Yasuo Namekawa, better known by his stage name Kangnam, is a Korean-Japanese singer, television personality and model. He was the vocalist and oldest member of the South Korean hip-hop group M.I.B. He made his recording debut in South Korea with the single "Say My Name" just before his debut as a member of M.I.B.
His mother is Korean, and his father is Japanese. Being an only child, he spent most of his childhood in Japan and also spent some years in Hawaii. In March 2008, Kangnam debuted with the stage name Ya-Cha as a new member of the Japanese band Kick Chop Busters (KCB). However, he left the band in 2010 for unknown reasons, without his parents’ knowledge. Kangnam has stated in interviews that his family is wealthy, but he does not receive financial support from them.
Kangnam attended Hawaiian Mission Academy in Honolulu for a period before transferring to another school to finish high school. He then returned to Japan to finish his studies. Kangnam briefly attended Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was majoring in Communications, but he left the school to pursue music instead.
In South Korea, Kangnam debuted as the main vocalist and dancer of the boy group M.I.B under the label Jungle Entertainment on October 25, 2011, with the title track "G.D.M", aka "Girls, Dreams, Money." His solo song "Say My Name" was released on October 17, 2011, as part of a spin-off promotion to prove that each member is capable of standing alone. Kangnam is also an accomplished guitarist and pianist. Also in 2012, Kangnam took on his first acting role in the tvN sitcom "21st Century Family", and he became the host of the Japanese rendition of Mnet’s Jjang. On January 4, 2017, it was announced that M.I.B disbanded.
On July 14, 2017, Kangnam’s agency confirmed he and Uee were dating. They appeared together in a South Korean documentary-based reality show Law of the Jungle. On August 1, 2017, the couple was confirmed to have broken up after three months of dating.
On March 16, 2019, Kangnam’s agency confirmed that he and Olympic speed skater Lee Sang-hwa were dating. They had appeared on the SBS variety show Law of the Jungle. On August 11, 2019, Kangnam announced his decision to forfeit his Japanese citizenship and began his naturalization as a Korean citizen. On October 12th, 2019, Kangnam married retired speed skater Lee Sang Hwa.
On February 26, 2022, he revealed that he had passed the naturalization exam and officially became a South Korean citizen.
(Source: Wikipedia, NamuWiki)
