Chief Kim. That was when I fell in love with him. Although he didn't play a romantic hero. Buy he had such a nice bromance with Jun-ho.... I didn't need anything else. 😍😍🥰🥰😄😄😃😃😀😀😍😍😍😆😍😍😍🙈😃😃😃😘

It's a hard choice... I think I will choose Awaken, he was so swoony in this drama 🥰. He was charming, funny and badass at the same time. He wore his leather jacket very well :p

STOVE LEAGUE for me- it part because he was able to show how a very unusual and arcane world actually works- that requires a skill that combines good acting with good exposition.

But he is doing a band up job in ONE DOLLAR LAWYER too.

His acting is consistently good across the genres but the other factors influence over all enjoyment and so far Chief Kim is my favourite. Even though I am only 4 episodes in I am calling it because I have been laughing hard whilst watching a serious topic. Even if it changes later on based on what I have seen so far his character, the storyline and the other characters all work well together to produce my kind of drama.

Other notable mentions:
One dollar lawyer has showcased his versatility as he plays comedic and straight but the pacing and tone of the drama have not been consistent.
I liked him a lot in Hot stove league which had a solid story line and he played a mainly straight character.

I’d pick Beautiful Gong Shim. It was the first time I’d seen NM’s comedic side, and man was it awesome. He was fun with Minah, who also brought it. The woman playing the older sister couldn’t act , and it was a glaring problem, but at least they cut her scenes as the drama progressed.

At the time Chief Kim turned me off- I’m not fond of corrupt main characters. Obv more happens in that show, and I love Junho as well, so this post is reminding me it’s time to make a watch happen.

Although I wouldn’t pick it as my favorite, I have to also say that Girl Who Sees Smells showed me his brilliance. I want a rom-com featuring the SML side of his serial killer as a ML. He also pulled off the best acted can’t-decipher-faces-syndrome there I’ve seen. (I think that deserves a special reward.)

So sad to be missing One Dollar Lawyer. Sent a message complaining to Disney+ again yesterday…

What a fun idea for a series! Thnx.

No question, Chief Kim.

He was good in Stove League, but more aloof than charismatic.

I'm gonna go outside the box (aka, choose a project from before Namgoong Min became a charismatic and acclaimed leading man) and choose Can You Hear My Heart, because it's a stunning makjang drama about living with disability that is criminally underrated!

"Chief Kim" probably makes the most sense, but I'm going with his cameo as a loving father of two boys in "Doctors." He was so endearing and moving in that role that I didn't realize he was the same actor who played the villain in "Remember" (a loathsome character expertly played).

I first noticed him in his cameo on Man to Man which was hilarious to me but I fell in love with his acting in The Veil. I have to get caught up on his previous shows.

Chief Kim, especially for the scenes when he was in the "naughty corridor" and taking his brief to be as annoying as possible to the greatest of heights. What. A. Star.

He was incredible in Girl Who Sees Smells and Remember (hated the drama tho), but Beautiful Gong Shim is when he reached fave levels. I think that's still my favorite role, and the loveliest of his dramas. Sadly, I've yet to watch Stove League.

Stove League for the win.

I, alas, have not gotten to/been able to access any of his dramas, but many are on my wishlist! Using these comments to line up my Namgoong Min priorities...

I just wanted to say for the record that I really love this new feature! Excited to see these posts sprinkled in from time to time!

I like this feature!

This is an easy pick for me as I have only seen two things with him in - The Girl Who Sees Smells and Beautiful Gong Shim. I had to fast forward huge chunks of Beautiful Gong Shim. I really enjoyed him as the villain in The Girl Who Sees Smells, which I may have to watch again now.

he already quite a household name before Chief Kim. he has rave review for his villain performance in Girl who see smell and Remember. but, his popularity really soar for his wacky performance as Chief Kim. his expression and over the top acting as Chief Kim really blew it. one of my favorite rewatch.

YOU CAN'T MAKE ME CHOOSE!!

I'll show myself out.

No reason why, but his performance as the villain in Remember: Son’s War left the most impression on me. I think he nailed the role. One of the worst and the most pitiful villains I’ve ever seen.

He nailed in the role of the villian in Girl who sees smells and Remember drama. One of his best performance, like i really wanted to drag him out of the screen and punch him. That much his character angered me.

But I loved him the most in Hot Stove league and Veil. Totally two vary different characters and so yet very charming.

My pick is Hot Stove League.

This drama has a great cast with its supporting cast universally good but NGM single-handedly turned an unlikely appealing story devoid of romance or crimes into a great underdog drama and then a rating hit. The story is of course well-written but his performance of adopting unorthodox means - in a very understated manner - to turn things around is so admirably believable.

Having seen only two of NGM's works, One Dollar Lawyer and the Veil, I'm yet to be drawn to the NGM charm despite I seeing it vividly in One Dollar Lawyer. Their kind of comedy and action are a hit or miss for me.
But his adulations in other dramas mentioned here speak for themselves -Nam Goong-min is good.

One Dollar Lawyer will be the one I'll pick as it's the only one I'm sitting in beyond the premiere episodes. Perhaps it'll change with subsequent projects.

Like Mistyisles, I weirdly became captured by Namgoong Min in The Girl Who Sees Smells. Prior to that, he was just the Second Male Lead in a string of older dramas where he never even generated my sympathy as the guy leftover. After that, his turn as the maniac in Remember Son's War was exhilaratingly exhausting and exciting. I really enjoyed him as Chief Kim but became tired of his character before the ending stretch. By the time he played Beautiful Gong Shim and The Undateables, my fascination went *poof* - as fast as it came, it vanished! I thought this was probably due to my weakness for bad guys, but I couldn't get past the first couple of episodes of Undateables nor The Veil.

