Nichkhun

Nichkhun Buck Horvejkul (born June 24, 1988), better known mononymously as Nichkhun (Korean:닉쿤), is a Thai and American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and model. Based in South Korea as a member of the South Korean boy band 2PM, Nichkhun is widely considered to be the first Southeast Asian individual to debut in a K-pop idol group and achieve success.

As a solo artist, Nichkhun has released two EPs. As an actor, he has starred in various Korean, Thai, and Chinese dramas and films such as Seven Something (2012), One and a Half Summer (2014), and Brother of the Year (2018). He has also worked as a television personality on several variety and reality programs such as We Got Married, We K-Pop, and Idol on Quiz.

Early life and family

Nichkhun was born in Rancho Cucamonga, California, U.S. to Thai father and Thai Chinese-American mother, is a dual national of Thailand and the United States. His maternal grandparents emigrated to Thailand from Hainan, and he has said that he has extended family and distant ancestors from Guangzhou. 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. His wealthy background earned him the nickname "Thai Prince" in South Korea. The second of four children, Nichkhun has an older brother Nichan Bert (born September 11, 1986, California, USA ), and two younger sisters, Nichthima Yanin (born July 22, 1990, California, USA) and Nachjaree (Cherreen) (born October 20, 1994, Bangkok, Thailand).[citation needed]

In order to let their children understand their own culture and learn the language, the family decided to move back to Thailand and resided in the Bangkok suburbs where Nichkhun and his siblings attended local schools. He had no inclination towards the performing arts as a child and was a competitive badminton player. At the age of twelve, he boarded at Wanganui Collegiate School in New Zealand for a year and a half and was sent back to Rancho Cucamonga. He attended Etiwanda High School before transferring to Los Osos High School.

Nichkhun 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. In 2006, he moved to South Korea for training, becoming the first non-ethnic Korean trainee at the company.[citation needed]

Career

Pre-debut

While still a trainee, Nichkhun was first introduced to South Korean television through a guest appearance in JYP Entertainment's 2006 audition program Superstar Survival[ko] in the episode filmed in Thailand. The following year, he made his debut in Thailand using his nickname "Khun", appearing as a backup dancer in a milk advertisement with Rain, who had become immensely popular in Southeast Asia due to the drama Full House.

In July 2008, Nichkhun became one of the panelists in the second season of popular talk show-cum-variety program Ya Shim Man Man 2 alongside industry veterans such as Kang Ho-dong. He eventually left the program in November, having made his debut with 2PM several months prior.

2PM

In 2008, he participated in Mnet's Hot Blooded Men[ko], a program that chronicles the rigorous training of thirteen aspiring trainees, all vying for a coveted spot in the boy band One Day. This initiative ultimately led to the formation of two distinct boy bands, namely 2AM and 2PM.

Half a year following the televised airing of Hot Blooded Men, the group 2PM made their debut with the release of their inaugural single "10 Out of 10" from their first single album titled Hottest Time of the Day. However, it was their second single album, 2:00PM Time For Change, that propelled them to mainstream success in Korean music, solidifying their meteoric rise. As of 2021, the group has released seven studio albums in Korea and five studio albums in Japan. Nichkhun has also participated in activities of the unofficial 2PM sub-unit ENWJ with Jun. K and Wooyoung, holding events and concerts with the group since 2023.

Solo activities

2010–2016: Variety shows, hosting, and first acting roles

In June 2010, Nichkhun was cast in the second season of MBC's variety show We Got Married, pairing up with Victoria of f(x). The couple, known as Khuntoria, was featured on the show for fifteen months and won the Popularity Award at the 2010 MBC Entertainment Awards before leaving during the third season in September 2011.

Nichkhun was a co-host for MBC Korean Music Wave[zh] in Bangkok in 2011, 2012, and 2013. On January 31, 2011, Nichkhun appeared in the music video of the single "Touch" (觸動) by Taiwanese-American Mandopop artist Will Pan. On March 17, 2012, Nichkhun made his Japanese acting debut in the live-adaptation film of Ouran High School Host Club as Lawrence, the president of a Singaporean corporation. Also in 2012, Nichkhun made his Thai acting debut in the anthology film 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 GMM Tai Hub and released on July 26, 2012.

In 2013, it was reported that he had been cast as a lead character in the Chinese television series One and a Half Summer, a role which required him to speak both Mandarin and English. The series aired between June and July 2014 on Dragon Television, becoming one of the most streamed dramas of the year despite receiving sluggish television ratings.

