In 2019, the year he turned 20, he retook the entrance exam after mixing up the tuition deadline when about to enter Sejong University, and then entered the acting department at Korea National University of Arts as an academic scholarship student. He says he later failed more than 100 auditions. That year he also appeared for 33 seconds on a You Quiz on the Block campus special as an ordinary college student.
In February 2021, he debuted in the BL web drama You Make Me Dance as Song Si-on, an aspiring contemporary dancer. In August, he made his network TV debut as Park Min-kyu in KBS2’s Police University, and in November he took his first lead role as Jung Young-joo in School 2021.
In 2022, he played his first title role as Jang Ha-neul in tvN’s Drama Stage – Babel Syndrome and played the veterinarian Han Ji-yul in Kakao TV’s Once Upon a Small Town. In 2023, he played Choi Chul-woong in KBS2’s Oasis, and at the end of the year won the KBS Drama Awards best new actor award for it.
The breakthrough yearIn 2024, the year he turned 25, he played two roles, Cheon Seung-hwi (born Song Seo-in) and Sung Yoon-gyeom, in JTBC’s The Tale of Lady Ok, and his name became known.
In January 2025, The Tale of Lady Ok ended at its highest rating of 13.6%, and that month he played Yang Jae-won in Netflix’s The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call. In May, he won the best new actor award in television at the Baeksang Arts Awards for The Tale of Lady Ok. In June, he played the prosecutor Lee Geum-son in Mercy for None and Bae Gyeon-woo in Head Over Heels one after the other, and returned to You Quiz on the Block, where it became known that his father is the model Choo Seung-il. In July, he won best new actor at the Blue Dragon Series Awards for The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call. In December, he made his screen debut in the film Even If This Love Disappears Tonight.
In January 2026, the film passed its break-even point 17 days after opening. He voices a character in the animated film Stitch Head, opening on Sept. 30, his first voice role, and is due to play Park Min-jae in ENA’s Love Doctor in October.
Choo Young-woo (born Jun 5, 1999) debuted on Feb 26, 2021, the year he turned 22, in the BL web drama You Make Me Dance, and became known when JTBC’s The Tale of Lady Ok premiered on Nov 30, 2024, the year he turned 25, with him in two roles. He won the best new actor award in television at the 2025 Baeksang Arts Awards for the show.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.