Actor You Need to Know: Nam Ji-hyun

In Lee Sang-yeob’s romantic comedy-drama Shopaholic Louis, aka Shopping King Louie (2016), Ko Bok-shil (Nam Ji-hyun) plays a pretty country yokel. She is also nimble on her feet and adaptive to situations, notwithstanding her lack of technological knowledge. In Seoul, she meets Louis (Seo In-guk), a man with no recollections of his past who, in truth, is a conglomerate’s heir. Since he was raised in a privileged and protected setting, he used retail therapy as a coping mechanism for loneliness.

Bok-shil is initially taken aback by Louis’ lavish expenditures, being unaware of his origins. Yet over time, she starts encouraging him to merely buy the basics or little treats of bliss. In the process, she discovers that everyone’s basic needs differ based on personal values, which influence how people conduct their lives and, consequently, how they make purchases. As the story develops, Bok-shil and Louis grow into an affectionate bond that culminates in love.

Shopaholic Louis was Nam’s first lead role in a drama, and her distinguished performance served as a springboard for subsequent offers that put her in the lead alongside notable actors. She debuted in the Korean entertainment scene early on, gradually transitioning into one of the industry’s burgeoning actors thanks to her efforts in East of Eden (2008), Queen Seondeok (2009), Will It Snow for Christmas? (2009), Angel Eyes (2014), and What Happens to My Family? to name just a few. Each of Nam’s characters demonstrated her precise expressiveness, revealing her range in how she delivers her dialogues and actions.

As Ji Chang-wook’s suspicious partner, the actress pulled off a seamless romantic lead in 2017’s legal crime rom-com drama Suspicious Partner. Her portrayal of Eun Bong-hee made headlines amassing rave reviews. For the part, she received the Excellence Award, Actress in a Wednesday–Thursday Drama at the 25th SBS Drama Awards that year. Throughout the story, she conveys most vividly how Bong-hee first warms to Noh Ji-wook (Ji), the brainiac prosecutor, and later is skeptical of his feelings for rejecting her before. The plot chronicles Ji-wook who eventually decides to represent Bong-hee, (his apprentice on a murder case) who abruptly becomes a suspect after her ex-boyfriend’s dead body is discovered in her residence with no alibi.

Throughout its run, Suspicious Partner had impressive numbers for streaming, popularity, and brand reputation, which boosted Nam’s prominence.

Give her a character, and the person comes to life with Nam’s visage and being. Think of her as Yeon Hong-shim from 100 Days My Prince (2018), a former noblewoman who now manages Joseon’s first all-solution agency in a village while posing as a peasant girl. Nam’s adept juggling of several shifts in her persona—at times fiercely independent, other times crude—while bickering with yet gradually growing to love Na Won-deuk (Crown Prince Lee Yul, played by EXO D.O.)—she beautifully alternates between becoming his object of contempt and affection. The series was an international hit, becoming the 12th highest-rated K-drama in cable television history.

From 2004 to the present, Nam has come a long way, starting out as one of the industry’s most supremely talented child artists to becoming an established Korean actress through a range of roles in films, television, or other projects of sorts, adding finesse and shine to her portrayals. She can smoothly glide into the skin of a webtoon creator like Shin Ga-hyun in 365: Repeat (2020) or a news reporter like Oh In-kyung in Little Women (2022). And the tenacity with which she performs speaks to her potential and popularity.