Nichkhun | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Nichkhun in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nichkhun Buck Horvejkul |
| Born | June 24, 1988 Rancho Cucamonga, California, U.S.[1][2][unreliable source?] |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | JYP |
| Member of | |
| Formerly of | One Day |
| Website | Nichkhun's profile on 2PM's Website |
Nichkhun Buck Horvejkul[3] (Thai: นิชคุณ หรเวชกุล; RTGS: Nitchakhun Horawetchakun; born June 24, 1988), better known mononymously as Nichkhun (Korean: 닉쿤), is a Thai American[4][5][6] rapper, singer, songwriter, actor and model who is currently based in South Korea as a member of the South Korean boy band 2PM.
Nichkhun was born in Rancho Cucamonga, California, U.S. to Thai Chinese parents and is a dual national of Thailand and the United States.[7][8][9] His maternal grandparents emigrated to Thailand from Hainan, and he has said that he has extended family and distant ancestors from Guangzhou.[8][10] His mother, Yenjit Horvejkul (née Mekworewut), is the chief executive officer of her family's pharmaceutical business, Union Medical, which imports pharmaceutical products from abroad and is a major government contractor.[11][12][13] He comes from a wealthy background, which earned him the nickname "Thai Prince" in South Korea.[11] The second of four children, Nichkhun has an older brother Nichan Bert (born September 11, 1986),[14] and two younger sisters, Nichthima Yanin (born July 22, 1990)[15] and Nachjaree (Chereen) (born October 20, 1994).
After moving back to Thailand, the family resided in the Bangkok suburbs and Nichkhun and his siblings attended Thai-medium schools. He had no inclination towards the performing arts as a child and was a competitive badminton player.[16] At the age of twelve, he boarded at Wanganui Collegiate School in New Zealand for a year and a half and was sent to attend Etiwanda High School with his brother in Rancho Cucamonga, California.[a] He was scouted by a scout manager of JYP Entertainment at the Los Angeles Korean Music Festival as a high school senior and offered a trainee contract, despite having no background in singing or dancing.[19] In 2006 he moved to South Korea for training, becoming the first non-ethnic Korean trainee at the company. He first appeared through Mnet's Hot Blood, a program that showed the intense physical training that 13 male trainees had to go through for the opportunity to debut in either a four-member ballad group (2AM) or a seven-member dance group (2PM) under JYP Entertainment.[20]
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Main article: 2PM |
On September 4, 2008, Nichkhun debuted as part of 2PM in their first single "10 Points out of 10 Points" (Korean: "10점 만점에 10점") from their single album "Hottest Time of the Day". They have released five studio albums in Korea and four studio albums in Japan.
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Nichkhun was one of the hosts for the Korean Music Wave in Bangkok in 2010, 2011, and 2013. In 2010, along with Taecyeon and Yoon Eun-hye, Nichkhun played one of the main characters in a 12-minute music video drama for Cass Beer, which was released on February 8.[21] He also hosted JYP's talent competition Superstar Survival. In June 2010, he was cast in the second season of the variety show We Got Married, pairing up with Victoria of f(x). The couple, known as Khuntoria, was featured on the show leaving in September 2011.[22] In 2011, Nichkhun appeared in the music video of the single "Touch (觸動)" by Taiwanese Mandopop artist Will Pan, which premiered on January 31. He also starred in the Japanese live-adaptation film of Ouran High School Host Club as Lawrence, the president of a Singaporean corporation.[23]
In 2012, Nichkhun starred in a Thai movie for the first time Seven Something and took on the role of a young marathon runner. The romantic anthology film was produced by Thailand's film studio and distributor GTH and released on July 26, 2012.[24][unreliable source?]
