Published on 04/30/2024 10:12
Video length: 7 min
VIDEO. Meeting with Eric Nam, who became a K-pop star in South Korea
Born in the United States, Eric Nam is a K-pop star in South Korea. He looks back on the beginnings of his career and the essential choices he made.
(Raw.)
Born in the United States, Eric Nam is a K-pop star in South Korea. He looks back on the beginnings of his career and the essential choices he made.
“I received an email, I thought it was a scam. It said: “Send us your passport, we’ll send you a plane ticket. Come to Korea.” And I was like, “Come on. Worst case scenario, what happens?” I did it. They sent me a ticket. I landed in Korea and then I made it to the top 5 of this big TV show. Again I thought: “OK you’re in the top 5. You didn’t win and music and entertainment, it’s very risky. Is it going to work? You don’t know? .” I knew that if I didn’t take my chance, I would regret it for the rest of my life”. Today, Eric Nam is one of the K-pop stars in South Korea. As a child, in nursery school, he remembers saying he wanted “be an artist” later. “I was with some of my family, and they all started laughing”.
“The other thing was that there were no Asians or Asian-Americans at all making music in the West, in America. I think it’s really important to have an example of what you want to be or become. You can’t dream of something if you don’t know it’s possible. That’s why the fact that Barack Obama became president was huge, because suddenly, it made it possible for African-Americans to become president. A dream come true !” explains the singer and television host. Eric Nam started by posting covers on YouTube in the 2010s.The Internet, even though it may seem crazy, seemed like a place where I could show myself, without those around me knowing, and where I could get feedback, like “you suck””.
He now lives in South Korea, a country whose language he did not fully master when he arrived. “I went to Korea a few times, two or three times, when I was younger. But I had never lived there. My level in Korean was not great. It was a real culture shock”. Very quickly, he says to himself that he must “learn to fit in and follow the rules to adapt ASAP”. For him, this dual culture reflects his identity: “For me, being an artist is about seeking and finding the best versions of yourself, through different modes of expression. I’ve reached a point where I say to myself: this is all me. There is no: “That’s the American Eric. That’s the Korean Eric.” This is the Korean-American Eric, doing what he believes is the strongest and most inspiring”.
