Nam Goong Min admits he joined 'X-Man' and 'Music Bank' purely to get famous

Nam Goong Min showed up on KBS 2TV 옥탑방의 문제아들 on July 10 with a refreshingly honest answer ready.

Why did he appear on SBS variety show X맨 — where he became known for his '단답 총각' (short-answer bachelor) character? "They said if I go on here I could become famous." His manager at the time was blunt: getting popular was the only way to land better roles. So he went. Kim Jong-kook couldn't help himself: "I can't even tell how much you wanted to succeed."

On X맨, Nam Goong Min watched Yoo Jae-seok work the bit and copied it on purpose. "Yoo Jae-seok hyung made it fun, so I intentionally did it more that way too," he said. The same manager made the same pitch for Music Bank — the 'become famous' line applied there too.

He was 28 when he co-hosted 뮤직뱅크 alongside So Yi-hyun. Live broadcast format destroyed him. "I was very nervous and very queasy — it was very difficult," he said. He thinks he developed a variety show trauma from that period.

Now he skips the bit entirely. Just sincere. Just himself.