Heo Nam-jun’s character seems to live a charmed life, but he finds it hard to open up to people.
Viki.com
Looking back on 2025, actor Heo Nam-jun has more than a few reasons to see the year as a success. He recently completed the nostalgic Korean drama A Hundred Memories, in which he plays student and amateur boxer Jae-pil. Earlier in the year Heo also played an astronaut in the drama When The Stars Gossip and a psychiatrist in the drama When The Phone Rings, which earned him the Best New Actor Award at the MBC Drama Awards. Playing a gangster in the 2024 drama Your Honor resulted in a nomination for Best New Actor at the 2025 Blue Dragon Awards.
“The past year was filled with both pressure and happiness,” said Heo. “Being able to continue acting with great people in good projects is truly a blessing. For me, being able to do what I love for a living is already a success.”
Heo studied acting at Sungkyunkwan University and never doubted he could make a living at it.
“I used to imagine myself filming on the set I had always dreamed of being on,” he said.
Since his debut in 2019, he’s worked consistently, appearing in dramas such as Missing: The Other Side, The Matchmakers, Sweet Home and The Impossible Heir. In A Hundred Memories he plays the son of a department store owner and from a distance the character’s life might seem charmed. He’s rich and handsome, but he has emotional wounds that make it difficult for him to get close to anyone. Wanting to become a boxer rather than study might be his way of striking out against everything he feels is wrong in his life. It’s not helping his relationship with his father.
It takes a long time for Heo’s character Jae-pil to realize how much Young-rye (Kim Da-mi) means to him.
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Spoilers ahead: Jae-pil meets Young-rye, played by Kim Da-mi (Nine Puzzles), and Jong-hee, played by Shin Ye-eun (Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born), whose friendship gets complicated when they both fall for him. Young-rye comes from a struggling yet supportive family, while Jong-hee hides a mysterious past. When Jae-pil’s family faces financial difficulties he decides to study medicine. His friendship with Young-rye helps him through difficult times and, as time passes, heals some of his emotional wounds. Still, it takes him a long time to see Young-rye the way she sees him and truly appreciate the ways she supported him.
“Jae-pil had never truly experienced love before,” said Heo. “After his family suddenly went bankrupt, he devoted himself entirely to studying and working to make a living. It took him time to realize that the comfort and stability he felt with Yeong-rye were actually love.”
Jae-pil grows up during the series and slowly opens up to the people around him, a transition the actor deftly conveys in subtle increments. Heo can see some similarities in his own personality, especially compared with the evolving nature of Jae-pil’s character.
“I think the way he becomes innocent and open, in front of people he trusts and feels comfortable with, is similar to me,” said Heo.
Filming the drama is not an experience he will easily forget.
“Every moment was meaningful enough to stay in my memory,” said Heo. “But I think I’ll miss the times when I was simply doing my best on set.
A Hundred Memories is set in the 80s, a time Heo did not personally experience. But that was part of what he liked about the story.
“Everything felt slower and more relaxed,” said Heo. “At first, I thought it might feel frustrating, but over time, that sense of calm and slowness gave me comfort. I found it unhurried yet romantic.”
A Hundred Memories also stars Kim Jung-hyun, Lee Won-jung and Jeon Sung-woo. Directed by Kim Sang-ho (Thirty Nine) and written by Yang Hee-sung (Crash Course in Romance), the drama airs on Viki.com in the U.S.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2025/11/03/heo-nam-jun-enjoyed-the-romantic-nostalgia-of-a-hundred-memories/
