For Nam Joo-hyuk, 'The East Palace' meant shedding rom-com lead image, performing own action scenes
Actor Nam Joo-hyuk returns after a three-year hiatus with the Netflix original series “The East Palace.” Courtesy of Netflix
The breezy romantic-comedy leading man was gone. In his place was a ghost slayer with a pale, drawn face and sharply pronounced cheekbones, worn down by his battles with evil spirits and his crossings between the world of the living and the realm of the dead.
After a three-year hiatus that included his mandatory military service, Nam Joo-hyuk has returned. In his 20s, Nam was beloved as the face of youth. Now making his comeback in his 30s, he has his sights set on forging a distinct identity of his own.
And his comeback project, Netflix’s “The East Palace,” may well come to define the second act of his acting career.
Sitting down for an interview at a cafe in Seoul’s Jongno District, Nam said he felt relieved to see the drama finally released. It now ranks as the second-most-watched non-English show globally on Netflix.
“The director, crew and my fellow actors all worked incredibly hard on this project, enduring both sweltering heat and bitter cold,” Nam said. “I honestly thought it would take some time for the show to gain attention overseas, but so many people told me they enjoyed it, for which I am truly grateful.”
Playing a lone ghost slayer
Released in full on July 17, the eight-episode occult period drama follows Gu-cheon, who is summoned by the king (Cho Seung-woo) to investigate a curse haunting the crown prince’s residence after a succession of princes die inside the palace and rumors spread that ghosts are to blame. He is joined by Princess Saenggang (Roh Yoon-seo), who enters the palace disguised as a court lady.
Nam was still serving in the military when he received the script, which was filled with underwater scenes and action sequences.
“When I first read the script, I thought, ‘This could be tough,’ and that was when I was in peak physical condition and brimming with enthusiasm,” Nam said with a laugh. “After shooting my first action scene, I thought, ‘Okay, this is going to be really tough.’”
Despite that gut feeling, the actor said he was instantly mesmerized by the script, drawn into its world and imagining himself wandering through it.
“The realm of gwi — another world inhabited by spirits — was painted so vividly in my imagination,” he said. “I kept wondering how a world no one had ever seen before would be brought to life onscreen. At the same time, I found myself wondering what would happen to a character so out of place in a royal palace once he found himself inside one.”
That character was Gu-cheon, the drama’s protagonist. As a ghost slayer, he moves between the world of the living and the realm of gwi. Nam studied him thoroughly, to the point that the director praisd him for understanding the character with remarkable acuity, down to the smallest detail.
“He gained the ability to hunt spirits after falling into the water with his mother and emerging as the sole survivor. I figured that, deep down, Gu-cheon was left traumatized by the experience and developed a profound hatred of water, which led him to isolate himself and adopt a prickly manner toward others,” Nam said.
For the actor, that loneliness was the character’s defining quality, one he had to express meticulously beneath Gu-cheon’s outwardly roguish and free-spirited demeanor.
“Ultimately, I wanted to portray him as someone who has learned to accept both the loneliness born of what happened in his childhood and the solitude he feels moving between two worlds, and to go through life on his own,” Nam said.
Saenggang (Roh Yoon-seo) and Gu-cheon (Nam Joo-hyuk) talk beside a pond after escaping the realm of "gwi" in Netflix’s “The East Palace.” Courtesy of Netflix
But Gu-cheon gradually begins to change as he builds trust and a bond with Saenggang inside the palace. For her sake, he willingly strides into the realm of gwi that he despises so deeply, this time of his own volition rather than at someone else’s bidding.
“There is a scene in which Saenggang risks her own safety to save Gu-cheon when he is on the verge of becoming an ak-gwi, or evil spirit,” Nam said. “No one had ever done anything like that for him before, and it was the moment he felt he had to repay her.”
The actor did not, however, define their relationship as romantic.
“I saw them more as comrades who depend on one another,” he said. “Still, we approached their relationship with the intention of leaving room for viewers to interpret it in different ways.”
A scene from "The East Palace" / Courtesy of Netflix
While filming the series, Nam gradually lost weight to portray Gu-cheon having his yang energy drained from him.
