Cho Seung-woo

Acting

Cho Seung-woo

Born 1980-03-28 · Seoul, South Korea

Cho Seung-woo (조승우; born March 28, 1980) is a South Korean actor widely regarded for his versatility across film, television, and musical theatre. He made his screen debut in Chunhyang (2000), where he was selected from hundreds of candidates, marking the beginning of a career defined by careful role selection and consistent critical acclaim. In cinema, he established himself through performances in works such as Marathon (2005), Tazza: The High Rollers (2006), and Inside Men (2015), demonstrating a wide acting range that moves between restrained realism and intense character-driven roles. His filmography reflects a preference for complex narratives and morally layered characters. On television, he gained broader recognition through his role as Hwang Si-mok in Stranger (2017–2020), a performance noted for its controlled emotional expression and precision. The role further reinforced his reputation as an actor capable of conveying depth through subtlety. In addition to his screen work, Cho Seung-woo is one of the most prominent figures in Korean musical theatre. He has led major productions including Jekyll & Hyde and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, earning acclaim for his vocal ability and stage presence, and contributing significantly to the popularity of musicals in South Korea. Across mediums, he is recognized for his disciplined approach to acting and his ability to fully inhabit diverse roles, maintaining a career that balances critical recognition with enduring public respect.

Acting credits

Tazza: The High Rollers poster
6.9

Go-ni tries his best to worship Pyung Gyung-jang as his teacher, and promises to stop gambling after winning his money back. But people's desires are endless.

Tazza: The High Rollers

2006

Assassination poster
7.3

In Japanese-occupied Korea, three freedom fighters are assigned a mission to assassinate a genocidal military leader and his top collaborator. But the plan goes completely awry amidst double-crossings, counter-assassinations, and a shocking revelation about one of the assassins' past.

Assassination

2015

The Classic poster
7.6

Ji-hae's friend is having problems expressing her feelings to the boy she loves, so she asks Ji-hae to write e-mails to him in her name. As the boy falls in love with her letters, Ji-hae discovers the story of her mother's romance which is remarkably similar to her own circumstances.

The Classic

2003

Inside Men poster
7.0

A disgruntled henchman teams up with an ambitious prosecutor to bring down a leading presidential candidate and the news editor behind him who is truly pulling the strings.

Inside Men

2015

Chunhyang poster
6.6

Once at a pagoda Mongryong Lee, a scion of a well-to-do family, meets Chunhyang, the young daughter of a courtesan and an aristocrat. Despite her low social standing she is smart and well-educated. The young people fall in love and think about marriage so that they could always be together. Mongryong is soon to go to the capital to take the state civil service exam. They part and in Chunhyang's life there appears the greedy and lustful Byun Hak-do, who tries to seduce her.

Chunhyang

2000

The Sword with No Name poster
6.1

Mu Myeong is a Joseon dynasty headhunter who meets and falls in love with lady Ja Yeong who will become the future Empress Myseongseong. A few years later, Ja Yeong enters the royal palace to marry King Gojong. Mu Myeong still having feelings for Ja Yeong and in an attempt to get closer to her becomes her personal body guard.

The Sword with No Name

2009

Perfect Game poster
6.9

The Lotte Giants' Choi Dong-won and the Haitai Tigers' Seon Dong-ryeol are rival pitchers in 1980s baseball. The film reenacts the legendary match of May 16, 1987, which baseball fans today still recall as "the perfect match," when Choi and Sun compete as pitchers for the last time.

Perfect Game

2011

Low Life poster
5.9

A sprawling story of one man's tumultuous life within the context of the South Korean political situation during the second half of the 20th century.

Low Life

2004

YMCA Baseball Team poster
6.3

Ho-chang accidentally sees missionaries and Jeong-rim play baseball at the YMCA hall. He falls in love with Jeong-rim, and takes interest in baseball. As a result, he gathers people to form the first YMCA baseball team of Joseon.

YMCA Baseball Team

2002

Feng Shui poster
7.2

Park Jae-sang was a royal geomancer, who helps people designate propitious site for houses, store and even graves under the belief that a grave in a good site will bring future fortune for descendants. But he loses his family because he exposed a conspiracy about crown Prince's grave site. Park Jae-sang plans to make a revenge of his family and learns that there is a much bigger conspiracy about propitious grave site; the place that would make grave owner's son the King of Joseon.

Feng Shui

2018

Marathon poster
7.2

Cho-won is an autistic but happy young man who loves to draw zebras and run. His mother wants him to feel normal by accomplishing a feat that no one thought his son could achieve. With the help of a coach in exile, she trains him to become a marathon runner.

Marathon

2005

Lee Sang That Lee Sang poster
3.0

The tragic genius poet Lee Sang had dual expressions of despair and longing. It's an expression captured perfectly in the portrait of the likeness of Lee Sang. Painted by his friend Koo Bon-woong, the painting reappears in an art gallery alleyway in the 1970s. Soon, the story unfolds about Koo Bon-woong and Lee Sang, the vagrants who started with him, and the imperial secrets buried in the 1930s.

Lee Sang That Lee Sang

2013

Wanee & Junah poster
7.1

Wanee an animator and Junah a scriptwriter are lovers living together when one day an old friend of Wanee's drops in and brings to fore, all supressed memories of Wanee's love for her step brother.

Wanee & Junah

2001

H poster
6.4

A string of brutal murders targeting pregnant women mirrors the crimes of convicted serial killer Shin Hyun, who remains behind bars. Detectives Kim Mi Yun and Kang Tae Hyun take on the case, suspecting that Shin Hyun may be manipulating the copycat killings from prison.

H

2002

Go Go 70s poster
7.0

In the 1970s, Devil's, a legendary band, participates in a Korean band contest. The band mesmerizes the audience with its style and dance. However, the night is put at risk when an unexpected situations arises.

Go Go 70s

2008

Who Are You? poster
6.6

The programmer of the ultimate online dating game starts to fall in love with its most troublesome user, who happens to work in the same building as him.

Who Are You?

2002

The Peach Tree poster
6.5

A young couple, who have wanted a baby for a long time, are happily blesses with a twin pregnancy. However they get driven to despair by the fact that their twins are conjoined. Treated as monsters by their mother, the brothers, Sang-hyeon and Dong-hyeon, meet a beautiful girl one day.

The Peach Tree

2012

Love Phobia poster
6.8

On a sunny day, a boy named Jo-kang meets Ari, a girl in a yellow raincoat, and they become friends. Jo-kang falls helplessly in love with the quirky but attractive Ari, but one day, she suddenly disappears.

Love Phobia

2006

Ahmijimong poster
NR

A man haunted by a lost love. A spirit who begins to feel too much. As fate draws their worlds together, love begins to blur the line between dream and reality.

Ahmijimong

2001