Who is Ahn Hyo-seop, star of Netflix’s A Business Proposal? The Dr Romantic 2 actor was almost a K-pop idol in Got7 and is besties with Hong Kong’s Jackson Wang
- Ahn Hyo-seop, aka Paul Ahn, was originally a trainee K-pop idol with JYP and was due to join Got7, but got rejected for being ‘too tall’, among other reasons
- He calls best friend Jackson Wang the ‘funniest person’ he’s ever met’, already has an impressive 3.5 million Instagram followers, and says his beloved cat Paul ‘heals him’
February 2022 brings a slew of much-anticipated K-dramas for global fans of the genre. Set to come out on February 28, A Business Proposal – based on the webtoon of the same name – will see Ahn Hyo-seop star opposite Kim Se-jeong as Kang Tae-mu, a third-generation chaebol heir and CEO.
Fans are excited to see Ahn’s return to the small screen as it’s been a year since he played Ha Ram in the highly successful historical fantasy drama Lovers of the Red Sky, a television series that caused his fame to skyrocket.
Despite only being 26 years old, the Korean actor is no stranger to hard work, since he started his showbiz life as an idol before making a successful transition to acting.
Here’s everything you need to know about the rising heartthrob.
1. He lived in Canada for 10 years and speaks fluent English
When he was seven years old, Ahn’s family relocated to Toronto, Canada, where he lived until he was 17 before moving back to South Korea. According to Soompi, Ahn said that he was a quiet boy “who didn’t stand out” as a student and that he “liked it that way”.
However, he added that his low key personality didn’t stop him being popular with the ladies. Due to his upbringing overseas, Ahn also speaks fluent English and also goes by the name Paul.
2. He almost debuted with Got7 and is besties with Jackson Wang
While he was still a student, Ahn received a call from JYP Entertainment (the mega agency behind K-pop groups Twice, Itzy and Stray Kids) who asked to meet to see if he was interested in pursuing a singing career. As a result, he trained under the agency for three years, but couldn’t make his planned debut with Got7 because he still lacked the necessary skills at the time and, hilariously, was also told he was too tall.