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.
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).
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.
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 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.
In 2008, he participated in Mnet's Hot Blooded Men, 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.
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 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. 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.