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. Nichkhun started filming for his Chinese drama Looking for Aurora in June. In August, Nichkhun also debuted as a designer 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.[unreliable source?] Nichkhun teamed up with CNBLUE's Jung Yong-hwa, B1A4's Baro, Infinite's L, and Winner's Mino to form the project group Lucky Boys (Super 5) for the 2014 SBS Gayo Daejeon; the group were also co-hosts of the show with actress Song Ji-hyo.

In 2015, Nichkhun made cameo appearances in the Chinese movie Forever Young, starring Li Yi Feng and Zhang Hui We, and the Thai movie Touch the Sky – Chalui, which he also contributed to the soundtrack of. Also in 2015, Nichkhun was cast as a mentor on a Chinese music reality show Youth Trainee on Zhejiang Television.

In 2016, Nichkhun and actor Lee Jung-jin released a travel essay and photobook called Journey, Map that Embraces the Wind (여행, 바람을 품은 지도) on May 3. The photos in the book were taken during their trip to Hawaii, USA.

2017–2020: Further acting and variety show roles, debut as soloist

In 2017, 2PM held their final concerts prior to their hiatus due to mandatory military enlistment, 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. In September, Nichkhun announced his first solo Asia fan meeting tour. His fan meeting series, Khunvitation, was held in Tokyo on November 29–30, in Seoul on December 3, in Osaka on December 13–14, and in Bangkok on March 3, 2018. He held a solo Chinese fan meeting tour titled Ni+Khun with dates in Beijing and Nanjing.

Also in 2018, he portrayed the half-Japanese, half-Thai boyfriend of Urassaya Sperbund's character in Brother of the Year, which ranked first in Thai box offices and became the second highest-grossing domestically-produced movie of the year. On December 27, 2018, Nichkhun's Chinese web drama Shall We Fall in Love (勇往直前恋上你) premiered on Tencent Video.

Nichkhun traveled to work in several countries in 2018, especially to shoot for travel and food programs, including JTBC and ONE31's The Team Chef and JTBC's Let's Eat Dinner Together in South Korea, tvN's Galileo: Awakened Universe in the United States, tvN Asia's One Night Food Trip – International Edition 2 in the Philippines, tvN Asia's Wok The World in Singapore, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand's Experience Thailand and More in Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. In addition, from 2018 to 2019, he appeared as a panelist on The Mask Line Thai, the sixth season of the Thai show The Mask Singer.

Nichkhun held his first solo concert Home in Osaka on November 23–24 and in Tokyo from December 20–22. On December 19, 2018, Nichkhun released his debut solo mini album Me in Japan, having composed all of the songs in the album. On February 18, 2019, Nichkhun released his solo album Me in South Korea. 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, Mandarin, Thai, and English. Nichkhun brought his Home concert series to Seoul on May 11–12, his first solo concerts in South Korea. On June 27–28, he also held encore concerts in Tokyo titled "Home" Encore in Japan ~Sweet 624~. On July 27, Nichkhun held his first solo concert in Thailand, Home in Bangkok.

On October 28, 2019, Nichkhun announced the release of his second mini album in Japan titled Story of... and his solo concerts of the same name. On December 19, his album Story of... was released digitally simultaneously in Japan and Korea. The physical format of the album was released on December 25. Nichkhun held his Story of... concerts on December 26–27, 2019 in Osaka and on January 6–7, 2020 in Tokyo.

In 2019, Nichkhun was a co-host of the music variety program We K-Pop. In 2020, Nichkhun became a fixed member of the variety show Idol on Quiz as part of the senior idols team. Also in 2020, Nichkhun joined the Thai audition program The Brothers' School of Gentlemen as a mentor along with Jesdaporn Pholdee, Ananda Everingham and Mario Maurer. However, in the midst of filming, he was forced to return to South Korea as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened in Thailand. The participants selected from the program eventually debuted in 2022 as T-pop boy group Proxie.

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 Chanchalerm's character who concocts a special tea so that she can make her boss (played by Nichkhun) fall in love with her. The highly-rated drama won several awards at the 2020 Asian Academy Creative Awards, including a Best Supporting Actor (Thailand) for his role. On September 21, Nichkhun and Day6's Jae Park voiced the roles of the fictional crime-fighting boyband 4 2 Sing for an episode of the third season of Big Hero 6: The Series. On October 25, Nichkhun and 2019 Miss Korea Kim Sae-yeon hosted the Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards.

2021–present: Hollywood debut

In 2021, Nichkhun and Hwang Chan-sung made special cameo appearances in Vincenzo to support their bandmate Ok Taec-yeon. He also featured in the single "How Cute Is This?" (น่ารักอะไรเบอร์นี้) by Thai pop star Saksit Vejsupaporn, his first time rapping in Thai, but he was unable to participate in the music video as tightened COVID-related restrictions prevented him from returning to Thailand. From 2021 to 2022, Nichkhun appeared on the second season of the Chinese survival show Shine! Super Brothers as one of twenty-one contestants.

