INFINITE's Nam Woo-hyun is back from rare cancer battle!

Nam Woo-hyun is a member of INFINITE, a South Korean K-pop boyband. He's back in the K-pop scene after recovering from a major surgery to treat a rare form of cancer. This is his incredible story of perseverance!

Nam Woo-hyun was born on February 8, 1991, in Seoul, South Korea. According to MyDaily, Nam Woo-hyun initially had plans to become a soccer player.

Image: Woolim Entertainment

The same report states that Nam Woo-hyun later decided to pursue singing as a career instead. He auditioned for various K-pop agencies, one of which included YG Entertainment, which is known for managing some of Korea's biggest K-pop bands.

Image: Woolim Entertainment

Woolim Entertainment ended up signing Nam Woo-hyun. According to Naver, Nam Woo-hyun was initially accepted by four agencies before deciding to sign exclusively with Woolim Entertainment following a one-on-one meeting with the agency's CEO, which led him to make the decisive move.

Image: Woolim Entertainment

As a K-pop trainee, Nam Woo-hyun had many opportunities to star with other K-pop stars in the scene, some of whom had already debuted and gained massive fame.

Image: Woolim Entertainment

This included a stint as a shopping mall model beside Beast (now known as Highlight)’s Junhyung and T-ara's Jiyeon. Nam Woo-hyun revealed the project on a KBS2 broadcast on the show ‘Infinite Song’.

Image: Woolim Entertainment

Nam Woo-hyun years of training in the agency came to an end as he later made history by being part of Woolim Entertainment’s first boy band, INFINITE, in June 2010, Newsen reports.

Image: Woolim Entertainment

Woolim Entertainment had previously been known for nurturing indie artists such as Epik High, so the formation of INFINITE drew a lot of attention, according to News Inside.

Image: Woolim Entertainment

As one of the two lead vocalists in the seven-member K-pop boy band INFINITE, Nam Woo-hyun played a significant role in the group. Other members of INFINITE include Kim Sung-kyu, Jang Dong-woo, Lee Sung-yeol, L, Lee Sung-jong, and former member Hoya.

Image: Woolim Entertainment

Some of the hits INFINITE are best known for include ‘The Chaser’, ‘Be Mine’, and ‘Tell Me’.

Image: Woolim Entertainment

Outside of INFINITE activities, Nam Woo-hyun has involved himself in acting stints, outside music collaborations, and even being part of a celebrity soccer team!

Image: Woolim Entertainment

One such extracurricular project was when Nate reported that Nam Woo-hyun formed a singing duo with Key from Shinee called Toheart back in 2014.

Nam Woo-hyun was also part of several TV series as an actor. Most notably, he played the lead role in KBS’ ‘Hi! School: Love On’ alongside fellow INFINITE member Lee Sung-yeol.

2016 was also a significant year for Nam Woo-hyun according to Kpop Herald, as he was able to finally go solo as a singer after six years as a K-pop artist. Since then, he has released multiple solo singles, showcasing his talent as a singer and songwriter.

However, Nam Woo-hyun’s thriving career had to come to a sudden hiatus when it was found that the star had contracted a rare form of cancer. According to The Straits Times, the singer discovered that he had a “gastrointestinal stromal tumour” earlier in 2023.

Image: Woolim Entertainment

SBS reports that the cancer that Nam Woo-hyun was suffering from was an extremely rare form of cancer that affects about “20 people in every million”.

Image: BLADE Entertainment

Nam Woo-hyun eventually underwent surgery to remove the tumour as part of his cancer treatment in April, according to The Korea Times.

Image: BLADE Entertainment

According to the same report from The Korea Times, Nam Woo-hyun's performance suffered as a result of the surgery even though he is currently cancer-free.

Image: BLADE Entertainment

Since the operation, Nam Woo-hyun has been afflicted with breathing problems that restrict his ability to sing and dance on stage.

Image: BLADE Entertainment

Despite the doctor’s advice to rest and refrain from performing due to his condition, Nam Woo-hyun continues to persist and has even rejoined INFINITE in the group’s comeback activities, SBS reports.

The release of his new album 'WHITREE' is also a celebration of his triumph over cancer. The Korea Times reports that Nam Woo-hyun wanted the album to have a double purpose: to commemorate his triumph over his illness and to encourage listeners to keep going even when things get tough.

Image: BLADE Entertainment