The year he turned 22, he appeared in the short film In the Jungle (Javan Mackerel). In 2007, the year he turned 27, he debuted in KBS’s Eolreongttang Detective Agency. For a long period afterward he worked mainly in theater and musicals.
The year he turned 32, he played the son of a pro-Japanese collaborator in KBS’s Bridal Mask, and in August he appeared in the revival of the play Wedding Scandal.
The year he turned 35, he married the actor Jang Yoon-seo. A daughter was born in 2016. That March, SBS’s Six Flying Dragons ended, and he went on stage in the play Press Release as the prosecutor Choi Don-gyeol.
The year he turned 38, he was cast as Gu Dong-jun in SBS’s Heart Surgeons. In 2020, he played Yoon Se-joon in tvN’s Crash Landing on You. In 2021, he played Park Jeong-je in JTBC’s Beyond Evil and was nominated for a supporting award at the Baeksang Arts Awards. In 2022, he made a cameo as Jang Seung-jun in Extraordinary Attorney Woo and played Cheon Sang-woo in JTBC’s The Good Detective 2. In 2024, he played the slave hunter Gwang-i in the Netflix film Uprising and made a cameo in SBS’s The Judge from Hell.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 45, he became known for playing Bu Sang-gil in Netflix’s When Life Gives You Tangerines. In May he won Best Supporting Actor in television at the Baeksang Arts Awards, and in December the Scene Stealer Award at AAA 2025.
The year he turned 46, he played Son Kyung-hoon in Netflix’s The Wonderfools and Seong Han-su in SBS’s Agent Kim Reactivated. His agency said in late July that he was filming ENA’s Hokhaneun Romaenseu.
Choi Dae-hoon (born 1980) debuted in 2007, the year he turned 27, in KBS’s Eolreongttang Detective Agency, and became known when Netflix’s When Life Gives You Tangerines, in which he played Bu Sang-gil, was released on Mar 7, 2025, the year he turned 45. On May 5, 2025, the year he turned 45, he won Best Supporting Actor in television at the Baeksang Arts Awards.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Played Jae-gu. Wikitree treats this work as the start of his acting career.
Source 01 · Wikitree (Korean) · Choi Dae-hoon skips the Agent Kim reward vacation · opens in a new tab Only the year of the release or filming is confirmed.Xportsnews and Wikitree both give this drama as his debut work. For a long period afterward he worked mainly in theater and musicals.
Source 01 · Wikitree (Korean) · Choi Dae-hoon skips the Agent Kim reward vacation · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Xportsnews (Korean) · Agent Kim Reactivated finale comments · opens in a new tab The broadcast date was not confirmed in news reports, so only the year is given.Played the son of a pro-Japanese collaborator. Seoul Shinmun wrote in October 2012 that he became widely known through this drama.
Source 03 · Seoul Shinmun (Korean) · A man with a twist, Choi Dae-hoon · opens in a new tab The broadcast month and day were not confirmed.The production ran at Sangmyung Art Hall 1 in Daehangno. Seoul Shinmun wrote that he was returning to the stage as Henri.
Source 04 · TV Daily (Korean) · Wedding Scandal returns to the stage · opens in a new tabSource 03 · Seoul Shinmun (Korean) · A man with a twist, Choi Dae-hoon · opens in a new tabThe two met on the drama Crazy Love and married.
Source 05 · Newsen (Korean) · Agent Kim, Choi Dae-hoon’s wife · opens in a new tab The wedding date was not confirmed.A daughter was born.
Source 05 · Newsen (Korean) · Agent Kim, Choi Dae-hoon’s wife · opens in a new tab The birth month and day were not confirmed.Played Jo Mal-saeng in the drama, which was a special production marking SBS’s 25th anniversary.
Source 27 · Bridge Economic Daily (Korean) · Six Flying Dragons actor in the play Press Release · opens in a new tabThe production ran from Mar. 26 to June 19 at Soohyunjae Theater in Daehangno.
Source 27 · Bridge Economic Daily (Korean) · Six Flying Dragons actor in the play Press Release · opens in a new tabPlayed Gu Dong-jun, a fellow in thoracic surgery at Taesan Hospital. He had earlier appeared in Oh, the Mysterious and in Lawless Lawyer.
Source 06 · TenAsia (Korean) · Heart Surgeons cast confirmed · opens in a new tabPlayed Yoon Se-joon, eldest brother of Yoon Se-ri (Son Ye-jin) and eldest son of the largest business group in South Korea. Through his agency, he shared comments on the drama ahead of its last broadcast.
