In 1995, the year he turned 24, his play Cheonho-dong Gusageori won the playwriting section of the Chosun Ilbo New Year’s Literary Contest. The same year Clumsy People reached the stage, and he directed Heotang himself. In 1996, he published his first play collection, Deokbaerang Dalsurang.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 26, he wrote and directed Taxi Deuribeol, a play about a taxi driver, which became an entry in the Seoul Theater Festival. Kyunghyang Shinmun writes that he made his name with plays such as Heotang and Taxi Deuribeol.
In 1998, he became a film director with The Happenings. In 1999, The Spy opened, and he also staged the musical Areumdaun Sain.
In 2000, he staged Taxi Deuribeol again and put on the play Leave When They’re Applauding at LG Arts Center. In 2001, Guns & Talks opened and ranked No. 2 at the box office in its first week. In 2002, he returned to the stage after about two years with the play Welcome to Dongmakgol. In 2004, he released the film Someone Special.
In August 2005, Welcome to Dongmakgol, which he wrote and produced, and Murder, Take One, which he directed, opened a week apart. In 2006, Righteous Ties passed 1.5 million viewers in its third week. In 2008, the four-minute short film U-Turn was announced for OCN and Super Action. In 2009, Good Morning, President, starring Jang Dong-gun, opened. In 2010, his ninth film, The Quiz Show Scandal, came out.
In 2011, Romantic Heaven opened, and tvN said Jang Jin would write and direct the Korean version of Saturday Night Live. In 2013, as overall director of the Incheon Asian Games ceremonies, he received an honorary 4th-dan certificate at Kukkiwon. In 2014, Man on High Heels opened, and he was overall director of the Incheon Asian Games opening ceremony. In 2015, he appeared in JTBC’s mystery variety show Crime Scene 2 and joined Makeus.
Around 2017, he appeared in Crime Scene 3. In 2018, it was reported that he would write and direct the drama Byeolui Dosi. In 2021, he appeared as a storyteller on SBS’s While You’re Having a Hard Time. In 2022, Clumsy People returned to the stage after 10 years.
In 2023, he was reported as a regular on Channel A’s Black 2: Soul Destroyers. In 2024, he returned after seven years in TVING’s Crime Scene Returns. In 2025, he marked 30 years since his debut and appeared in Netflix’s Crime Scene Zero. In June 2026, the year he turned 55, his new play Danforth Was Right opened.
Jang Jin (born Feb 24, 1971) won the playwriting section of the Chosun Ilbo New Year’s Literary Contest in 1995, the year he turned 24, and became known on Feb 28, 1997, the year he turned 26, when his play Taxi Deuribeol opened. He debuted as a film director in 1998, the year he turned 27, with The Happenings.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
His play Cheonho-dong Gusageori won the playwriting section of the Chosun Ilbo New Year’s Literary Contest.
Source 01 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · New books · opens in a new tabSource 45 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Jang Jin (film director) · opens in a new tab The date of the win could not be confirmed. The birth date is from Wikipedia; news reports confirm only that he was born in 1971.The theater company Royal Theater performed it in the small theater of the Munye Hoegwan from the 5th to the 24th. It is a comedy about the mishaps between a thief on his first job and the lady of an apartment.
Source 02 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Clumsy People performance · opens in a new tabSource 36 · SBS (Korean) · Clumsy People after 10 years · opens in a new tab The date is from the May 2 performance preview. SBS describes the play as a 1995 work.He directed the play himself, which had won the Yejang Literary Award in 1994 while he was a student at Seoul Institute of the Arts. The Uri Theater Institute staged it as the first piece in a series for young writers, and the company Yein performed it at the Hyehwa-dong 1-beonji theater laboratory through Nov. 14.
Source 03 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Young theater artists’ performances · opens in a new tab The date is from the Sept. 29 performance preview.It contains four works: Clumsy People, Heotang, Cheonho-dong Gusageori and Deultong. The publisher is Salim.
Source 01 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · New books · opens in a new tab The month is from the new-books article (Aug. 13, 1996). The publication date could not be confirmed.He wrote and directed a play about a taxi driver, its title a Korean-accented “taxi driver,” performed in Daehangno, Seoul, from Feb. 28 to Mar. 18. It was one of eight official entries in that year’s Seoul Theater Festival, and in a June survey of 20 critics by the Korean Theater Association it appeared in the playwriting results.