In 2013, he filmed for the Chinese TV series One and a Half Summer, where he plays the lead character. The series aired between June and July 2014.[25] Nichkhun was appointed “Friend of UNICEF” on April 9, 2013.[26][27] Since then, he has participated in several field visits to promote children's rights and increase awareness of children's issues. Nichkhun has played an important role in helping UNICEF to mobilize funds to help children in Thailand and across the world, especially during emergency situations. As a result, in March 2015, Nichkhun has been awarded a recognition plaque from UNICEF Thailand for his dedication and hard work.[28]
In 2014, Japanese network NTV's Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo mystery drama special was broadcast on January 4. Nichkhun took on the role of a young student who was involved in a serial murder case set in the jungles of Malaysia.[29][unreliable source?] Nichkhun started filming for his Chinese drama Looking for Aurora in June. The drama held its production press conference in Shenzhen on August 28.[30][unreliable source?] In August, Nichkhun also debuted as a designer[31] and released bag collection in collaboration with Korean fashion brand ‘rosa.K.’ The ‘ROSA.K x Nichkhun Collaboration’ consisted of three different lines: Dustin, Lawnick, and Dave, and the showcase was held on August 26, 2014.[32][unreliable source?] Nichkhun teamed up with CNBLUE's Jung Yong-hwa, B1A4's Baro, Infinite's L, and Winner's Mino for project group Lucky Boys (Super 5) for the 2014 SBS Gayo Daejun. Nichkhun and Baro also hosted the show.[33]
In 2015, Nichkhun made a cameo appearance in the Chinese movie Forever Young, starring Li Yi Feng and Zhang Hui We,[34] and a Thai movie Touch the Sky - Chalui.[35] Nichkhun also became a mentor on a Chinese music reality show Youth Trainee on Zhejiang Television.[36]
In 2016, Nichkhun and actor Lee Jung-jin released a travel essay and photobook called '여행, 바람을 품은 지도' (Journey, Map that embraces the Wind) on May 3. The photos in the book were taken during their trip to Hawaii, USA.[37]
In 2017, 2PM held their final concerts before their first members enlisted and Nichkhun began focusing more on solo activities. He starred in his first Korean-language role, playing a doctor on JTBC's web series Magic School.[38][unreliable source?] In September, Nichkhun announced his first-ever solo Asia fan meeting tour since making his debut in 2008. His fan meetings 'Nichkhun (of 2PM) 1st Asia Fan Meeting Tour <Khunvitation>' were held in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan between November 29–30 and December 13–14, respectively. His fan meeting <Khunvitation> in Seoul, South Korea, was held on December 3.[39][40]
In 2018, Nichkhun continued his fan meeting tour in Thailand and China.[39] He portrayed the half-Japanese, half-Thai boyfriend of Urassaya Sperbund's character in Brother of the Year, which ranked No. 1 in Thai box offices and became the second highest-grossing Thai movie of the year.[41] Nichkhun released his first solo mini album Me in Japan on December 19, 2018 and all songs in the album were composed by him. Prior to the release of his album, Nichkhun held his first solo concert "NICHKHUN (From 2PM) Premium Solo Concert 2018 HOME" in Osaka on November 23 and 24, and in Tokyo from December 20 to 22.[42][unreliable source?] Nichkhun's Chinese web drama Shall We Fall in Love (勇往直前恋上你) premiered on Tencent on December 27, 2018.[43]
Nichkhun traveled to work in several countries in 2018, especially to shoot for travel and food programs, including JTBC and Thailand's ONE31 The Team Chef[44][45] and JTBC Let's Eat Dinner Together[46] in South Korea, tvN Galileo: Awakened Universe[47][48] in the United States, tvN Asia One Night Food Trip – International Edition 2[49] in the Philippines, tvN Asia Wok The World[50] in Singapore, and The Tourism Authority of Thailand Experience Thailand and More[51] in Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia.
In 2019, Nichkhun released his solo album Me in South Korea on February 18.[52] The album was available for streaming in South Korea, China, and Thailand. A special song called "Umbrella" dedicated to his fans was released in five different languages Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Thai, and English.[53] Nichkhun held his solo concerts 'Home' in Seoul on May 11 and 12. He also held his encore concerts called 'Nichkhun Solo Concert 'Home' Encore in Japan ~Sweet 624~' on June 27 and 28 in Tokyo.[54][unreliable source?] On July 27, Nichkhun held his solo concert called Nichkhun Solo Concert 'Home' in Bangkok with Dr.Jill in Thailand.[55] Nichkhun started filming for Viu Original Thai series called My Bubble Tea in July 2019[56][57] and a Thai horror movie, CJ Major Entertainment's Cracked in August 2019.[58][59] On October 28, Nichkhun announced the release of his second mini album in Japan titled 'Story of...' and solo concerts called "NICHKHUN (From 2PM) Premium Solo Concert 2019-2020 'Story of...'" [60] On December 19, his album 'Story of...' was released in digital format simultaneously in Japan and Korea. The physical format of the album was released on December 25.[61] Nichkhun held his solo concerts 'Story of...' in Osaka on December 26 and 27.[62]
In 2020, Nichkhun continued his tour "NICHKHUN (From 2PM) Premium Solo Concert 2019-2020 'Story of...'" in Tokyo on January 6 and 7.[63]
On May 22, 2020, his Thai romantic comedy My Bubble Tea began airing on Viu and starred Phiravich Attachitsataporn and Manasaporn Chanchalerm. The Viu Original drama revolves around Manasaporn's character who concocts a special tea so that she can make her boss (played by Nichkhun) fall in love with her.[64][57] The highly-rated drama won several awards at the 2020 Asian Academy Creative Awards, including a Best Supporting Actor (Thailand) for his role.[65]
On September 21, 2020, Nichkhun and Day6's Jae Park took on role as a member of crime-fighting boyband "4 2 Sing" in season three of Big Hero 6: The Series.[66][67] Nichkhun played twins Dae and Hyun-ki, one half of the boy band "4 2 Sing", while Jae Park played another set of twins, Kwang-sun and Ye Joon, also "4 2 Sing" members.