But I will say the older he gets the better looking he is! (hmmm, maybe l give Stove League a try.)

I guess I have only watched him in The girl who sees scents. Great acting for a very hateful villain.

Some weeks ago I started The Undateables but I watched only half episode and I did not like it. It seemed very silly. Should I give it a try?

Oohhh this is tough...i love Nam Goong Min. But I got to say I am partial to his Chief Kim. That is the role that made me a fan. Next would be him in Doctor Prisoner then Stove League.

Chief Kim. The performance that caught my eye was in Remember. The psycho Nam Gyu-man was so memorably awful I didn't want to ever see the actor again. Then came Chief Kim. It rehabilitated him nicely. I don't think he's had very good scripts since then except for Stove League.

I've only seen the following dramas starring Nam Goong Min: Doctor Prisoner, Awaken, The Veil & the latest One Dollar Lawyer. I associated NGM with a 'deadpan look' when it comes to his acting in Dr Prisoner, Awaken & The Veil (since not much reaction is needed for those roles). I remember writing somewhere here that I hope his next drama will be something different hahaha.... So my pick of my fav NGM performance will have to be Chun Ji-hoon from $1 Lawyer. I actually enjoyed this drama of his the most as his role here to date have more facial expressions than any of those that I've seen him in :P

1. Doctor Prisoner- He played this role so well. The revenge was so amazing. He left no room for error that even the janitor could get it. lol He was so charming, scary, determined, sexy, intelligent, and extremely strategic it was like a fantasy to watch.
2. My Rosy Life- Here he plays a doctor trying to date the female leads sister. It's a sad story about death and family. He's sweet extremely caring and funny. He doesn't have to many scenes but when he's on screen he takes it over.
3. Beautiful Sunday- All I can say is woah!! You'll be watching through your fingers with this one. Everyone wants to know how he played a villain so well this is what started it. By the end of the movie you feel pity for him and only Nam Goong Min can do that.

I have to say, after years of being lulled along by crushing on him after One Fine Day, and wondering why he didn’t get more work, I was shocked into realizing he was truly a great actor by Girl Who Sees Smells and Remember. Just psychotic and unforgettable. Its been thrilling to see him hit the heights with all the lead roles since then, my Aquaman 🧜🏼‍♂️ (OFD reference) 🥰

Chief Kim

Honorable mention: Stove League (I already bought the script book for it and remembered that I should have bought Chief Kim's instead)

This feature is so much fun!

My pick is "Doctor Prisoner".

As always great looks, stunning voice and a really interesting storyline that had me asking more than once "How is he going to get out of this mess?"

Namgoong Min in Hot Stove League for me. His character was mature, serious, and goal oriented. It's the drama that made me like him as an actor, and it's why I was able to watch Chief Kim (him and Junho).

Beautiful Gong Shim! I ended up watching the whole thing because of him. I did like Minah's performance in it as well. Just a cute little drama.

But...I'm really enjoying his role in One Dollar Lawyer - it's the perfect admixture of his Stove League and Chief Kim characters. This might become my new favorite.

It was The Girl Who Sees Scents that gave me Namgoong Min - I fell in love with his beautiful face. I know he was a killer but he had such a beautiful face. He didn’t really hurt anyone as in hurt,moainful, he just killed them. He was such a lovely killer.
Thinking back though, I first saw him in Doctor Prisoner quite spine chilling from memory but very good, very well done. I should rewatch it.
Hot Stove League I didn’t enjoy as much, I preferred his roles in the two I mentioned. Beautiful Gong Shim showed family dynamics. I’m waiting for The Veil to come out on Netflix Australia.

I first saw NGM ins The Girl Who Can See Smells and definitely stayed for him. Then I actually watched Can You Hear My Heart for him, although his excellent acting made me excruciatingly frustrated with the character. And so it goes on, his shows are always on my list of future shows to watch. I do think he inspired Junho to whole another level in Chief Kim and for that I cannot be thankful enough.
But he's so versatile and good at his job, I can't possibly choose one role. I always love him, even when I don't love the drama.

Too many great performances to actually choose fast but i'll give Chief Kim the crown for now...He was a joy in the show and his bromance with Junho by far one of my ultimate favorite among all dramas

I'm very late to this (this is a theme haha). But for me personally, Hot Stove League. A humane performance that made me emphasize his character. I was quite moved by his performance, and I think it's still his best drama/role as of now. Which is a lot since he's been in a lot of good projects since! I watched an old drama of his (Birth of a Billionaire), and it was his comeback from the military he had the chops but I think he was inching toward bigger stuff. But he was able to do well in a supporting role, and he's one of the actors that is more handsome, cooler, and refined as he's aged.

It's "Chief Kim" for me! I became a fan ever since😍

Maybe I've not watched enough of his works but only Chief Kim stands out for me. I absolutely love his chemistry with Jun Ho in it too 😂😂😂

Doctor Prisoner did it for me ......

Chief Kim/ The good Manager.

I just made too many gifs about it, so just say the word, and start here:
https://www.dramabeans.com/members/CecilieDK/activity/1462385/

Facebook keeps throwing clips of MY DEAREST at me - clips that show Namgoong Min at his Sageuk sexiest.

Since Netflix, Disney+, and Viu aren't showing MY DEAREST, I have started my Namgoong Min journey with HOT STOVE LEAGUE.

ME: *Shocked at how good he is in the role*

ME: *Also hoping MY DEAREST goes to one of the streamers I subscribe to at some point because Viki is bloody expensive in my region*