Jeong Young-joo

Jeong Young-joo is a South Korean actress and musical theatre star with a big voice and a big heart on screen. She often plays strong, funny and warm mothers and bosses. Many drama fans fell in love with her as Park Bok-soon, the kind mother in the hit romance Lovely Runner.

Jeong Young-joo is about 168 cm (5 ft 6 in) tall.

Early life

Jeong Young-joo was born on May 23, 1971, in Seoul, South Korea. She studied at the Seoul Institute of the Arts, where she learned about drama and playwriting. She also studied vocal music at Myongji University. This mix of acting and singing training was perfect for her, because music and the stage became the base of her whole career.

Career and breakthrough

She made her debut in 1994 and built her name first in musical theatre. She played famous stage roles like Rosie in Mamma Mia! and Mrs. Wilkinson in Billy Elliot. Her title role in Bernarda Alba later won her Best Actress at the Korea Musical Awards. At the same time, she began to act more on television and also works as a media acting lecturer at Konkuk University.

Popular roles

In My Mister (2018), she played Cho Ae-ryeon with warm and real feelings. In The Fiery Priest (2019), she played Jung Dong-ja, the head of the Gudam district office, and brought fun energy to the show. In Business Proposal (2022), she played Han Mi-mo, a loving mother. Her biggest drama love came with Lovely Runner (2024), where she played Park Bok-soon, the caring mother of Im Sol.

Recent work

Her role in Lovely Runner won her an Excellence Award at the 2024 APAN Star Awards. In the same year, she also played Lim Cheong in Miss Night and Day. In 2025, she joined When the Stars Gossip and took a main role in Salon de Holmes. After more than thirty years on stage and screen, Jeong Young-joo is more popular than ever.