Source 20 · Star News (Korean) · Crash Landing on You finale comments · opens in a new tabWas nominated for a supporting award at the Baeksang Arts Awards for JTBC’s Beyond Evil.
Source 22 · Newsinside (Korean) · Beyond Evil, Baeksang supporting actor nominee · opens in a new tab The date of the nomination announcement was not confirmed. The Newsinside article is dated Apr. 16.Played Park Jeong-je, a childhood friend of Lee Dong-sik (Shin Ha-kyun) and a staff member of the Munju police station’s investigation support team. The final episode drew 6.0% nationwide (Nielsen Korea).
Source 21 · Sportsworld (Korean) · Beyond Evil interview · opens in a new tabPlayed Cheon Sang-woo, the biggest villain of the series. That year he also appeared in Extraordinary Attorney Woo.
Source 09 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Choi Dae-hoon in The Good Detective 2 · opens in a new tab The first broadcast date was not confirmed. The Sports Kyunghyang article is dated Aug. 28.Appeared from episode 3 as Jang Seung-jun, a friend and rival of Jung Myeong-seok. Maeil Business writes that he made the most cameo appearances in the series.
Source 07 · Maeil Business (Korean) · Extraordinary Attorney Woo cameo comments · opens in a new tabSource 08 · Herald Business (Korean) · Extraordinary Attorney Woo finale · opens in a new tabPlayed the slave hunter Gwang-i. The film was first shown on Oct. 2 as the opening film of the 29th Busan International Film Festival.
Source 23 · Joynews24 (Korean) · Uprising review · opens in a new tabSource 24 · Kukinews (Korean) · Park Jeong-min Uprising interview · opens in a new tabAppeared as the demon Paimon, who has entered a detective’s body.
Source 10 · TV Daily (Korean) · The Judge from Hell cameo · opens in a new tabAct 1 of the series was released on this date. His character’s verbal habit “Hak-ssi” became a catchphrase. OBS writes that the series made him a star as “Uncle Hak-ssi,” and iMBC Entertainment writes that he left his long years of obscurity behind after it.
Appeared after the release of When Life Gives You Tangerines.
Source 25 · iMBC Entertainment (Korean) · Choi Dae-hoon on You Quiz on the Block · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Newsen (Korean) · Agent Kim, Choi Dae-hoon’s wife · opens in a new tab The broadcast date was not confirmed in news reports. iMBC Entertainment wrote on Apr. 15 that it would air the following week.Won at the ceremony at COEX for playing Bu Sang-gil in When Life Gives You Tangerines.
Source 15 · Edaily (Korean) · Harper’s Bazaar pictorial · opens in a new tabSource 16 · Topstar News (Korean) · Baeksang supporting actor · opens in a new tabEdaily, citing several broadcast officials, reported that he would appear in The Remarried Empress, based on a web novel and webtoon.
Source 26 · Edaily (Korean) · Choi Dae-hoon in The Remarried Empress · opens in a new tabWon for When Life Gives You Tangerines at the 10th-anniversary Asia Artist Awards 2025 at Kaohsiung National Stadium.
Source 17 · Star News (Korean) · AAA 2025 Scene Stealer Award · opens in a new tabPlayed Son Kyung-hoon, who files complaints without end. He reunited with director Yoo In-shik and Park Eun-bin from Extraordinary Attorney Woo.
Source 13 · iMBC Entertainment (Korean) · Choi Dae-hoon interview · opens in a new tabAppeared with So Ji-sub and Yoon Kyung-ho, playing Seong Han-su.
Source 18 · MK Sports (Korean) · Agent Kim episode 2 at 15% · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Xportsnews (Korean) · Agent Kim Reactivated finale comments · opens in a new tabSource 19 · Eyes (Korean) · Agent Kim, the dads · opens in a new tabThe final episode drew 23.0% nationwide (Nielsen Korea).
Source 02 · Xportsnews (Korean) · Agent Kim Reactivated finale comments · opens in a new tabHis agency said he had started filming as Ji Han-su and would skip the Agent Kim Reactivated reward vacation. The drama is due out in the first half of 2027.
Source 01 · Wikitree (Korean) · Choi Dae-hoon skips the Agent Kim reward vacation · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2002–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
What did they do, and at what age?
AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
Debut and breakthrough are marked separately, and every record has a source.
Film & TV · South Korea
1980 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1980: the year of the event minus 1980, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.10.06 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.