Cha Joo-young

Academic training on set

Cha Joo-young never set foot in a drama school during her training years. She earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of Utah, and her future seemed to lie in the office. But the rigidity of a corporate career did not fit her real plans.

Her father firmly opposed her wish to become an actress. That family resistance forced her to finish her higher education in the United States before returning to Seoul to look for an opportunity. She started from scratch with no contacts in the Korean industry.

Plan B never existed.

In 2016, she landed her first supporting role in Cheese in the Trap. There were no fireworks or excessive media attention at the time. For years she worked steadily, moving from one smaller project to the next, such as The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop or Jugglers.

During that period, she learned to handle high-pressure shoots, because in Korean television the recording pace shows no mercy to newcomers. So she made the most of every minute on screen to understand camera technique without having studied at a conservatory.

The physical toll of ambition

To play Choi Hye-jeong in The Glory between 2022 and 2023, she had to gain six kilos. She was going for a very specific look that bordered on vulgar and aspirational at the same time. The character was a flight attendant obsessed with status who endured humiliation from her wealthy friends.

Building the character was purely physical and psychological. She didn't want the audience to feel pity for her. She wanted them to see her desperation to belong to a world that constantly rejected her.

And the gamble paid off.

Critics praised her ability to convey that constant insecurity beneath a layer of arrogance. In 2022, she also appeared in Again My Life in a completely different register. She played a cold, analytical figure who guides the lead character through a supernatural revenge plot.

Having two projects in the same year allowed casting directors to see her in a new light. She was no longer just a pretty face for supporting roles. Her advertising market value rose 40% after the premiere of the second season of the Netflix series.

Breaking away from supporting roles

In 2023, she took on the challenge of a long-running drama with The Real Has Come!, where she filmed fifty episodes. Formats like this often wear performers down with their grueling hours. But she used the daily exposure to shake off the villain image the public had pinned on her.

She speaks Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese fluently. This language skill reflects her international period and gives her a competitive edge in global productions. In 2024, she began filming Won-kyung, playing a queen from the Joseon era.

This historical project marks her first major leading role. The production required intensive training in royal protocol and archaic speech. The series’ budget exceeded €15 million during its initial development phase.

She is a methodical worker who prefers script analysis to pure instinct.

Her contract with the agency Ghost Studio covers her business management until the end of the decade.