The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 24, he started in broadcasting as an assistant director of Mnet’s Yoo Se-yoon’s Art Video. That year he also joined tvN’s SNL Korea season 3 as a writer, and became known playing Son Dam-bi’s manager in the Extreme Job skit.
In 2014, he appeared on tvN’s First Day of Work, and his job application was talked about. In 2015, he wrote and starred in The Superman Age. That year he signed with YG Entertainment.
In 2017, he held his first stand-up comedy show, Black Comedy, and published his first book.
In 2018, his Black Comedy show was released worldwide on Netflix as Too Much Information. That year he also showed his daily life with his manager Yoo Gyu-seon on MBC’s Omniscient Interfering View and joined Those Who Cross the Line.
On his birthday in 2019, he held a birthday party where no one was allowed to laugh. That year he moved to Sandbox Network, and at year’s end he won the Excellence Award in the variety category at the MBC Entertainment Awards.
In 2020, he published his second book, Wordplay, and won the Best Teamwork Award at the MBC Entertainment Awards. In 2021, he won the Best Entertainer Award.
In 2022, he wrote for Unicorn and co-founded Black Paper at year’s end. In 2023, he won the Multiplayer Award.
In 2024, his Sandbox contract ended, and he went to the emergency room over his liver enzyme levels. At year’s end he confirmed a relationship. In 2025, he said Black Paper had recorded 10 billion won in revenue three years after its founding. In 2026, he had gallbladder removal surgery.
Yoo Byung-jae (born May 6, 1988) started in broadcasting on Jun 5, 2012, the year he turned 24, as an assistant director of Mnet’s Yoo Se-yoon’s Art Video, and became known on Oct 20, 2012 as Son Dam-bi’s manager in the SNL Korea skit Extreme Job. He later widened his work to stand-up comedy, YouTube and running a content company.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Started in broadcasting as an assistant director on a mockumentary variety show hosted by Yoo Se-yoon.
Source 01 · OhmyNews (Korean) · First broadcast of Yoo Se-yoon’s Art Video · opens in a new tabSource 02 · TenAsia (Korean) · Who is Yoo Byung-jae? · opens in a new tabSource 27 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Yoo Se-yoon’s short film story · opens in a new tabWorked as a writer from season 3, when the show went into regular scheduling.
Source 03 · Xportsnews (Korean) · First broadcast of SNL Korea season 3 · opens in a new tabSource 04 · Segye Ilbo (Korean) · Joins YG Entertainment · opens in a new tabIn the episode with the host Son Dam-bi, he drew attention playing a manager pushed around by a haughty top star. From this episode, the manager character in Extreme Job became a topic of talk.
His job application, which listed admitting his mistakes as a special skill and 40 million won as his expected starting salary, was talked about.
Source 07 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · First Day of Work job application · opens in a new tabHe wrote and acted in a story about a job seeker who gains superpowers.
Source 08 · Etoday (Korean) · First broadcast of The Superman Age · opens in a new tabYG Entertainment announced on its official blog that he had joined.
Source 04 · Segye Ilbo (Korean) · Joins YG Entertainment · opens in a new tabHeld over two days at Rolling Hall in Hongdae, Seoul, with tickets sold out in one minute.
Source 09 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · First Black Comedy show · opens in a new tabHis first essay book, published by Biche.
Source 10 · Global Economic (Korean) · First essay book published · opens in a new tabThe show he had performed live the year before. Netflix introduced it as Korea’s first original stand-up comedy special.
Source 11 · TV Report (Korean) · Netflix’s Yoo Byung-jae: Black Comedy is released · opens in a new tabShowed his daily life with his manager Yoo Gyu-seon.
Source 12 · MBN (Korean) · Appears on Omniscient Interfering View · opens in a new tab The date of his first appearance was not confirmed in articles. This is the broadcast date confirmed in an article about the appearance.Appeared as a masked member and met Lee Si-young and Seol Min-seok.
Source 13 · Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · Joins Those Who Cross the Line · opens in a new tabOn his birthday he held a party at which no one was allowed to laugh throughout the event.
Source 14 · Newsen (Korean) · A Birthday Party Where You Must Not Laugh · opens in a new tabWhen his contract with YG Entertainment ended, he moved to Sandbox with his manager Yoo Gyu-seon. He was active there from June.
Source 28 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · Sandbox exclusive contract · opens in a new tabSource 15 · Top Star News (Korean) · YG contract expires · opens in a new tabShared the award with the actor Sung Hoon.
Source 16 · Sports Donga (Korean) · 2019 MBC Entertainment Awards Excellence Award · opens in a new tabHis second book, three years after his first.
Source 17 · Newsen (Korean) · Acrostic poem book Wordplay published · opens in a new tabWent on stage representing the team of Omniscient Interfering View.
Source 18 · Newsen (Korean) · 2020 MBC Entertainment Awards Teamwork Award · opens in a new tabReceived it at a ceremony held online.
Source 19 · News1 (Korean) · 2021 MBC Entertainment Awards Entertainer Award · opens in a new tabWorked as a writer on an original sitcom starring Shin Ha-kyun and Won Jin-ah.
Source 20 · Wikitree (Korean) · Joins Unicorn as a writer · opens in a new tabFounded the content production company Black Paper with his manager Yoo Gyu-seon and Lee Eon-ju, the head writer of You Quiz on the Block.
Source 21 · Joynews24 (Korean) · Sandbox contract expires · opens in a new tabWon for Omniscient Interfering View, Hakyeon, Hangout with Yoo, Those Who Cross the Line, Sechihyeo and Anhadeon Jis-eul Hago Geurae.
Source 22 · Xportsnews (Korean) · 2023 MBC Entertainment Awards Multiplayer Award · opens in a new tabAfterward he focused on Black Paper.
Source 21 · Joynews24 (Korean) · Sandbox contract expires · opens in a new tabSaid in a YouTube video that his liver enzyme level came out at 2,000, against an average of about 40, and that he went to the emergency room.
Source 23 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · Hospitalized over liver enzyme levels · opens in a new tabConfirmed on a broadcast that he was seeing an influencer nine years younger.
Source 24 · MyDaily (Korean) · Confirms a relationship · opens in a new tabSaid on a broadcast that the company, with 35 employees, recorded revenue of 10 billion won three years after its founding.
Source 25 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · Black Paper revenue of 10 billion won · opens in a new tabAnnounced on social media that he had safely completed gallbladder removal surgery.
Source 26 · OSEN (Korean) · Gallbladder removal surgery · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2012–2026 · 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.
Comedy · South Korea
May 6, 1988 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1988: the year of the event minus 1988, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.29 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.