Namkoong Min

Namkoong Min (Hangul: 남궁민, born March 12, 1978) is a South Korean actor, director and screenwriter. He first gained recognition with neo-noir film A Dirty Carnival (2006), 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 Min 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 Daesung 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. After his graduation on August 31, 2006, he worked as a Social Service Agent for 18 months at Korea Army Training Center in Nonsan. Career Namkoong Min debuted as an actor in the film Bungee Jumping of Their Own as the protagonist's best friend, and subsequently appeared in the movie Bad Guy as the female lead's boyfriend. In 2002, Namkoong featured in the sitcom Dae Bak Family and attracted attention with his performance. Since then, he appeared in the television series and single-act dramas such as Rose Fence, Pearl Necklace, Mould Flower and After Love. Namkoong also became known as "little Bae Yong-joon" due to his resemblance with the actor. In 2004, Namkoong starred in the KBS daily drama My Lovely Family, which garnered over 30% in ratings and led to increased recognition for the actor.