The year he turned 21, he first became known as a fashion model, drawing on his height, Sisun News writes. In 1998, he debuted as an actor as Do-gi in the film Bye June.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 23, he became known as Paint in Attack the Gas Station. Dong-A Ilbo writes that he began rising to stardom with this film.
In 2000, he co-starred with Kim Ha-neul in Ditto. In October he was admitted to Chung-Ang University graduate school, and in December he received the Popular Star Award at the Blue Dragon Film Awards. The year he turned 25, One Fine Spring Day opened. In November 2002, his casting in Into the Mirror was announced. In 2003, he played Lee Woo-jin in Oldboy. In May 2004, Oldboy won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2005, he co-starred with Song Kang-ho in Antarctic Journal.
The year he turned 30, he played the prosecutor Hyun-woo in Traces of Love. In 2007, he played Nomi in Hwang Jin Yi. In 2008, he played Yeon-woo, aged thirty, in Hello, Schoolgirl. In 2010, he co-starred with Soo Ae in Midnight FM. In 2011, he married actor Kim Hyo-jin.
The year he turned 37, Mai Ratima, his first feature film as a director, opened. In 2014, he played the star reporter Kim Moon-ho in KBS2’s Healer. In 2016, he played Lee Tae-joon in tvN’s The Good Wife. In 2017, The Swindlers opened. In 2019, Money opened, with him as Beon Ho-pyo.
The year he turned 46, he played the Professor in Netflix’s Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area. In September 2023, he was appointed full-time professor in the Department of Film and Video at Konkuk University, and in November Disney+’s Vigilante was released.
The year he turned 48, he took part as a presenter in the Tving documentary Shaman: Gwisinjeon. In December 2025, Tving’s Villains was released. In 2026, he played Han Myeong-hoe in The King’s Warden.
Yoo Ji-tae (born 1976) debuted in 1998, the year he turned 22, with the film Bye June, and became known when Attack the Gas Station opened on Oct 2, 1999, the year he turned 23. In 2003, the year he turned 27, he appeared in Oldboy.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Sisun News writes that he first became known as a fashion model, drawing on his height.
Source 07 · Sisun News (Korean) · Yoo Ji-tae · opens in a new tab The start year follows Sisun News; the month and day were not confirmed.In Choi Ho’s debut film, he played Do-gi, one of three close high school friends. It was his first film as an actor.
Source 01 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Bye June opens · opens in a new tabSource 07 · Sisun News (Korean) · Yoo Ji-tae · opens in a new tabAppeared with Lee Sung-jae, Yu Oh-seong and Kang Sung-jin, playing Paint. In a 2001 article, Dong-A Ilbo writes that he began rising to stardom in 1999 with this film.
Co-starred with Kim Ha-neul. Dong-A Ilbo reports that on a website that gauges film actors’ popularity through a stock-trading format, he became the top-priced stock, ahead of Han Suk-kyu.
Source 08 · Kukmin Ilbo (Korean) · Yoo Ji-tae and Kim Ha-neul in Ditto · opens in a new tabSource 09 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Star Hotline Yoo Ji-tae · opens in a new tab The opening date follows a preview article. Dong-A Ilbo calls it his third film, after Bye June and Attack the Gas Station.After graduating from the Dankook University theater and film department that August, he was admitted to the master’s program in video production in the Department of Visual Arts.
Source 10 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Yoo Ji-tae admitted to Chung-Ang University graduate school · opens in a new tabReceived the Popular Star Award together with Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Hee-sun and Jang Dong-gun.
Source 11 · Hankyung (Korean) · Blue Dragon Film Awards · opens in a new tabAppeared with Lee Young-ae, playing Sang-woo.
Source 03 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Cine Interview Yoo Ji-tae on One Fine Spring Day · opens in a new tabThe production company announced that he had been cast as the lead of the film.
Source 12 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Into the Mirror casting · opens in a new tabAppeared with Choi Min-sik, playing Lee Woo-jin. Hankook Ilbo writes that the film made his name known overseas.