A comedy with Choi Jong-won, Yang Taek-jo, Son Hyun-joo and Shin Ha-kyun, and his first film as director.
Source 06 · Kukmin Ilbo (Korean) · Sunday Cinema · opens in a new tabSource 25 · TV Report (Korean) · Man on High Heels · opens in a new tab The release date could not be confirmed in the articles.His second film as director, with Yoo Oh-sung and Park In-hwan. Yonhap describes it as the first Korean film since Shiri to succeed in drawing audiences.
Source 07 · Kukmin Ilbo (Korean) · TV Cinema, The Spy · opens in a new tabSource 08 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · New videos · opens in a new tab The release timing is from the Aug. 2 article’s “last mid-May”; the day could not be confirmed.A hybrid musical staged by Jinwoo Art Planning at the Towol Theater of the Seoul Arts Center through Nov. 24. It combined traditional theater with performance.
Source 09 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Areumdaun Sain · opens in a new tab The date is from the Oct. 16 performance preview.Staged again at U Theater, three years after 1997.
Source 44 · Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · Taxi Deuribeol revival · opens in a new tab The date is from the Apr. 25 performance preview.Performed at LG Arts Center through June 30, with Choi Min-sik. It is a mystery built on the murder of a female copywriter.
Source 10 · Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · Leave When They’re Applauding interview · opens in a new tabSource 11 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Theater listings · opens in a new tab The date is from the June 13 performance preview.With Shin Hyun-joon, Won Bin and Shin Ha-kyun. It ranked No. 2 at the box office in its opening week, and Dong-A Ilbo wrote that November that the film had proved his box-office appeal.
Source 12 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · My Wife Is a Gangster passes 1 million in Seoul · opens in a new tabSource 47 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Domestic box office · opens in a new tabSource 13 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · The era of director brands · opens in a new tabBack on the stage after about two years, performed at LG Arts Center in Yeoksam-dong through Dec. 29.
Source 14 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Welcome to Dongmakgol, the play · opens in a new tab The date is from the performance preview in a November article.A comedy with Lee Na-young and Jung Jae-young, produced by Film It Suda.
Source 15 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Someone Special, a Kino drama · opens in a new tab The release date is from the opening preview in the May 30 article.He wrote and produced it, and Park Kwang-hyun directed. Jung Jae-young, Shin Ha-kyun and Kang Hye-jung starred.
Source 16 · Joynews24 (Korean) · August in Korean cinema · opens in a new tabSource 20 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Theater bugs of Seoul Institute of the Arts · opens in a new tabSource 22 · Kyunghyang Shinmun (Korean) · Director Jang Jin · opens in a new tabAn adaptation of his 2000 play Leave When They’re Applauding, which has the same Korean title. Sports Chosun wrote on Sept. 1 that this film and Welcome to Dongmakgol were both doing well.
Source 16 · Joynews24 (Korean) · August in Korean cinema · opens in a new tabSource 17 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · Star charm tour · opens in a new tab The release date is from the opening preview in the Aug. 5 article.Its production company, Film It Suda, said that in its third week, on Nov. 5, nationwide viewers passed 1.5 million.
Source 18 · Star News (Korean) · Righteous Ties at 1.5 million · opens in a new tabA channel affiliated with Onmedia announced it as a three-part series of four minutes each, to air every Tuesday from April 1.
Source 19 · Digital Times (Korean) · U-Turn · opens in a new tab The date is from the airing preview in the Mar. 25 article.It starred Jang Dong-gun. Newsen reports that 1,087,401 people saw it during November.
Source 21 · Newsen (Korean) · November in cinemas · opens in a new tabHis ninth film.
Source 22 · Kyunghyang Shinmun (Korean) · Director Jang Jin · opens in a new tab The release timing is from the “last September” in the 2011 Kyunghyang Shinmun article; the day could not be confirmed.His tenth work. Kim Su-ro, Kim Dong-wook and Kim Ji-won played the main characters.
Source 22 · Kyunghyang Shinmun (Korean) · Director Jang Jin · opens in a new tabAt its fifth-anniversary press conference, tvN said Jang Jin would write and direct the Korean version of Saturday Night Live.
Source 23 · MyDaily (Korean) · The Korean SNL · opens in a new tabAs overall director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, he visited Kukkiwon with chief director Im Kwon-taek and received an honorary 4th-dan certificate.
