The year he turned 19, he debuted in the film Days... In 2008, he appeared in the independent film Sleeping Beauty. In 2009, he played Song Mi-pung, the fourth son, in KBS2 My Too Perfect Sons.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 23, he played the title character, Dong-hae, in the KBS1 daily serial Smile Again, his first lead role. Korea Economic TV says its ratings topped 40% and that he earned the nickname “the nation’s grandson.”
In 2011, Smile Again ended after 159 episodes, and SBS Warrior Baek Dong-soo began in July. In 2012, he played a villain in SBS Five Fingers.
In October 2013, he played Ta Hwan in MBC Empress Ki. In December 2014, KBS2 Healer began. In February 2015, Healer ended.
In 2016, he played the bodyguard Kim Je-ha in tvN The K2. In February 2017, he took his first lead role on the big screen in the film Fabricated City, and in August he entered active-duty army service.
In April 2019, he was discharged, and in September he returned in tvN Melting Me Softly. In 2020, he played the store manager Choi Dae-hyun in SBS Backstreet Rookie. In 2022, he played the magician Ri Eul in the Netflix original The Sound of Magic.
In December 2023, JTBC Welcome to Samdal-ri began. In November 2024, Disney+ Gangnam B-Side was released. In November 2025, Disney+ The Manipulated was released. In September 2026, the Netflix series The Scandal was released.
Ji Chang-wook (born Jul 5, 1987) debuted in the film Days... in 2006, the year he turned 19, and became known when he took his first lead role in KBS1 Smile Again on Oct 4, 2010, the year he turned 23. His first lead role in a film, Fabricated City, was released in 2017, the year he turned 30.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Debuted in the film Days...
Source 02 · OSEN (Korean) · Empress Ki finale · opens in a new tabSource 03 · Korea Economic TV (Korean) · Healer finale interview · opens in a new tab The release month and day are not confirmed. Woman Donga says he debuted in the 2008 independent film Sleeping Beauty, while Maekyung Economy describes that film as the first audition he passed.The first film audition he passed was for this independent film.
Source 01 · Maekyung Economy (Korean) · Ji Chang-wook interview · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Woman Donga (Korean) · The Sound of Magic interview · opens in a new tab The release month and day are not confirmed.Played Song Mi-pung, the fourth son.
Source 03 · Korea Economic TV (Korean) · Healer finale interview · opens in a new tabSource 06 · Edaily (Korean) · Appearing in My Too Perfect Sons · opens in a new tabSource 01 · Maekyung Economy (Korean) · Ji Chang-wook interview · opens in a new tab The broadcast start date is not confirmed. Maekyung Economy and Korea Economic TV say he became a recognizable face through the drama.Took his first title role, Dong-hae, in a daily serial. It came four years after his debut.
Ended after 159 episodes.
Source 08 · MyDaily (Korean) · Smile Again finale · opens in a new tabCo-led the Monday-Tuesday drama with Yoo Seung-ho. The first episode drew 10.1% nationwide.
Source 09 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Warrior Baek Dong-soo premiere · opens in a new tabOSEN says he played a villain in the drama.
Source 01 · Maekyung Economy (Korean) · Ji Chang-wook interview · opens in a new tabSource 02 · OSEN (Korean) · Empress Ki finale · opens in a new tab The broadcast month and day are not confirmed.Played Ta Hwan. The first episode drew 11.1%.
Source 10 · Star News (Korean) · Empress Ki ratings · opens in a new tabSource 04 · Korea Economic TV (Korean) · Empress Ki finale interview · opens in a new tab Korea Economic TV says the drama once again made his name known to viewers.Played Seo Jung-hoo. The first episode drew 7.8%.
Source 11 · Donga.com (Korean) · Healer premiere · opens in a new tabThe Monday-Tuesday drama Healer ended.
Source 03 · Korea Economic TV (Korean) · Healer finale interview · opens in a new tabPlayed the bodyguard Kim Je-ha in the Friday-Saturday drama.
Source 12 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · The K2 · opens in a new tabSource 13 · MBN (Korean) · Appearance on Taxi · opens in a new tabIt was his first lead role on the big screen. It was No. 1 at the box office on opening day.
Source 14 · News1 (Korean) · Fabricated City box office · opens in a new tabSource 15 · TenAsia (Korean) · Fabricated City · opens in a new tabEntered a recruit training center in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, and later served with the Baekgol Unit.
Source 16 · OSEN (Korean) · Discharged after full military service · opens in a new tabCompleted his military service.
Source 16 · OSEN (Korean) · Discharged after full military service · opens in a new tabIt was his first comeback project after discharge. He played Ma Dong-chan.
Source 17 · The Fact (Korean) · Melting Me Softly · opens in a new tabSource 18 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · Melting Me Softly · opens in a new tabSource 19 · Sisaweek (Korean) · Backstreet Rookie · opens in a new tabPlayed the convenience store manager Choi Dae-hyun.
Source 19 · Sisaweek (Korean) · Backstreet Rookie · opens in a new tab The premiere date is the one announced in a pre-broadcast article.Played the magician Ri Eul.
Source 05 · Woman Donga (Korean) · The Sound of Magic interview · opens in a new tabPlayed Cho Yong-pil.
Source 20 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · Welcome to Samdal-ri episode 1 · opens in a new tabEpisodes 1 and 2 were released. He played Yoon Gil-ho.
Source 21 · JTBC (Korean) · Gangnam B-Side · opens in a new tabPlayed Tae-jung. The series shares a universe with the film Fabricated City.
Source 22 · OhmyNews (Korean) · The Manipulated · opens in a new tabAppeared alongside Son Ye-jin and Nana, playing Cho Won. In its second week it ranked third among non-English shows on the global Top 10.
Source 23 · Edaily (Korean) · Netflix’s Dead-End Job release (mentions The Scandal) · opens in a new tabSource 24 · Star News (Korean) · The Scandal ranks third globally · opens in a new tabSource 25 · Nocut News (Korean) · Ji Chang-wook interview on The Scandal · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2006–2026 · 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
Jul 5, 1987 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1987: the year of the event minus 1987, 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.