“I weighed around 84 or 85 kilograms when filming began, and by the time it ended, I was down to 78,” Nam said, adding that the weight came off relatively easily because the shoot was so physically demanding.
“But it was also clearly intentional. The change in his appearance was important in showing how the character transformed as the story progressed.”
Nam also performed most of his own action scenes. While filming Gu-cheon’s fight with a spirit in Episode 3, he was suffering from a cold, and the physical toll was visible onscreen — which the actor said he actually liked it.
“His feeble sword swings looked all the more desperate, which fit the portrayal of Gu-cheon gradually losing his strength as his yang energy was drained away.”
He also added subtle details to his movements to convey that Gu-cheon was fighting ghosts rather than human opponents.
“It felt less like Gu-cheon was trying to destroy them with his weapon and more like he was trying to persuade the ghosts to let go of their resentment and pass on to a better place,” Nam said. “So I stripped the movements of unnecessary flourish and made his fighting style more defensive than aggressive.”
Gu-cheon prepares to battle a spirit after entering the realm of "gwi" in the Netflix series "The East Palace." Courtesy of Netflix
As a series combining period drama, mystery, fantasy and action, “The East Palace” relied heavily on computer-generated imagery. That also posed a challenge for the actors, who had to perform opposite invisible beings as though they were real.
“Fortunately, I’ve always enjoyed using my imagination, so I didn’t have much trouble becoming accustomed to the realm of gwi,” Nam said. “More than anything, the sets and other visual elements were already so meticulously realized even before the CGI was added that it was easy to immerse myself in the world on set.”
Another talking point was “Kkeomeoksari,” a gwimae featured in the series. Its endearing appearance and lovable behavior even earned it the nickname “the Groot of Joseon.”
“I always knew that little guy would be a hit,” Nam joked. “It received so much love from the moment it first appeared that I somehow felt proud of it.”
“There was a Kkeomeoksari model on set, but it had to be removed when we actually filmed the scenes,” he added, offering a glimpse behind the scenes. “So during rehearsals, I kept staring at it and tried to memorize what it looked like as closely as possible.”
Upon its release, “The East Palace” climbed to No. 1 on Netflix’s Top 10 Series in Korea Today chart immediately after its release. Within three days, it recorded 4.9 million views, calculated by dividing total viewing time by the show’s runtime, to rank second on Netflix’s global Top 10 list for non-English-language shows. It also entered the Top 10 in 27 countries, including Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines and India.
For the actor who said he looked back on his previous works while doing military service and hoped he would do a more distinctive, character-driven role, "The East Palace" came in an opportune moment and a commercial success.
Addressing school bullying allegations
But Nam had more than the drama’s commercial success to worry about. Before beginning his military service, he became embroiled in controversy over allegations that he had bullied classmates during his school years.
After several accounts emerged appearing to corroborate the allegations, Nam maintained that they were “entirely groundless” and pursued legal action. The original informant was subsequently issued a summary order imposing a fine of 7 million won ($4,800) for defamation by making false claims.
Still, lingering questions surrounding the school bullying allegations have divided public opinion over both “The East Palace” and Nam’s return.
“With the court having delivered its judgment, I am quietly watching as the facts are set straight,” Nam said.
“More than anything, I didn’t want my personal circumstances to hurt ‘The East Palace.’ All I could think about was doing a better job of bringing Gu-cheon to life.”
Nam, who debuted as a model in 2013, has built a diverse set of projects spanning multiple genres, including the dramas “Who Are You: School 2015,” “Cheese in the Trap,” “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo,” “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo,” “The School Nurse Files” and “Vigilante,” as well as the films “The Great Battle” and “Remember.” Having left his 20s behind and entered his 30s, he is now preparing to take another leap forward as an actor.
“I believe it is my responsibility to show the best of myself, and going forward, I want to repay the public with even better performances,” Nam said.
“The greatest compliment I could receive is to be told that I am not an actor who takes his craft lightly,” he added. “I want to become an actor who gives audiences excitement and enjoyment through the very best performances I can deliver.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.