Source 24 · Sports World (Korean) · Kukkiwon honorary dan certificate · opens in a new tabA film starring Jo Jin-woong and Kim Sung-kyun.
Source 27 · Star News (Korean) · Lunar New Year screen discoveries · opens in a new tabSource 48 · Economy Queen (Korean) · We Are Brothers · opens in a new tab The release date could not be confirmed; Star News mentions it in a February 2015 article as a film released last year.His third film with Cha Seung-won and his first attempt at a sentimental noir.
Source 26 · Star News (Korean) · June noir scorecard · opens in a new tabSource 25 · TV Report (Korean) · Man on High Heels · opens in a new tabHe prepared the opening ceremony with chief director Im Kwon-taek. It ran four hours under the theme “Dream of 4.5 Billion, Asia Becoming One.”
Source 29 · OSEN (Korean) · Asian Games opening ceremony · opens in a new tab The date is from an article published on the day of the opening ceremony.He appeared at the press conference as a cast member with Park Ji-yoon, Hong Jin-ho, Jang Dong-min and Hani.
Source 30 · TenAsia (Korean) · Crime Scene 2 press conference · opens in a new tabSource 49 · OSEN (Korean) · Crime Scene: misunderstandings and the truth · opens in a new tab The date is of the press conference; the first air date could not be confirmed. Jang Jin is not among the six players on the premiere of season 1 in 2014 (OSEN).He joined the digital content studio Makeus and opened his own channel, Dingo Time.
Source 31 · Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · Joins Makeus · opens in a new tabAppeared in season 3. Season 3 ended in 2017.
Source 32 · Top Star News (Korean) · My Little Old Boy: Director Jang Jin · opens in a new tabSource 33 · News1 (Korean) · Crime Scene Returns lineup · opens in a new tab Top Star News reports the appearance and News1 the end year. The air period could not be confirmed.It was introduced as a drama about young people who dream of space, with Jang Jin writing and directing.
Source 34 · The Ssen News (Korean) · Byeolui Dosi audition · opens in a new tab The month is from the audition news article (Dec. 21).A program hosted by Yoon Jong-shin, with the two film directors Jang Jin and Byun Young-joo as storytellers.
Source 35 · MyDaily (Korean) · While You’re Having a Hard Time · opens in a new tab The date is from the first-air preview in the Jan. 29 cast announcement.It ran at Yes24 Stage through Feb. 19 the next year. SBS reports that the 1995 work was back on stage after 10 years.
Source 36 · SBS (Korean) · Clumsy People after 10 years · opens in a new tab The month is from the Dec. 14 article; the opening day could not be confirmed.YTN star reported that the directors Jang Jin, Jang Yu-jung and Yang Ik-june and the actors Kim Ji-hoon, Oh Dae-hwan and Choi Young-joon would host as six regular cast members.
Source 37 · YTN (Korean) · Black 2 hosts · opens in a new tab The date is of the report.The variety show came back seven years after season 3. Jang Jin, Park Ji-yoon and Jang Dong-min appear as original members, with Key, Joo Hyun-young and Ahn Yu-jin newly joining.
Source 38 · News1 (Korean) · Crime Scene Returns, week one · opens in a new tabSource 33 · News1 (Korean) · Crime Scene Returns lineup · opens in a new tabJoongAng Ilbo interviewed Jang Jin 30 years after he put on the 1995 play Clumsy People.
Source 39 · JoongAng Ilbo (Korean) · Interview for his 30th year since debut · opens in a new tab The date is of the article.Appeared as a player with Jang Dong-min, Park Ji-yoon, Ahn Yu-jin and Kim Ji-hoon.
Source 40 · Sports Seoul (Korean) · Crime Scene Zero · opens in a new tab The date is from the first-release preview in the Sept. 16 press conference article.He talked about filming Crime Scene Zero. He says one episode takes 20 hours to film.
Source 41 · OSEN (Korean) · Radio Star after 12 years · opens in a new tabSource 42 · News1 (Korean) · Radio Star airing on the 8th · opens in a new tabA two-person play about a psychological duel between a genius profiler and a serial-killer suspect. It opened at Yes24 Stage in Daehangno, Seoul.
Source 43 · Hankyoreh (Korean) · The play Danforth Was Right · opens in a new tab The date is from the “last 12th” in the June 22 article.END OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 1995–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
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Film & TV · South Korea
Feb 24, 1971 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1971: the year of the event minus 1971, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.30 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.