1. Early Life and Education
This section details Nam Ji-hyun's formative years, including her schooling and higher education.
1.1. Childhood and Background
Nam Ji-hyun was born on September 17, 1995, in Incheon, South Korea. She attended Incheon Baekun Elementary School, Incheon Sangjeong Middle School, and Incheon Cho-eun High School, all located in Incheon.
1.2. Education
In 2014, Nam Ji-hyun enrolled at Sogang University, majoring in Psychology. She successfully completed her degree in February 2020, demonstrating her ability to balance her academic pursuits with her active acting career.
2. Career
Nam Ji-hyun's career trajectory is explored here, from her early days as a child actress to her successful transition into leading roles and increasing popularity.
2.1. Beginnings as a Child Actress
Nam Ji-hyun began her acting career in 2002 with an appearance on MBC's Radio Report, officially debuting in the 2004 MBC drama Say You Love Me. Early in her career, she became widely recognized for portraying the younger counterparts of prominent actresses in various television series. These roles included the young Maria (played by Jang Jin-young) in SBS's Lobbyist (2007), the young Princess Shim (future Queen Soheon, played by Lee Yoon-ji) in KBS's The Great King, Sejong (2008), the young Kim Ji-hyun (played by Han Ji-hye) in MBC's East of Eden (2008), and the young Princess Deokman (played by Lee Yo-won) in MBC's Queen Seondeok (2009). Her performance as the young Deokman in Queen Seondeok was particularly impactful, establishing her as a leading child actress.
Following these successes, she continued to take on significant child roles, such as the young Han Ji-wan (played by Han Ye-seul) in SBS's Will It Snow for Christmas? (2009), the young Hwang Jung-yeon (played by Park Jin-hee) in SBS's Giant (2010), and the young Yoo Ji-sun (played by Shin Hyun-bin) in SBS's Warrior Baek Dong-soo (2011). She also starred in the one-act drama Girl Detective, Park Hae-sol (2012) and appeared in the teen drama To the Beautiful You (2012). By 2010, she was noted as the most sought-after female child actress in Korea. Her film credits during this period include A Reason to Live (2011) and Hwayi: A Monster Boy (2013). Her strong performances as a child actress earned her the Best Young Actress awards at the 2008 and 2009 MBC Drama Awards and the 2012 KBS Drama Awards.

2.2. Transition to Leading Roles and Rising Popularity
In 2014, Nam Ji-hyun continued to take on pivotal roles, portraying the young Yoon Soo-wan (played by Ku Hye-sun) in SBS's Angel Eyes and Kang Seo-wool in KBS2's family drama What Happens to My Family?. These roles further showcased her growing range as an actress.
Her career saw a significant turning point in 2016 when she secured her first lead role in MBC's romantic-comedy series Shopping King Louie, starring opposite Seo In-guk. Her performance in the drama garnered considerable praise from viewers, effectively helping her shed her child actress image and successfully venture into romantic roles. For this role, she received the Best New Actress award at the 2016 MBC Drama Awards and the Best Entertainer Award in the drama category at the 1st Asia Artist Awards.

In 2017, she took on another lead role in SBS's legal drama Suspicious Partner alongside Ji Chang-wook. This marked a reunion for the two actors, who had previously worked together as younger and older counterparts in the 2011 historical drama Warrior Baek Dong-soo. While Suspicious Partner achieved modest overall viewership, it consistently led its time slot among the key 20-49 year old demographic and topped streaming, popularity, and brand reputation charts for several consecutive weeks. Her performance earned her the Excellence Award for an Actress in a Wednesday-Thursday Drama at the 2017 SBS Drama Awards.
Nam Ji-hyun continued her ascent in 2018 by starring with D.O. of Exo in the historical romance drama 100 Days My Prince. The series proved to be a significant commercial success, becoming the twelfth highest-rated Korean drama in cable television history. Its popularity extended beyond South Korea, with the drama also being broadcast on NHK General in Japan in 2020. The final episode achieved a peak viewership rating of 14.4%.
In 2020, Nam Ji-hyun starred as Shin Ga-hyun, a perfectionist webtoon writer, in the fantasy mystery thriller 365: Repeat the Year. This series was a remake of the Japanese novel Repeat. Her performance in the drama earned her the Top Excellence Award for an Actress in a Monday-Tuesday Miniseries at the 2020 MBC Drama Awards.
