Jung Jin-young (Jeong Jin-young), born on November 19, 1964, in Dobong-gu, Seoul, is a South Korean actor, screenwriter, and director. A graduate of Seoul National University, he has enjoyed a particularly prolific career in film and television since the late 1980s. He is best known for his portrayal of King Yeonsangun in The King and the Clown (2005) and for his regular collaborations with director Lee Joon-ik.
In the film industry, Jung Jin-young is gradually making a name for himself thanks to movies such as Hi, Dharma! (2001) and Once Upon a Time on a Battlefield (2003). His fame reached new heights in 2005 when he played King Yeonsangun in The King and the Clown. He then continued his collaboration with Lee Joon-ik, notably on Sunny (2008) and Battlefield Heroes (2011).
It also appears in The Itaewon Homicide Case (2009), and then in Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013), in which he plays Jang Min-hwan, the prison's head of security. In 2014, he played Deok-su's father in Ode to My Father. He follows that up with Gangnam 1970 (2015), Time Renegades, Grandfather and Pandora in 2016.
In 2017, he appeared in several productions, including Claire's Camera, To a Taxi Driver, Man of Will and The Swindlers. He then went on to play roles in Heung-boo: The Revolutionist, Grass and A Singing Goose in 2018, and then played Chief Hwang in the esoteric thriller Svaha: The Sixth Finger (2019). His more recent film appearances include P1H: The Beginning of a New World (2020), Fisherman, Sseol and Happy New Year in 2021. It is also mentioned in the movie H-521 for 2026.
At the same time, Jung Jin-young was building a successful career in television. In 2008, he played King Yuri in the historical drama The Kingdom of the Winds. Two years later, he played one of his best-known television roles, that of Seo Yong-gi in Dong Yi (2010). He then played Professor Kim Sang-chul in the medical drama Brain (2011), followed by Seo In-ha's contemporary version in Love Rain (2012).
After Angel Eyes (2014), he played the lead role of Kang Seok-hyun in all fifty episodes of Glamorous Temptation (2015). In 2018, he played Jang Tae-joon in Sketch. The following year, he played the role of Representative Lee Sung-min in Chief of Staff.
In 2020, he played the role of Kim Sang-shik, the father of a family whose members actually know very little about each other’s lives, in My Unfamiliar Family. He then appears in the fantasy series Bulgasal: Immortal Souls (2021), in which he plays Kwon Ho-yeol as well as the warrior Dan Geuk.
In 2022, he took on several important roles. In May the Court Please (Let's Start the Argument), he plays Jang Gi-do, while in the science-fiction series Yonder, he plays Jang Jin-ho, also known as «Doctor K.» He then plays the lead role of Choi Do-hyung in the second season of Shadow Detective in 2023 and makes a cameo appearance in Queenmaker.
The year 2024 is particularly busy. He plays Kang Baek-ho in LTNS, and then Hong Beom-jun, Hong Hae-in's father, in Queen of Tears. He also appears in the final episode of The Auditors as Kim Si-hyun.
In 2025, he plays a leading role in Riding Life. His television career continued in 2026 with The Art of Sarah, in which he plays Hong Seong-sin, The Apartment Job, playing the role of Yong-man, as well as Four Hands, Two Sonatas, in which he plays Kang Seung-un, Bi-o's grandfather.
Jung Jin-young isn't limited to acting. In 2020, he stepped behind the camera with Me and Me, his first feature film as a director and screenwriter. This work marks a new phase in his career, allowing him to develop his own cinematic universe. He is also credited as a screenwriter for Let's Go! (2002) and the project The Long Shot Trial, scheduled for 2027.
With a career spanning several decades, Jung Jin-young has alternated between mainstream cinema, arthouse films, historical epics, thrillers, and contemporary dramas, while gradually expanding his work as a screenwriter and director.