On October 25, 2020, Nichkhun and 2019 Miss Korea Kim Sae-yeon hosted the Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards.[68]
In 2021, Nichkhun and Hwang Chan-sung made special cameo appearances in Vincenzo to support their bandmate Ok Taec-yeon.[69] He featured in the single "How Cute is This?" (น่ารักอะไรเบอร์นี้) by Thai pop star Saksit Vejsupaporn, his first time rapping in Thai, but was unable to participate in the music video as tightened COVID-related restrictions prevented him from returning to Thailand.[70]
In 2022, the horror movie Cracked was finally released after having production repeatedly delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He then starred in the Viu Thailand original series Finding the Rainbow as one of the three protagonists alongside Sushar Manaying and Itthipat Thanit. His role as Thai-American businessman Wilson won critical acclaim and he was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 2023 Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards.[71]
Nichkhun starred in the Hollywood film The Modelizer, a romantic comedy directed by Keoni Waxman, alongside Byron Mann, Rayssa Bratillieri, Dominika Kachlik, and Kenneth Tsang. It was filmed on location in Hong Kong.[72] Originally titled Hong Kong Love Story, it was renamed The Modelizer and released through Vertical Entertainment on July 14, 2023.[73]
Nichkhun is the first Thai national to debut in a K-pop idol group and achieve success.[74][75] Prior to his debut, the "foreigners" in the industry were predominantly either of partial Korean parentage or ethnic Koreans from the North American or Japanese diasporas. He is often mentioned as a pioneer as his popularity in South Korea further contributed to the Korean Wave (Hallyu) in Thailand, which was still an emerging market for K-pop at the time of his debut.[76][77] In 2012 he was awarded the Kerd of the Year, which recognizes the most popular and influential Thai celebrities chosen by host Woody Milintachinda and voted by the public.[78]
His public profile as a member of 2PM has made him one of the most recognizable faces in the Korean entertainment industry who hail from Southeast Asia.[79] He has been cited multiple times by South Korean and Thai government officials in diplomatic talks and was appointed the Goodwill Ambassador for the 2018 Thai Festival held in Seoul to celebrate 60 years of formal diplomatic relations between both countries.[80][81][82] Due to his fluency in English besides Korean and Thai, he has featured in tourism campaigns and presented travel documentaries sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.[83][84]
As a male citizen of Thailand, he was subject to the military draft lottery in 2009 and subsequently received an exemption from military service as his home district had met the required quota.[85][86]
On July 24, 2012, Nichkhun was involved in a vehicular collision with a motorcyclist in Gangnam. It was reported that the singer had been driving under the influence of alcohol when he crashed into a motorcycle. His BAC measured at 0.056%, thus his license was suspended. Nichkhun personally apologized for the incident, resulting in him taking a hiatus from the entertainment industry.[87]
|
For Nichkhun's work with 2PM, see 2PM discography. |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR | JPN | |||
| Me |
|
14 [88] |
9 [89] |
|
| Story Of... |
|
— | 19 [91] |
|
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | ||||
| Year | Title | Artist | Album | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "Let It Rain" | 2PM | Grown (Grand Edition) | Lyrics and music |
| 2014 | "Love Is True" | Nichkhun & Lee Jun-ho | Go Crazy! (Grand Edition) | |
| 2018 | "Home" | Nichkhun | Me | |
| "Lucky Charm" (Korean & English versions) | ||||
