The year he turned 27, he dropped out in the second semester of his fourth year in mechanical engineering at Hongik University and debuted as a model. Street photos taken of him during a leave of absence had drawn attention on online fashion communities. In 2015, he appeared on Channel A’s variety show Meoseumadeul.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 30, he first appeared on tvN’s Problematic Men and became known. Edaily cites the program as what made his name known.
In 2017, he appeared on observational variety shows such as SBS’s Saljjak Michyeodo Joha. In 2018, he started KBS Joy’s Love Naggers and took his first drama lead role in MBN’s Love Alert.
In 2019, he played Andrew Kang in Best Chicken and made his screen debut in the film Miss & Mrs. Cops.
In 2020, he hosted Olive’s Baegopeunde Gwichanha, his first cooking show, and played a dentist in Please Don’t Date Him. In 2021, he appeared on MBC Every1’s Daehan Oegugin.
In 2022, he joined KBS2’s Beat Coin. In 2023, he became a member of MBC’s Hangout with Yoo and hosted an awards show for the first time, the 2023 KBS Entertainment Awards.
In 2024, Beat Coin ended. In 2025, Love Naggers ended after seven years, and he reunited with the Beat Coin members on Netflix’s Screwballs. He also left YG and signed with CAM.
The year he turned 40, he won the Excellence Award for Male Entertainer at the Blue Dragon Series Awards for Screwballs. He was also announced as a new member of the “Top Ear” listening panel on SBS’s Our Ballad 2.
Joo Woo-jae (born Nov 28, 1986) debuted as a model in Sep 2013, the year he turned 27, and became known in 2016, the year he turned 30, through tvN’s Problematic Men. In 2026, the year he turned 40, he won the Excellence Award for Male Entertainer at the Blue Dragon Series Awards for Screwballs.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.