Cho Yeo-jeong

In this Korean name, the family name is Cho.

Cho Yeo-jeong (Korean: 조여정; born February 10, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She is best known internationally for her role in the film Parasite (2019), which won four Academy Awards and became the first non-English language film to win the award for Best Picture.^[1]

Cho Yeo-jeong
Cho in 2019
Born	(1981-02-10) February 10, 1981 (age 43) Seoul, South Korea
Other names	Jo Yeo-jeong Cho Yeo-jung
Education	Dongguk University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1997–present
Agent	High Entertainment
Korean name
Hangul	조여정
Revised Romanization	Jo Yeo-jeong
McCune–Reischauer	Cho Yŏjŏng

Cho is also known for her roles in the films The Servant (2010), The Concubine (2012), and Obsessed (2014), as well as the television series I Need Romance (2011), Lovers of Haeundae (2012), Divorce Lawyer in Love (2015), Woman of 9.9 Billion (2019–2020), and Cheat on Me If You Can (2020–2021).

Life and career

Cho Yeo-jeong was born in Seoul, South Korea. She debuted as a CeCi Magazine cover girl at the age of 16 in 1997, and began actively acting in 1999. Despite appearing in drama series, music videos, and TV commercials afterwards, she remained obscure. During this period, she was also unhappy with the limited roles being offered to her.^[2][3]

Then Cho rose to the spotlight in 2010 by starring as the ambitious Joseon woman of lower class in the erotic period drama The Servant.^[4] The R-rated movie, which was a newly adapted and tragic version of Korea's famous folktale The Story of Chunhyang, had been turned down by a number of actresses because it contained too many sex scenes. Cho, however, took advantage of the opportunity and it turned out to be a huge stepping stone in her career.^[5][6] Upon the release of the film, Cho successfully escaped being "another pretty face" in Korea's entertainment scene.^[2][3]

In 2011, Cho starred in hit cable series I Need Romance, a sexually frank and funny comedy about a group of single thirty-something girlfriends navigating the dating scene in Seoul, which boasted stylish and slick production values.

Few would have expected her to star in another period drama that required full nudity, as doing so may have stigmatized her in Korea's film industry. Despite the collective concerns expressed by local media that she was "going nude too often," in 2012 the actress chose another period thriller with explicit sex scenes.^[7] She had admired the work of director Kim Dae-seung and wanted to work with him, so after reading his latest script, she pursued being cast as the complex titular character of The Concubine.^[8] Despite the hype, the film was critically praised. In an interview for the film, Cho said that most of all, she wants to be seen as an adventurous and intriguing actress.^[2][3][9]

In the 2012 romantic comedy series Lovers of Haeundae, Cho played the bright and cheerful daughter of a Busan gangster, who falls in love with the amnesiac undercover prosecutor living with them.^[10] A year later, Cho's book Healing Beauty was published, containing tips and advice on health and beauty, based on the know-how she's amassed as an actress over her 16-year career.^[11]

In 2013, Cho became involved in a publicized contract dispute when she signed a new contract with Bom Entertainment while her contract with Didim531 was still in effect.^[12] The Korea Entertainment Management Association suggested that Cho avoid working with both agencies, and she joined Neos Entertainment in 2014.^[13]

Cho starred in two movies in 2014. She reunited with director Kim Dae-woo (The Servant) in another erotic period film, this time set during the Vietnam War, titled Obsessed.^[14] She also played an abducted wife in The Target, a remake of French action-thriller Point Blank.^[15][16]

In 2015, Cho starred in the sex comedy Casa Amor: Exclusive for Ladies, which she said made her realize "how gratifying it is to see people laughing because of me." She said further, "Casa Amor: Exclusive for Ladies is the first film I've done in a long time whose story focuses on women. I hope that, building on the success of this film, more films featuring women's voices and experiences are made."^[17]

Cho started in her first television series of 2020, Cheat on Me If You Can since Woman of 9.9 Billion in 2019.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
2002	A Perfect Match	Min-ah
2006	Vampire Cop Ricky	Yeon-hee
2010	The Servant	Chun-hyang
2012	The Concubine	Shin Hwa-yeon
2014	The Target	Jung Hee-joo
	Obsessed	Lee Sook-jin
2015	Casa Amor: Exclusive for Ladies	Baek Bo-hee
2019	Parasite	Choi Yeon-gyo / Mrs. Park
2024	Tarot	Ji-Woo
	Hidden Face	Su-yeon[18]
TBA	The Interview	Seon-ju[19]