| "Bridge" | ||||
| "Jealous" | ||||
| "Mars" | ||||
| "Colorful Xmas" | ||||
| "Endearing" | ||||
| "Umbrella" (Korean, English & Japanese versions) | ||||
| 2019 | "Story Of..." (English & Japanese versions) | Nichkhun | Story Of... | Lyrics |
| "You" (English & Japanese versions) | Lyrics and music | |||
| "Vanilla" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | All My Love | Ok Yub's human substitute | Cameo (ep. 1) |
| 2011 | Dream High | Ri-ah's CF partner | Cameo (ep. 8) |
| Welcome to the Show | Himself | Lead role | |
| 2014 | One and a Half Summer | Zhang Hao | Lead role |
| Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo | Ma Taichi | Japanese TV movie | |
| 2015 | Looking For Aurora | Wang Yilin | Lead role |
| Yes Sir My Boss | Piak | Cameo (ep. 7–8) | |
| The Producers | Himself | Cameo (ep. 3) | |
| 2017 | Magic School | Joon | Main cast, JTBC's web drama |
| 2018 | Shall We Fall in Love | Jiang Yinan | Lead role, Tencent's web drama |
| 2019 | Thong Ek Mor Ya Tah Chaloang | Hyung Suk | Cameo (ep. 12, 14) |
| Arthdal Chronicles | Rottip | Cameo (ep. 10–12, 14) | |
| 2020 | My Bubble Tea | Boss | Viu's Thai original series |
| Big Hero 6: The Series | Dae and Hyun-ki (voice) | Guest; Episode: "Big Hero Battle" | |
| 2021 | Vincenzo | Leads of UCN drama "The Age of Stray Dogs and Wild Dogs" | Cameo (ep. 12)[92] |
| 2022 | Finding the Rainbow | Wilson | Viu's Thai Original Series |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Ouran High School Host Club | Lawrence |
| Seven Something | He | |
| Beyond the ONEDAY ~Story of 2PM & 2AM~ | Himself | |
| 2014 | Five Eagle Brothers | Policeman |
| 2015 | Touch the Sky - Chalui | Cameo |
| Forever Young | Cameo | |
| 2018 | Brother of the Year | Moji |
| 2022 | Cracked | Tim |
| 2023 | The Modelizer | Bucky[93] |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2008–2009 | Ya Shim Man Man |
| Hot Blood | |
| Idol Army (Season 3) | |
| 2009 | Wild Bunny |
| 2010 | We Got Married (Season 2) |
| 2011 | 2PM Show! |
| 2012 | KOICA'S Dream in Tanzania |
| 2015 | Oven Radio |
| Ok.Jang.Khun ReciPe | |
| 2017 | 2PM Wild Beat |
| 2018 | The Team Chef (Season 1) |
| Galileo: Awakened Universe | |
| One Night Food Trip – International Edition 2 in the Philippines | |
| 2019 | We K-Pop (Season 1) |
| 2020 | Idol on Quiz |
| 2022 | Buddy Boys[94] |
| Year | Title | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Superstar China | Hubei TV | Host |
| 2014 | |||
| If You Love | Hubei TV | with Hwang Chan-sung | |
| God & Goddess | Youku | ||
| Happy Camp | Hunan TV | with Jang Woo-young | |
| All Star Show | Youku | ||
| Tonight 80's Show | Dragon TV | with Wei Daxun | |
| Brave Heart | BTV | ||
| Dream Music Charity Event | CGV | ||
| 2015 | Youth Trainee | Zhejiang Television | with Wang Dongcheng, Shang Wenjie, and Li Quan |
| Korea-China Dream Team | Shenzhen TV | with Hwang Chan-sung | |
| Let's Go Together | Hubei TV | ||
| 2016 | Grade One: Freshman | Hunan TV | |
| Beat the Champions | Zhejiang Television | ||
| Super Girl Group | Tencent Video | ||
| 2021 | Shine! Super Brothers 2 | Youku |
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | KCON Thailand | with Minnie and BamBam | [95] |
| 2019 | KCON Thailand | with BamBam | [95] |
| 2020 | Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards | with Kim Sae-yeon | [96] |
| 2023 | 37th Golden Disc Awards | with Sung Si-kyung, Park So-dam and Lee Da-hee | [97] |
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient / Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Mnet 20's Choice Awards | Hot Mr. Beauty Award | Himself | Won |
| Tourism Authority of Thailand | PR Ambassador[98] | Won | ||
| 2010 | Nine Entertain Awards (Thailand) | Popular Vote | Nominated | |
