If you’ve been watching K-dramas for a long time, Nam Da Reum would be no stranger to you. You probably don’t know his name, but we bet you’re familiar with his charming face. That’s because he has already starred in over 30 dramas to date, usually as the male lead’s ~smol~ version! And guess what—he’s only 18 years old. Let’s just say that a K-drama flashback is not a flashback without him.
Get to know more about him through some of his most remarkable roles:
Nam Da Reum started as a child actor, when his mom was offered a job for him. His first project was Boys Over Flowers (BOF) in 2009 where he played the younger version of Yoon Ji Hoo (Kim Hyun Joong), aka the second lead we were all rooting for. In that year alone, he was cast in four dramas.
After BOF, Da Reum had a looooong list of K-drama appearances that followed. In 2013, he joined the cast of The Suspicious Housekeeper, a remake of the hit Japanese drama, Kaseifu No Mita. In this series, he played the third eldest son of a widowed father named Eun Se Kyul. Guys, we already feel sorry for him just by looking at this clip:
In the hit 2016 drama, Goblin, Da Reum made a cameo as Kim Soo Bok who met Kim Shin (Gong Yoo) in Canada.
Here’s the actor sporting a longer hairstyle for the 2017 historical drama The King In Love, where he played the younger version of Wang Won (Im Si Wan). He even won a Best Child Actor award for this role! Daebbak (awesome)!
Da Reum has worked with Lee Jong Suk in three projects as his mini-me: In the movie No Breathing (2013), and in K-dramas Pinocchio (2014) and While You Were Sleeping (2017). In an interview, the actor expressed his gratitude to Jong Suk for cheering on him. “I’m just grateful. I’ve played the young version of Lee Jong Suk a lot, and when we meet he greets me warmly. After the end of SBS’s ‘While You Were Sleeping,’ he sent me a message to say that I’d worked hard. I’m grateful.” Awww!
Come 2019, Da Reum transformed into a spirit and sported an even longer (and colored) hairstyle in the fantasy drama Hotel Del Luna, lead by IU and Yeo Jin Goo.
In the same year, Da Reum bagged his first leading role in JTBC’s Beautiful World. Yay! Here he played the role of a student who became a victim of school violence.
In March this year, the child actor played the young Moon Ha Won (Jung Hae In) in A Piece Of Your Mind. Looking at this post makes us emo because we can’t believe he’s now all grown up, huhu.
Da Reum’s most recent project is in the Netflix series, Start-Up (Bae Suzy and Nam Joo Hyuk) where he played the role of Han Ji Pyeong (Kim Seon Ho)’s teenage self. You will be totally absorbed in his scenes here, where he showcased his potential as a rising lead actor.
Apart from K-dramas, Nam Da Reum has also appeared in various Korean films and K-pop music videos. It has been 11 years since he debuted and yet he still continues to prove why he’s a star that will continue to shine brighter.
Nam Da Reum recently graduated from high school as seen on his mom’s Instagram account. Last year, he was admitted to the prestigious Chung-Ang University, where celebs like Park Shin Hye and Kim Soo Hyun have studied.
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Good luck with your studies, Da Reum! Hwaiting!
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