy Life 2012 Best Actor in a One-Act/Special Drama Still Picture 2017 Top Excellence Award, Actor Good Manager Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length Drama Best Couple Award Namkoong Min Good Manager 2019 Top Excellence Award, Actor Doctor Prisoner Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries KBS Entertainment Awards 2016 Best Entertainer Award — Variety Show Category Singing Battle Kinolights Awards 2022 Actor of the Year (Domestic) One Dollar Lawyer KMTV Music Star Contest 1999 VJ Grand Prize NamKoong Min Korean Broadcasting Awards 2017 Best Actor Good Manager Korea Drama Awards 2017 Top Excellence Award, Actor Korea PD Awards 2021 Best Actor Hot Stove League MBC Drama Awards 2011 Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Listen to My Heart 2013 Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama Hur Jun, the Original Story 2021 Grand Prize (Daesang) The Veil Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries 2023 Grand Prize (Daesang) My Dearest Best Couple Award with Ahn Eun-jin MBC Entertainment Awards 2014 New Star of the Year We Got Married SBS Drama Awards 2015 Special Award, Actor in a Miniseries A Girl Who Sees Smells 2016 Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Romantic Comedy Drama Beautiful Gong Shim Top 10 Stars Remember: War of the Son, Beautiful Gong Shim Best Couple Awards Namkoong Min Beautiful Gong Shim 2017 Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Monday–Tuesday Drama Distorted 2020 Grand Prize (Daesang) Hot Stove League Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Action Drama 2022 Grand Prize (Daesang) One Dollar Lawyer Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Romance/Comedy Drama Director's Award The Seoul Awards 2017 Best Actor Good Manager

State honors + Name of country, year given, and name of honor Country Organization Year Honor or Award South Korea Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards 2017 Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Commendation 2023 Prime Minister's Commendation

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