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1999	How Am I?
	Last War
	You Don't Know My Mind	Yang Mi-ri
2000	Roll of Thunder
2002	Rustic Period	Ae-ran
	Royal Story: Jang Hui-bin	Royal Consort 'Gwiin' Kim
2003	South of the Sun	Noh Hye-in
	A Problem at My Younger Brother's House	Oh Dan-bi
2004	Terms of Endearment	Na Ae-ri
	I'm From Chosun	Lee Han-sol
2006	So In Love	Lee Sun-joo
2008	War of Money: The Original	Choi Ji-in
2009	The Road Home	Jang Mi-ryung
	Hometown Legends: "Myo-jeong's Pearl"	So-won
2011	I Need Romance	Sunwoo In-young		[20]
2012	Lovers of Haeundae	Go So-ra		[10]
2015	Divorce Lawyer in Love	Go Cheok-hee
2016	Babysitter	Lee Sang-won's wife
	Love in the Moonlight		Cameo (episode 1)
2017	Ms. Perfect	Lee Eun-hee		[21]
2019	Beautiful World	Seo Eun-joo		[22]
	Woman of 9.9 Billion	Jeong Seo-yeon		[23]
2020–2021	Cheat on Me If You Can	Kang Yeo-ju novel writer		[24]
2021	High Class	Song Yeo-uol		[25]
2022	Behind Every Star	Herself	Cameo	[26]
2024	Tarot	Ji-woo		[27]

Variety show

Year	Title	Notes	Ref.
1997	Ppo Ppo Ppo (Kiss Kiss Kiss)	Host	[28]
2001	21st Century Committee	Cast member
	Fairyland Ggumdongsan	Host
2003	Soulmates	Cast member
2008	We Got Married - Season 1	paired with Lee Hwi-jae
2010	Girls on Top - Season 2	Host
	Fox's Butler	Cast member
2011	O'live Beauty On-Air	Host
2012	Saturday Night Live Korea
2013	Law of the Jungle in Caribbean/Maya Jungle	Cast member
2019	Surfing House		[29]
2021	Saturday Night Live Korea	Host (Episode 5)	[30]

Music videos

Year	Song	Artist(s)	Role
2011	"Even Now" ( 난 좋아)	Sung Si-kyung	Lead Actress
2019	"Fever"	J. Y. Park feat. Superbee & Bibi	Main Actress

Ambassadorship

Year	Title	Ref.
2021	Korean seafood export ambassador	[31]

Musical theatre

Year	Title	Role
2005	Grease	Sandy

Discography

Year	Song title	Artist	Notes
2011	"Aegyo (Charm)"	Jo Yeo-jeong and Kim Jeong-hoon	Track from I Need Romance OST
	"Winter Story"	Jo Yeo-jeong, Park Si-hoo, Park Si-yeon, Nam Gyu-ri, Jo Dal-hwan, Ryohei Otani, Choi Sung-joon and Jung Woo-jin	Eyagi Entertainment Christmas 2011 single

Book

Year	Title	Publisher	ISBN
2013	Healing Beauty[32]	Paper Book	ISBN 9788997148295

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2010	Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival	Fantasia Award	—	Won
	Grand Bell Awards	Best Actress	The Servant	Nominated
	Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best New Actress		Nominated
		Popular Star Award		Won
	Korea Best Dresser Swan Awards	Best Dressed, Movie Actress category	—	Won
2011	Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Actress (Film)	The Servant	Nominated
	Korea Drama Awards	Special Award for Cable TV	I Need Romance	Nominated
	Style Icon Awards	SIA's Discovery	—	Won
2012	Buil Film Awards	Best Actress	The Concubine	Nominated
	KBS Drama Awards	Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries	Lovers of Haeundae	Nominated
		Netizen Award, Actress		Nominated
		Best Couple Award with Kim Kang-woo		Nominated
2013	SBS Entertainment Awards	Popularity Award	Law of the Jungle in Caribbean/Maya Jungle	Won
2014	Buil Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Obsessed	Nominated
	Korean Association of Film Critics Awards			Won
	Grand Bell Awards			Nominated
	Blue Dragon Film Awards			Nominated
2015	KOFRA Film Awards			Won
	Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Supporting Actress		Nominated
	SBS Drama Awards	Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries	Divorce Lawyer in Love	Nominated
2016	KBS Drama Awards	Best Actress in a One-Act/Special/Short Drama	Babysitter	Won
2017	KBS Drama Awards	Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-length Drama	Perfect Wife	Won
		Netizen Award, Actress		Nominated
2019	KBS Drama Awards	Top Excellence Award, Actress	Woman of 9.9 Billion	Won	[33]
		Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries		Nominated
		Netizen Award, Actress		Nominated
	Chunsa Film Art Awards	Best Actress	Parasite	Won	[34]
	Blue Dragon Film Awards			Won	[35][36]
	Buil Film Awards			Nominated	[37]
	New Mexico Film Critics	Best Supporting Actress		Won	[38]
	IndieWire Critics Poll			15th place	[39]
	Chicago Film Critics Association Awards			Nominated	[40][41]
2020	Critics Choice Awards	Best Acting Ensemble		Nominated	[42]
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture		Won	[43]
	Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Actress – Film		Nominated	[44]
	KBS Drama Awards	Top Excellence Award, Actress	Cheat on Me If You Can	Nominated
		Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries		Won
		Netizen Award, Actress		Nominated
		Best Couple Award with Go Jun		Won
2021	APAN Star Awards	Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries	Woman of 9.9 Billion	Nominated

Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Forbes	2020	Korea Power Celebrity 40	30th	[45]
The Screen	2019	2009–2019 Top Box Office Powerhouse Actors in Korean Movies	43rd	[46]

References

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External links

• Cho Yeo-jeong at IMDb (as Yeo-jeong Jo)
• Cho Yeo-jeong at HanCinema
• Cho Yeo-jeong on Instagram