After he graduated from Busan Industrial High School, Chu studied film and theatre at Chung-Ang University.
In 1963, Chu was accepted to Jayu Geukjang (Freedom Theatre), and debuted on the stage with Dalgyal (Eggs).
As he established his career as a stage actor, he adopted Franz Kafka's short story A Report to an Academy in 1977 into a mono drama titled Confession of Red Peter (빨간 피터의 고백).
[1] Chu won the Best Actor at Dong-A Theatre Awards two times for his acting for Eodiseo mueoti doeeo mannarya (어디서 무엇이 되어 만나랴) in 1971 and (세비야의 이발사) in 1973.
Chu also was honored with the Best Stage Actor at Korean Theater and Film Awards for Confession of Red Peter in 1979.