No Min-woo is a South Korean actor and musician. He is also known under the stage names ICON and MINUE. He debuted as a drummer in TRAX in 2004, and left the band two years later. In 2008, he began acting in various television series and movies, such as Pasta, My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox and Full House Take 2, and he regularly contributes to movie and drama soundtracks. In 2013, No made a comeback as a singer under the stage name ICON. In 2016 he enlisted in the military, and returned in 2018. In 2020, he made a comeback as the singer/leader of the newly formed band THE MIDNIGHT ROMANCE.
Career
No Min-woo was born in Japan while his mother, then 20 years old, was aspiring to become an enka singer there. He was moving back and forth between Korea and Japan for a long time, and started playing the piano at age 7. He has a younger brother, Jeong-hun, who is a singer under the pseudonym I'll. He made his debut as the drummer in the rock band The TRAX in 2004. Prior to debut, No Min-woo appeared in "2002 Survival Audition HeeJun vs. KangTa Battle of the Century" with bandmates Typhoon and Attack, as well as Xiah Junsu, Super Junior's Sungmin and Eunhyuk. No Minwoo left TRAX in 2006, and briefly became a guitarist for The Romantist before it disbanded. In 2009 he returned to the music scene as the leader of the project group 24/7, with Lee Jang-woo and Hyun Woo. They released the single 24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week. Min-woo began pursuing an acting career in 2008, and gained notice with his supporting roles in the 2010 TV series Pasta and My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox. He landed his first leading role in the four-episode drama specialRock Rock Rock, a biographical film about the life of Boohwallead guitaristKim Tae-won. Then for his role as a cancer patient in 2011's Midas, No lost 9.5 kilograms. His long-delayed drama Full House Take 2 secured air dates on Japan's TBS and Korean cable channel SBS Plus in 2012. No was cast as the male lead in the Chinese TV seriesLove Expiration Date, for which he will also serve as OST music director, composing and writing songs for the soundtrack. In 2012 his contract with Core Contents Media came to an end, and he established his own management company, MJ Dreamsys. In 2013, on July 1, No released his MV, ROCKSTAR, under his newly opened YouTube channel, officialminewTV. In 2014, No appeared in a minor role in Roaring Currents, which became the highest-grossing film of all time in South Korea. Later in 2014, No played one of the main characters in The Greatest Marriage. No starred in MBC Dramanet's My Unfortunate Boyfriend, which premiered on April 10, 2015. In 2019, No played a lead role in the MBC drama Partners for Justice 2 as Jang Chul, a talented but mysterious ER doctor. On the 17th of May, 2020, his newly formed band THE MIDNIGHT ROMANCE released their 1st debut single of the same name The Midnight Romance which consisted of three songs.
Lawsuit
In April 2015, No filed a lawsuit against his former agency, S.M. Entertainment, as well as reported the agency to the South Korea Fair Trade Commission. Documents from the lawsuit reveal that No originally signed a 17-year exclusive contract with S.M. No sought 100 million KRW for damages resulting from the agency's interference in his career. On 21 July 2016 No lost his damage suit against S.M as a result of insufficient evidence court ruled out the contract between S.M and No invalid. In June 2018, it was reported No had lost the appeal in his lawsuit against S.M. Entertainment due to the insufficient evidence to the above stated claims.
