The year she turned 23, she was cast through an audition as Hae-mi in director Lee Chang-dong’s film Burning.
The breakthrough yearThe year she turned 24, she walked the red carpet in the Cannes Film Festival competition with her debut film Burning. The Korea Economic Daily introduced her as a newcomer invited to Cannes at the moment of her debut.
The year she turned 25, she was confirmed for the U.S. film Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon. In 2020, the Netflix film The Call was released. In 2021, she won best actress in film at the Baeksang Arts Awards and best actress at the Buil Film Awards for The Call, and Nothing Serious was released. In December her agency confirmed her relationship with director Lee Chung-hyun.
The year she turned 28, Netflix’s Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area and TVING’s Bargain were released one after the other. In 2023, she played the lead, Ok-ju, in the Netflix film Ballerina.
In 2024, she played Na Ah-jeong in tvN’s Monday-Tuesday drama Wedding Impossible.
In 2025, Project Y finished its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and was invited to the Busan International Film Festival. In November her casting in Highlander became known.
In 2026, Project Y was released in January and shooting began on the film Bawi in March. In August, her casting in Netflix’s Dochabi was announced.
Jeon Jong-seo (born 1994) became known on May 16, 2018, the year she turned 24, when her debut film Burning was shown in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2021, the year she turned 27, she won best actress in film at the Baeksang Arts Awards for The Call.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
The production company announced that it had cast Jeon Jong-seo as Hae-mi after an audition for new actresses that ran for several months.
Source 01 · OSEN (Korean) · Burning casts Jeon Jong-seo · opens in a new tabBurning, the only Korean film in the competition section of the 71st Cannes Film Festival, was shown for the first time at 6:30 p.m. local time in the Grand Théâtre Lumière. She walked the red carpet with director Lee Chang-dong, Yoo Ah-in and Steven Yeun.
It was released on May 17, with 517,903 cumulative admissions as of June 8.
Source 03 · Kukje Shinmun (Korean) · Burning on VOD · opens in a new tabThe film won the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Source 04 · Star News (Korean) · Cannes FIPRESCI Prize · opens in a new tabHer agency said she took part in an audition offered through a U.S. agency and that the casting was not final.
Source 07 · News1 (Korean) · Blood Moon audition · opens in a new tabConfirmed as the female lead in the film directed by Ana Lily Amirpour. Kate Hudson also appears.
Source 08 · News1 (Korean) · Hollywood film confirmed · opens in a new tabCo-starred with Park Shin-hye and played Young-sook.
Source 09 · JTBC (Korean) · The Call released · opens in a new tabSource 07 · News1 (Korean) · Blood Moon audition · opens in a new tabWon for The Call. The ceremony was held at KINTEX in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province.
Source 10 · Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · 57th Baeksang Arts Awards · opens in a new tabIt was first shown as an official selection in the competition of the 78th Venice International Film Festival.
Source 11 · JTBC (Korean) · First look at the Venice Film Festival · opens in a new tab The screening date is not confirmed. The JTBC article is dated Sept. 7.Won the 2021 Buil Film Awards best actress award for The Call. The ceremony was held at the BEXCO Auditorium in Busan.
Source 12 · Busan Ilbo (Korean) · 2021 Buil Film Awards · opens in a new tabAttended the event held at KNN Theater in Busan.
Source 13 · News1 (Korean) · Busan festival Actors’ House · opens in a new tabCo-starred with Son Suk-ku and played Ja-young.
Source 14 · Sports Donga (Korean) · Nothing Serious released · opens in a new tabHer agency said they had grown close after The Call and recently became a couple. Lee Chung-hyun directed The Call.
Source 15 · Financial News (Korean) · Relationship with director Lee Chung-hyun · opens in a new tabWon the film category’s actress of the year award.
Source 16 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Photo shoot · opens in a new tab The ceremony date is not confirmed; an article dated Apr. 5, 2022 describes it as a recent win.It is her second project with director Lee Chung-hyun after The Call.
Source 17 · KBS Entertainment (Korean) · Ballerina production confirmed · opens in a new tabPlayed Tokyo, a North Korean migrant worker, in the Netflix original series.
Source 18 · News1 (Korean) · Money Heist interview · opens in a new tabPlayed Park Joo-young in the TVING original series.
Source 19 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Bargain · opens in a new tabPlayed the lead, Ok-ju, in director Lee Chung-hyun’s new film.
Source 20 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Ballerina · opens in a new tabPlayed Na Ah-jeong, alongside Moon Sang-min and Kim Do-wan.
Source 21 · NoCut News (Korean) · Wedding Impossible · opens in a new tabCompleted the world premiere screening with director Lee Hwan and Han So-hee.
Source 22 · The Fact (Korean) · Toronto Film Festival · opens in a new tab The screening date is not confirmed. Her agency’s announcement was on Sept. 12.Attended the open talk held at the Busan Cinema Center.
Source 23 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · Joins Highlander · opens in a new tabHer agency, Andmarq, announced her casting. The film is by Chad Stahelski, who directed the John Wick series.
Source 23 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · Joins Highlander · opens in a new tabCo-starred with Han So-hee. The film is by director Lee Hwan.
Source 24 · SBS Entertainment News (Korean) · Project Y released · opens in a new tabSource 22 · The Fact (Korean) · Toronto Film Festival · opens in a new tabConfirmed for the film with Sul Kyung-gu and Seo Eun-soo, and shooting began.
Source 27 · Ilgan Sports (Korean) · Bawi begins shooting · opens in a new tabSource 26 · MyDaily (Korean) · Born in 1994 · opens in a new tab That she was born in 1994 is based on the MyDaily article.Cast with Kim Do-hoon and Lee Joon-gi, she plays Ahai.
Source 25 · News1 (Korean) · Dochabi casting · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2017–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
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AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
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Film & TV · South Korea
1994 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1994: the year of the event minus 1994, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.10.03 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.