In 2021, she appeared in the two-episode JTBC Drama Festa special "Off Route" as Kang Su-ji and took on the lead role of Jeong Jin in the TVING original series The Witch's Diner. The following year, in 2022, she starred as Oh In-kyung in the critically acclaimed tvN weekend mini-series Little Women. In 2023, she played Choi Soo-young in the U+MOBILETV original series High Cookie. Her recent work includes the SBS Friday-Saturday mini-series Good Partner in 2024, where she plays Han Yu-ri, and the upcoming KBS2 Wednesday-Thursday mini-series Eun-aehaneun Dojeoknima in 2025 as Hong Eun-jo.
On October 4, 2022, it was announced that Nam Ji-hyun would hold a fan meeting titled "Welcome to my house!" on November 26, 2022. However, the ticket booking schedule, originally set for November 1, was postponed to November 8 due to the Seoul Halloween crowd crush.
3. Filmography
This section lists Nam Ji-hyun's appearances in films and television series throughout her career.
3.1. Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | Shadowless Sword | young Yeon So-ha | |
2006 | My Captain Mr. Underground | Park Ji-min | |
2007 | Mapado 2: Back to the Island | Girl in the past | |
2009 | If You Were Me 4 | Park Jin-ju | segment: "Blue Birds on the Desk" |
Astro Boy | Cora | animated, Korean dubbing | |
2010 | Happy Ulleung Man | Documentary narrator | |
Family Plan | Ji-min | short film | |
Ghost (Be With Me) | segment: "Tell Me Your Name" | ||
2011 | A Reason to Live | Ji-min | |
2013 | Hwayi: A Monster Boy | Yoo-kyung | |
2016 | The Tunnel | Mina | |
The Map Against The World | Soon-Sil |
3.2. Television Series
Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | Radio Report | MBC | ||
2004 | Say You Love Me | young Seo Young-chae | MBC | |
2005 | Rebirth: Next | young Lee Geum-young | MBC | Joseon Dynasty segment (Episodes 3-4) |
2006 | My Love | Kim Min | SBS | |
My Love Clementine | Jang Ba-da | SBS | ||
2007 | Lobbyist | young Yoo So-young (Maria) | SBS | |
2008 | The Great King, Sejong | young Princess Shim | KBS1 | |
Our Happy Ending | Kang Mi-na | MBC | ||
2008-2009 | East of Eden | young Kim Ji-hyun | MBC | |
2009 | Queen Seondeok | young Princess Deokman | MBC | |
2009-2010 | Will It Snow for Christmas? | young Han Ji-wan | SBS | |
2010 | Giant | young Hwang Jung-yeon | SBS | |
It's Me, Grandmother | Park Eun-ha | MBC | ||
2011 | Warrior Baek Dong-soo | young Yoo Ji-sun | SBS | |
2012 | Drama Special Series: Girl Detective, Park Hae-sol | Park Hae-sol | KBS2 | one-act drama |
Can't Live Without You | Eun-deok | MBC | ||
To the Beautiful You | Hong Da-hae | SBS | special appearance | |
2014 | Angel Eyes | young Yoon Soo-wan | SBS | |
What Happens to My Family? | Kang Seo-wool | KBS2 | ||
2015 | Late Night Restaurant | Hye-ri | SBS | Cameo (Episode 7) |
2016 | Mystery Freshman | Oh Ah-yeong | SBS | Drama special |
Shopping King Louie | Ko Bok-shil | MBC | Lead role | |
2017 | Suspicious Partner | Eun Bong-hee | SBS | Lead role |
2018 | 100 Days My Prince | Yeon Hong-sim / Yoon Yi-suh | tvN | Lead role |
2019 | Dear My Room | O'live | Cameo (Episode 11) | |
2020 | 365: Repeat the Year | Shin Ga-hyun | MBC | Lead role |
2021 | JTBC Drama Festa: Off Route | Kang Su-ji | JTBC | one-act drama |
2022 | Little Women | Oh In-kyung | tvN | Lead role |
2024 | Good Partner | Han Yu-ri | SBS | |
2025 | Eun-aehaneun Dojeoknima | Hong Eun-jo | KBS2 |
3.3. Web Series
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2021 | The Witch's Diner | Jeong Jin |
2023 | High Cookie | Choi Soo-young |
3.4. Music Video Appearances
Year | Song Title | Artist |
---|---|---|
2015 | "Shaking" (흔들린다Korean) | Taeil (Block B) |
3.5. Broadcast Appearances
Year | Program | Network | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Radio Report | MBC | Appearance (July 14, October 27) |
