'Cham Gyoyuk' actor Jang Yo-hun: from Sungkyunkwan physics dropout to Korea National University of Arts

Netflix series Cham Gyoyuk hit No. 1 in South Korea and globally within one day of release. One of its most-talked-about roles belongs to an actor who spent his early twenties in a university theater club, not a drama school.

Jang Yo-hun, 33, plays 14-year-old juvenile offender Min Ji-woong in episode 6 of Cham Gyoyuk, which dropped on the 5th. His academic file tells a different story. In 2011 he enrolled in Sungkyunkwan University's natural sciences division to major in physics, then withdrew in his first year.

At Sungkyunkwan he joined the central theater club Sungkyun Geukhoe. He directed and performed there. "Acting was not my dream from the beginning," he said. "While being active in Sungkyun Geukhoe, I directed and also acted, and naturally transferred universities." He later joined theater company Geolpan before enrolling in the acting department at Korea National University of Arts.

His stage career began in 2012 with the theater play Happy Together in Daehangno. On-screen work came later. Naver TV's In Seoul 2 in 2020 marked his media debut, followed by supporting and minor roles in SBS's Cheer Up, Model Taxi 2, and Disney+'s Gang Mae Gang. The Netflix film Pavane opened February 20.

(He enrolled at Sungkyunkwan as part of the class of 2011 — and ended up playing a character born in 2011.) "I enrolled in school as an 11th grader and ended up playing an 11th grader role," Jang said. "It feels like I did all the mischief I could do in life at once. I will live well from now on."