| MBC Entertainment Awards | Popularity Award | We Got Married with Victoria Song | Won | |
| Korea Jewerly Awards | Diamond Award (with Chansung) | Himself | Won | |
| 2011 | 3rd Bugs Music Awards | OST of the Year (with Taecyeon) | "My Valentine" | Won |
| KBS Best Idol Icon Awards | Icon of the year | Himself | Nominated | |
| Mnet Media Awards | Most CHARMING Boy | Won | ||
| MTV K's very first Valentine King and Queen | Valentine King | Won | ||
| TVCF Awards | Most Popular CF Star | Nominated | ||
| 2012 | Kerd Awards (Thailand) | Kerd of the Year | Won | |
| TVCF AWARDS | CF Model of The Year | Nominated | ||
| Top Award (Thailand) | Best Rising Film Actor | Seven Something | Nominated | |
| BK Film Awards | The Eye Candy Award | Won | ||
| 6th Nine Entertain Awards (Thailand) | Popular Award | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | STYEBIBLE.PH | International Celebrity Collab | NICHKHUN for Bench | Nominated |
| Nine Entertain Awards | Popular Award | Himself | Nominated[99] | |
| Singapore Blog Awards | Most Popular Overseas Celebrity | Nominated | ||
| The Goodness Idol Thailand Awards | The 9 Idols for The King | Won | ||
| 2014 | — | Asian's Male God | Nominated[100] | |
| 2015 | Microblogging Star 2014 (China) | Weibo Star | Nominated[101] | |
| K-pop Gaon Chart Award | Social Star | Nominated | ||
| — | Asian's Male God | Nominated[102] | ||
| Micro-star Magazine (Chinese) | Star Scoreboard in February (Overseas) | Nominated[103] | ||
| UNICEF Thailand Award | Friend of UNICEF | Won[104] | ||
| Zocial Awards 2015 (Thailand) | 'Thailand Twitter Ranking'[105] | Rank #1 | ||
| Most Mentioned in Thailand on Twitter | Rank #2 | |||
| 2016 | IME Chinese Online Media Popular Award | Thailand Headlines Person of the Year Awards | Won[106] | |
| China Weibo Awards | Male God of the Year | Won[107] | ||
| VDFLY | Top Ten Handsome Asian Men | Nominated[108] | ||
| Trends Health's Healthy Role Model Awards | Most Influential Healthy Role Model Award | Himself | Won[109] | |
| 2017 | ||||
| Big Ben Award | Global Ten Outstanding Chinese Young Elites | Himself | Won[110] | |
| MEN'S UNO YOUNG Anniversary | International Artist Award | Himself | Won[111] | |
| 2018 | Chic Style Award 2018 | Popular Artist of the Year Award | Himself | Won[112] |
| Tomorrow Land Fashion Award 2018 | International Fashion Charity Artist of the Year Award | Himself | Won[113] | |
| 2018 FEIA Awards Ceremony | International Artist of the Year Award | Himself | Won[114] | |
| Thailand Headlines Person of The Year 2018 Award | Asia Superstar Award | Himself | Won[115] | |
| Recognition Award | Goodwill Ambassador of the 60th Anniversary of Thailand-Republic of Korea Diplomatic Relations |
Himself | Won[116][117] | |
| 2019 | 2019 FEIA Awards | Influential Asian Idol of the Year Award | Himself | Won [118] |
| 27th Bangkok Critics Assembly 2018 Award | Best Supporting Actor | Brother of the Year | Nominated[119] | |
| Thai Film Director Award 2019 | Best Supporting Actor | Brother of the Year | Nominated[120] | |
| 2019 Weibo Starlight Awards | Asia's Star Award | Himself | Won[121] | |
| 2019 China Fashion Awards | Asia's Most Influential Idol Award | Himself | Won[122] | |
| 2020 | Asian Academy Creative Awards 2020 | Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Thailand) | My Bubble Tea | Won[65] |
| Tatler Asia's Gen. T List 2020 | Asia's ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ | Himself | Won[123] | |
| 2021 | 2021 Weibo Starlight Awards | 'Starlight Artist' Award | Himself | Won[124] |
| 2021 IFENG Fashion Choice Awards | Asian Idol of the Year Award | Himself | Won[125][126] | |
| 2023 | Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards | Best Supporting Actor[127] | Finding the Rainbow | Nominated |
