The year he turned 20, he released the debut single “Feeling Sensation” as a member of the boy group SF9. In 2017, his casting in KBS2’s School 2017 was confirmed. In 2018, he appeared in tvN’s About Time and SBS’s Where Stars Land.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 23, he played the lead role of Ha-ru in MBC’s Extraordinary You. Insight writes that he rose to prominence with the drama.
In 2021, he appeared in JTBC’s She Would Never Know and KBS2’s The King’s Affection in succession. The next year, he played Choi Joon-woong in MBC’s Tomorrow.
In 2023, he appeared in JTBC’s Destined with You and KBS2’s The Matchmakers, and made a special appearance in Netflix’s A Time Called You. In September, he announced that he would leave SF9 to focus on solo activities.
In 2024, he held his first solo fan meeting in Korea, and another at the end of the year.
In 2025, he appeared in Disney+’s first original period series, The Murky Stream, and enlisted in the Army as an active-duty soldier on Oct. 27. The Japanese film The Last Man: The Movie – First Love was also released that year.
Rowoon debuted with SF9 on Oct 5, 2016, the year he turned 20, and became known with the premiere of MBC’s Extraordinary You on Oct 2, 2019, the year he turned 23, in the lead role of Ha-ru. In 2025, the year he turned 29, he enlisted in the Army as an active-duty soldier.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Released a debut single as a member of the boy group SF9. The title track is “Fanfare.”
Source 01 · Herald POP (Korean) · New boy groups of late 2016 · opens in a new tabSource 23 · iMBC Entertainment (Korean) · Rowoon’s birthday, Aug. 7 · opens in a new tab The birth date is from the iMBC Entertainment birthday article.His agency, FNC Entertainment, confirmed his casting.
Source 02 · Xports News (Korean) · School 2017 cast confirmed · opens in a new tabAppeared as Wee-jin and shared his thoughts on the finale through his agency.
Source 03 · News1 (Korean) · About Time finale remarks · opens in a new tab The date is when the finale remarks were published. The date of the last broadcast was not confirmed.Appeared in the SBS Monday-Tuesday drama.
Source 04 · TenAsia (Korean) · Where Stars Land and SKY Castle · opens in a new tabConfirmed as one of three leads with Kim Hye-yoon and Lee Jae-wook, in the roles of Eun Dan-o, Ha-ru and Baek Kyung. Rowoon plays Ha-ru.
Source 05 · Newsen (Korean) · Extraordinary You casting · opens in a new tabPlayed the lead role of Ha-ru. Episode 1 was rated 3.1% (Nielsen Korea, nationwide households). Insight writes that he rose to prominence with this drama.
Appeared as Chae Hyun-seung. Newsen writes that it was his second lead role after Extraordinary You. Episode 1 was rated 2%.
Source 09 · Newsis (Korean) · She Would Never Know · opens in a new tabSource 08 · Newsen (Korean) · Actors who rose with Extraordinary You · opens in a new tabPlayed the adult role opposite Park Eun-bin. Episode 1 showed the characters’ childhood and was rated 6.2%. The two appeared from episode 2.
Source 10 · MBC Entertainment (Korean) · The King’s Affection premiere · opens in a new tabAppeared with Kim Hee-sun as the contract employee Choi Joon-woong. Episode 1 was rated 7.6% nationwide.
Source 11 · TV Daily (Korean) · Tomorrow premiere · opens in a new tabStarred opposite Jo Bo-ah as the lawyer Jang Shin-yu.
Source 12 · OSEN (Korean) · New romantic-comedy leads · opens in a new tab The premiere date is the scheduled date given in a pre-broadcast article.Made a special appearance as Tae-ha in a Netflix original drama. The series was released on Netflix in more than 190 countries worldwide.
Source 24 · TenAsia (Korean) · A Time Called You, Ahn Hyo-seop interview · opens in a new tabSource 25 · OSEN (Korean) · A Time Called You, Ahn Hyo-seop interview · opens in a new tab The release date follows TenAsia. Star News gave Sept. 9.FNC Entertainment announced that, with the end of SF9’s first contract term, Rowoon would leave the group to focus on solo activities. SF9 would continue as an eight-member group without him.
Source 13 · Sports Donga (Korean) · Official statement on leaving SF9 · opens in a new tabPlayed Shim Jung-woo, a widowed royal son-in-law.
Source 14 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · The Matchmakers · opens in a new tab The premiere date is the scheduled date given in a pre-broadcast article.Held over two days at the Donghae Arts Center at Kwangwoon University in Seoul.
Source 15 · Newsis (Korean) · First solo fan meeting in Korea · opens in a new tabHeld on Dec. 30 and 31, with the Dec. 31 show at the Yonsei University Grand Auditorium.
Source 17 · Sports Donga (Korean) · Plus Star chart · opens in a new tabSource 16 · TenAsia (Korean) · Year-end concert and fan meeting · opens in a new tabPlayed Jang Si-yul in Disney+’s first original period series.
Source 18 · The Electronic Times (Korean) · The Murky Stream · opens in a new tabSource 19 · Sports Seoul (Korean) · The Murky Stream episode 4 stills · opens in a new tab The release date is the scheduled date given in a pre-broadcast article.Entered boot camp and is serving as an active-duty Army soldier. He had been scheduled to enlist on July 21, but it was postponed after a medical re-examination at enlistment.
Source 20 · Newsis (Korean) · Army enlistment · opens in a new tabPlayed the FBI investigator Clyde Yoon.
Source 21 · Sports Donga (Korean) · Role in a Japanese film · opens in a new tabSource 22 · Top Star News (Korean) · Birthday during military service · opens in a new tab The release date is the scheduled date given in an October 2025 article. An August 2026 article confirms it was released in 2025.END OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2016–2025 · 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.
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Film & TV · South Korea
Aug 7, 1996 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1996: the year of the event minus 1996, 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.