The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 29, he debuted with the film Socialphobia, and in November he became known as Jung-hwan in tvN’s Reply 1988. It was his first TV role.
In 2016, No Tomorrow and Canola opened, and he won best new actor in television at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards. In 2017, The King, A Taxi Driver and Heart Blackened opened one after another. A Taxi Driver passed 10 million admissions in 19 days.
Little Forest and Believer opened in 2018. Money and The Battle: Roar to Victory opened in 2019.
In 2020 he joined Greenpeace’s zero plastic campaign, and in November he held his first solo photo exhibition. In 2021 he returned to drama with JTBC’s Lost.
In 2022, Alienoid and The Night Owl opened. In 2023 he won lead acting awards for The Night Owl at the Korean Film Critics Association Awards and the Chunsa International Film Festival. That year he also finished the Chicago Marathon.
In 2024, Alienoid: Return to the Future opened and Netflix’s The 8 Show was released. In 2025 he played the pastor Seong Min-chan in Netflix’s film Revelations.
In 2026 he moved to Galaxy Corporation and played his first dual role since his debut in Netflix’s Mousetrap.
Ryu Jun-yeol (born Sep 25, 1986) debuted with the film Socialphobia on Mar 12, 2015, the year he turned 29, and became known the same year as Jung-hwan in tvN’s Reply 1988, which premiered on Nov 6, 2015. In 2023, the year he turned 37, he won best actor at the Korean Film Critics Association Awards for The Night Owl.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Episode 1 drew a rating of 6.7% nationwide among pay-platform households, peaking at 8.6%. It was his first TV role.
Kukmin Ilbo wrote that it was a drama that found many unknown actors without star casting.
Source 05 · Kukmin Ilbo (Korean) · Reply 1988 ends · opens in a new tabHe was chosen for a lead with Ji Soo, Kim Jun-myeon and Kim Hee-chan after a four-month audition.
Source 06 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · No Tomorrow release confirmed · opens in a new tabHe appeared with Kim Go-eun and Youn Yuh-jung.
Source 07 · Seoul Shinmun (Korean) · Canola · opens in a new tabHe won it for Reply 1988 at the ceremony at Peace Palace at Kyung Hee University.
Source 08 · TenAsia (Korean) · 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards · opens in a new tabIn director Han Jae-rim’s film he played Choi Du-il, the number two of a criminal organization. It drew 5.31 million admissions.
Source 09 · TenAsia (Korean) · The King opens · opens in a new tabSource 10 · OSEN (Korean) · From The King to Heart Blackened · opens in a new tabHe played Gu Jae-sik, a college student living in Gwangju in 1980. It passed 1 million admissions in two days.
Source 11 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · A Taxi Driver opens · opens in a new tabSource 10 · OSEN (Korean) · From The King to Heart Blackened · opens in a new tabIt took 19 days from its opening.
Source 12 · Star Today (Korean) · A Taxi Driver passes 10 million · opens in a new tabIt is a film by director Jung Ji-woo.
Source 13 · Newsen (Korean) · Heart Blackened · opens in a new tabIn director Yim Soon-rye’s film he played Jae-ha, an old friend of Hye-won (Kim Tae-ri).
Source 14 · Star News (Korean) · Little Forest release confirmed · opens in a new tabHe appeared with Cho Jin-woong, and it was No. 1 at the box office on opening day with 370,000 admissions.
Source 15 · Sports Hankook (Korean) · Believer opening day · opens in a new tabHe played Il-hyeon, a new stock broker. It was No. 1 at the box office on opening day with 165,750 admissions.
Source 16 · Ilgan Sports (Korean) · Money opening day · opens in a new tabThe film, directed by Won Shin-yeon, was No. 1 at the box office on opening day with 334,238 admissions.
Source 17 · Xportsnews (Korean) · The Battle: Roar to Victory opening day · opens in a new tabHe joined the campaign by posting “Ryu Jun-yeol’s Housekeeping Vlog” on social media that day.
Source 18 · Newsen (Korean) · Greenpeace campaign · opens in a new tabIt ran until Nov. 22 at Hyundai Card Design Library in Gahoe-dong, Seoul. He hung 17 street photos taken in Hollywood during a 2019 trip to the United States.
Source 19 · Star News (Korean) · First solo photo exhibition · opens in a new tabIn the weekend drama directed by Hur Jin-ho and Park Hong-soo he played Gang-jae, with Jeon Do-yeon.
Source 20 · Newsen (Korean) · Lost premiere · opens in a new tabThe film, directed by Choi Dong-hoon, was No. 1 at the box office on opening day with 158,162 admissions.
Source 21 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · Alienoid opening day · opens in a new tabIt is a film by director Ahn Tae-jin, and his third time working with Yoo Hae-jin. 101,599 people saw it on opening day.
Source 22 · OSEN (Korean) · The Night Owl opening day · opens in a new tabHe finished the full course in 4 hours 54 minutes 39 seconds.
Source 23 · My Daily (Korean) · Marathon · opens in a new tab The article gives no date for the race.It was a documentary for Earth Day made with six high school students who like photography.
Source 24 · OSEN (Korean) · tvN’s Ryu Jun-yeol and the Photographers in School Uniforms · opens in a new tabHe won it for The Night Owl. The ceremony was at the Press Center in Taepyeong-ro, Seoul.
Source 25 · Star Today (Korean) · 43rd Korean Film Critics Association Awards · opens in a new tabIt was held at Construction Hall in Nonhyeon-dong, Seoul, and The Night Owl won four awards at the festival.
Source 26 · JTBC (Korean) · 28th Chunsa International Film Festival · opens in a new tabIt was No. 1 at the box office on opening day.
Source 27 · OSEN (Korean) · Alienoid: Return to the Future opening day · opens in a new tabIt is about eight people who are shut in a space divided into eight floors and join a show in which they earn money as time builds up.
Source 28 · Star News (Korean) · The 8 Show released · opens in a new tabHe said on a radio show that he had run the Tokyo Marathon and finished.
Source 29 · Newsen (Korean) · Radio appearance · opens in a new tab The article gives no date for the race. He gave it as recent news on the March 19 broadcast.In director Yeon Sang-ho’s film he played the pastor Seong Min-chan. Alfonso Cuarón took part as an executive producer.
Source 30 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · Revelations interview · opens in a new tabHe left UAA and moved. Song Kang-ho, G-Dragon, Taemin and Kim Jong-kook are on the company’s roster.
Source 31 · TenAsia (Korean) · Contract with Galaxy Corporation · opens in a new tabHe played both Moon-jae, a novelist whose name and face are stolen, and the field mouse who stole them. It was his first dual role since his debut. It reached the top 10 in 49 countries within four days of its release.
Source 32 · SBS Entertainment News (Korean) · Mousetrap global results · opens in a new tabSource 33 · Sports Hankook (Korean) · Mousetrap interview · opens in a new tabHe plays Min-hyuk in a series set in Australia. Han Jun-hee, who directed D.P., is creative supervisor.
Source 34 · Edaily (Korean) · Netflix’s Outback · opens in a new tabSource 35 · The Korea Times · Ryu Jun-yeol cast in Netflix’s Outback · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2015–2026 · 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
Sep 25, 1986 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1986: the year of the event minus 1986, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.22 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.