In 2022, CJ Major Entertainment's horror movie Cracked starring Nichkhun released after repeated delays in production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nichkhun then starred in the Viu Thailand original series Finding the Rainbow as one of 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.

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. Originally titled Hong Kong Love Story, it was renamed The Modelizer and released through Vertical Entertainment on July 14, 2023.

On December 30, 2023, Nichkhun held a fan meeting in Bangkok titled Nichkhun Fan Meeting in Bangkok "Happy Khun Year". On April 27, 2024, Nichkhun held his first fan meeting in Jakarta titled No.624: Nichkhun Fan Meeting in Jakarta. In 2025, Nichkhun appeared on the Thai variety show School Lunch Attack: It's MEP Time! as the leader of the cast.

Other activities

Despite being mostly based in South Korea, Nichkhun has continued to support various charitable causes in Thailand. He was appointed "Friend of UNICEF" on April 9, 2013 and participated in fundraising campaigns and field visits. In 2015, he was awarded a recognition plaque from UNICEF Thailand for his work.

Impact and public image

Nichkhun is widely considered to be the first Southeast Asian individual to debut in a K-pop idol group and achieve success. 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 within the K-pop industry, 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.

During his pre-debut appearances in Superstar Survival and Hot Blooded Men, Nichkhun initially gained attention from viewers for his looks. In an unprecedented move, he was cast as a panelist in the SBS talk show-cum-variety program Ya Shim Man Man 2 despite being a foreigner with a limited command of the Korean language and an idol trainee who had yet to debut; after the first episode aired, he ranked first in the Naver online search rankings, with an opinion-editorial in The Hankyoreh noting that he "rose to stardom without saying a single word". Domestic pop culture commentators noted that his popularity with Korean viewers led to increased awareness of long-held xenophobic attitudes towards Southeast Asia that has been engrained in the domestic entertainment industry, particularly after he was confronted with indirect derogatory remarks related to his Thai nationality on several television programs he appeared on.

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. Early into his career, he became one of the top celebrity advertising models in South Korea in terms of number of commercial films. In 2012, he was awarded the Kerd of the Year[th], which recognizes the most popular and influential Thai celebrities chosen by host Woody Milintachinda and voted by the Thai public.

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. 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.

Personal life

Military exemption

As a male citizen of Thailand, he was subject to the military draft lottery in April 2009, but subsequently received an exemption from military service as his home district had met the required quota.

Sports

An avid sportsman, Nichkhun was previously a competitive badminton player during his schooling years and continues to play amateurly. His appearances on Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education in the badminton series of episodes alongside the likes of retired legends Lee Dong-soo and Ha Tae-kwon led Yonex Korea to appoint him as its brand ambassador in 2014, the first non-professional athlete to be chosen.

Nichkhun has also been cast in various Korean golfing variety shows, starting with the Netflix program Birdie Boys in 2022. In 2024, he was a cast member in the golfing show To Die For. In 2025, he returned for the second season of To Die For, this time accompanied by his bandmate Hwang Chan-sung.

DUI incident

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.

Discography

Extended plays

Promotional songs

• 2008: "We Become One" (for Wall's Cornetto Thailand)
• 2009: "Let's Take a Break" (for Tourism Authority of Thailand)
• 2009: "Cute" (for Suzuki Jelato)
• 2012: "Win the Day" (with Team SIII; for Samsung Galaxy S III and 2012 Summer Olympics)

Soundtrack appearances

• 2011: "My Valentine" (with J.Y. Park & Taecyeon), Dream High OST
• 2012: "Let It Rain", One and a Half Summer OST
• 2015: "Wan Nun Wan Nee Wan Nhai" (วันนั้น วันนี้ วันไหน) (featuring Taecyeon), Touch the Sky – Chalui OST
• 2018: "Fall in Love With You" (勇往直前恋上你), Shall We Fall in Love? OST

Collaborations

Compositions

All credits are adapted from Korea Music Copyright Association (KMCA) database.

Filmography

Television and web series

Films

Variety shows

Korean variety shows

Chinese variety shows

Thai variety shows

Hosting

Concerts and fan meetings

1st Asia Fan Meeting Tour "Khunvitation"

Fan Meeting Tour "Ni+Khun"

Premium Solo Concert Series "Home" & Encore in Japan ~Sweet 624~

Premium Solo Concert 2019–2020 "Story of..."

Solo Fan Meetings

Awards and nominations

External links

• atHanCinema
• onInstagram

Footnotes