[3] Jang Dong-gun spent his childhood in Yongsan District, Seoul, and later went on to study at the Korea National University of Arts School of Drama, though he dropped out before obtaining a degree.

He began by acting in TV dramas such as Iljimae,[5] The Last Match,[6] co-starring Shim Eun-ha, and he eventually made his film debut in Repechage (1997) together with Kim Hee-sun.

[10][11][8] The following year he starred in the popular action blockbuster 2009 Lost Memories set in a futuristic Great Japan,[12] and appeared in the low-budget film The Coast Guard by controversial director Kim Ki-duk.

[21][22][23][24][25] He reunited with director Kang Je-gyu in My Way, a film set during World War II based on the true story of a Korean soldier who is drafted by the Japanese army and eventually is present at the Battle of Normandy.

[26][27] A large-scale, ambitious pan-Asian collaboration co-starring Japanese actor Joe Odagiri and Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, My Way was the most expensive Korean movie to date (with an estimated budget of ₩28 billion),[28] But despite being simultaneously released in Korea and Japan in December 2011,[29] the film flopped at the box office.

[30] Jang made his highly anticipated return to television dramas in A Gentleman's Dignity, saying he was drawn to the romantic comedy tale of 40-something-year-old men struggling to grow up and mend and forge lasting relationships.

[31][32][33][34] After the series ended, Jang and co-star Kim Min-jong visited refugees in the Republic of the Congo on a mission trip sponsored by UNICEF, UNHCR and World Food Programme.

[35][36] His 2012 film Dangerous Liaisons was a Chinese adaptation of the French literature classic set in 1930s Shanghai, directed by Hur Jin-ho and co-starring Zhang Ziyi and Cecilia Cheung.

[64][65] After months of media frenzy leading up to their nuptials,[66][67][68][69] the two tied the knot on May 2, 2010 in an extravagant wedding ceremony at Seoul's Shilla Hotel which was attended by their A-list celebrity friends, reporters and fans from around the world.