Source 13 · Kyunghyang Shinmun (Korean) · Oldboy, Choi Min-sik vs. Yoo Ji-tae · opens in a new tabSource 14 · Seoul Economic Daily (Korean) · New film Oldboy · opens in a new tabSource 06 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · Yoo Ji-tae interview · opens in a new tab The opening date follows a preview article.Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy received the Grand Prix at the 57th Cannes Film Festival. The result was announced at the closing ceremony on the 23rd, Korean time.
Source 15 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Oldboy wins Cannes Grand Prix · opens in a new tabCo-starred with Song Kang-ho.
Source 34 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Antarctic Journal DVD release · opens in a new tab The opening day was not confirmed. The May opening is confirmed by a Yonhap News Agency article.Played Hyun-woo, a prosecutor. The film was chosen as the opening film of the Busan International Film Festival that year.
Source 27 · Joynews24 (Korean) · Yoo Ji-tae interview on Traces of Love · opens in a new tabAppeared with Song Hye-kyo, playing Nomi.
Source 28 · Star News (Korean) · Hwang Jin Yi opening-day stage greeting · opens in a new tabSource 29 · MBN (Korean) · Weekend cinemas, Hwang Jin Yi · opens in a new tabAppeared with Lee Yeon-hee, playing Yeon-woo, aged thirty.
Source 16 · Money Today (Korean) · Actors born in 1976, the Year of the Dragon · opens in a new tabCo-starred with Soo Ae, playing Han Dong-su. It ranked No. 1 at the box office in its first weekend.
Source 30 · Asia Economy (Korean) · Midnight FM, Soo Ae and Yoo Ji-tae · opens in a new tabSource 31 · Star News (Korean) · Midnight FM tops first-weekend box office · opens in a new tabThe wedding was held at the Shilla Hotel. Yonhap News Agency reports that it followed five years of dating.
Source 17 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Yoo Ji-tae and Kim Hyo-jin wed · opens in a new tabIt was his first feature film as a director. Before its release, it won the Grand Jury Prize at the 15th Deauville Asian Film Festival in France.
Source 18 · Seoul Economic Daily (Korean) · Mai Ratima press screening · opens in a new tab The opening date follows a preview article.Played Kim Moon-ho, a star reporter.
Source 32 · Tenasia (Korean) · Healer behind-the-scenes cuts · opens in a new tabPlayed Lee Tae-joon, the prosecutor husband. The first episode averaged a 4% viewership rating.
Source 19 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · The Good Wife premiere · opens in a new tabAppeared with Hyun Bin, Park Sung-woong and Nana. It passed 3.5 million cumulative admissions on its 18th day of release.
Source 20 · Star News (Korean) · The Swindlers passes 3.5 million · opens in a new tabAppeared with Ryu Jun-yeol, playing Beon Ho-pyo. It passed 2 million cumulative admissions on its ninth day of release.
Source 21 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · Money passes 2 million · opens in a new tabPlayed the Professor.
Source 22 · News1 (Korean) · Money Heist interview with Jeon Jong-seo · opens in a new tabWas appointed full-time professor at the Konkuk University ceremony for newly appointed faculty, in the Department of Film and Video.
Source 23 · TV Report (Korean) · Konkuk University full-time professor · opens in a new tabPlayed Jo Heon, a team leader at the Metropolitan Investigation Unit.
Source 24 · Tenasia (Korean) · Vigilante first appearance · opens in a new tabTook part as a presenter together with actor Ok Ja-yeon.
Source 35 · Media Today (Korean) · Shaman production crew · opens in a new tabPlayed J, the code name of a crime designer.
Source 33 · Nocut News (Korean) · Villains released · opens in a new tabPlayed Han Myeong-hoe. The headline of an Apr. 24 Maeil Business Newspaper article describes him as an actor in a film with 16 million admissions.
Source 25 · Sports Donga (Korean) · The King’s Warden, Park Ji-hoon · opens in a new tabSource 26 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · Yoo Ji-tae, The King’s Warden · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 1997–2026 · 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
1976 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1976: the year of the event minus 1976, 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.