2002 | Time Machine | MBC | Viewer Actor (January 27) |
2009 | Talk Show Taxi | tvN | Guest |
2009 | Special Documentary 'Grandfather Sangho' | MBC | Narration (December 27) |
2014 | Happy Together Season 3 | KBS2 | Guest (September 25) |
2015 | Running Man | SBS | Guest |
2015 | Talk Show Taxi | tvN | Guest |
2021 | Running Man | SBS | Guest (Episode 564) |
2021 | Sixth Sense Season 2 | tvN | Guest (Episode 10) |
2023 | I Live Alone | MBC | Episode 506 (August 4) |
2024 | Running Man | SBS | Guest |
2024 | Amazing Saturday | tvN | Guest (July 6) |
4. Awards and Nominations
Award Ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
SBS Drama Awards | 2006 | Best Young Actress | My Love | Won |
SBS Drama Awards | 2007 | Best Young Actress | Lobbyist | Nominated |
MBC Drama Awards | 2008 | Best Young Actress | East of Eden | Won |
MBC Drama Awards | 2009 | Best Young Actress | Queen Seondeok | Won |
Buil Film Awards | 2012 | Best New Actress | A Reason to Live | Nominated |
KBS Drama Awards | 2012 | Best Young Actress | Girl Detective, Park Hae-sol | Won |
Blue Dragon Film Awards | 2013 | Best New Actress | Hwayi: A Monster Boy | Nominated |
KBS Drama Awards | 2014 | Best New Actress | What Happens to My Family? | Won |
Best Couple Award (with Park Hyung-sik) | Won | |||
Baeksang Arts Awards | 2015 | Best New Actress - Television | Nominated | |
Asia Artist Awards | 2016 | Best Entertainer Award, Actress | Shopping King Louie | Won |
MBC Drama Awards | 2016 | Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Shopping King Louie | Nominated |
Best New Actress | Won | |||
Best Couple Award (with Seo In-guk) | Nominated | |||
Korea Drama Awards | 2017 | Excellence Award, Actress (Drama) | Suspicious Partner | Nominated |
SBS Drama Awards | 2017 | Grand Prize | Suspicious Partner | Nominated |
Excellence Award, Actress in a Wednesday-Thursday Drama | Won | |||
Best Couple Award (with Ji Chang-wook) | Won | |||
Soompi Awards | 2018 | Best Actress of the Year | Suspicious Partner | Nominated |
Best Couple (with Ji Chang-wook) | Nominated | |||
Best Kiss (with Ji Chang-wook) | Won | |||
The Seoul Awards | 2018 | Popularity Award (Actress) | 100 Days My Prince | Nominated |
Asia Artist Awards | 2018 | Popularity Award (Actress) | Nam Ji-hyun | Nominated |
Dong-A.com's Pick | 2018 | Next Generation Noteworthy Actress | Nam Ji-hyun | Won |
Dong-A.com's Pick | 2018 | Most Romantic Comedy Chemistry | Nam Ji-hyun | Won |
Soompi Awards | 2019 | Best Actress of the Year | 100 Days My Prince | Nominated |
Soompi Awards | 2019 | Best Couple Award (with Do Kyung-soo) | 100 Days My Prince | Won |
MBC Drama Awards | 2020 | Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Monday-Tuesday Miniseries | 365: Repeat the Year | Won |
MBC Drama Awards | 2020 | Best Couple Award (with Lee Joon-hyuk) | 365: Repeat the Year | Nominated |
Daejeon Special Effects Film Festival | 2024 | Best Actress | High Cookie | Won |
Consumer Day Awards | 2024 | Actor of the Year chosen by viewers | Good Partner | Won |
SBS Drama Awards | 2024 | Best Teamwork Award | Good Partner | Nominated |
Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries Human/Fantasy | Nominated | |||
Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries Human/Fantasy | Nominated | |||
Best Couple Award (with Jang Na-ra) | Nominated |
5. Personal Life and Trivia
Nam Ji-hyun was born on September 17, 1995, and is managed by Management Soop. Her height is 65 in (165 cm).
A notable piece of trivia about Nam Ji-hyun is the confusion that arose among netizens when the girl group 4minute debuted. At the time, 4minute's leader, Son Ji-hyun, shared the same birth name (Nam Ji-hyun), leading some to mistakenly believe that the actress Nam Ji-hyun had debuted as a singer.