He is best known for his roles in the sitcom Unstoppable High Kick (2006), and the television dramas The Return of Iljimae (2009), 49 Days (2011), Cool Guys, Hot Ramen (2011), Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), and Cinderella with Four Knights (2016).

The son of a former television news anchorman, Jung Il-woo studied Broadcasting at the Seoul Institute of the Arts, then later dropped out and transferred to the Theater and Film department of Hanyang University, graduating on 20 February 2014.

[1] Jung made his acting debut in 2006 with a minor role in the thriller The World of Silence,[2] but he first rose to fame playing a rebellious teen and motorcycle fanatic with a crush on his teacher in daytime family sitcom Unstoppable High Kick.

[14][15][16][17] His popularity increased with his leading man turn in 2011 cable romantic comedy Cool Guys, Hot Ramen, in which he played an arrogant, immature yet lovable chaebol heir.

[39] Jung then starred in the Chinese romantic comedy film Rise of a Tomboy, where he plays the CEO of an IT firm who helps a girl develop a love formula for a mobile app.

[41] Jung made his return to Korean television in tvN's romantic comedy Cinderella with Four Knights, playing a lonely and wild-child rebel who is not yet used to being a member of a rich family, having lived most of his life as an orphan.

[47] In 2022, Jung joins the ENA drama Good Job, which is the second reunion with Kwon Yu-ri,[48] and returns to the big screen with the film Highway Family, which is slated for release in November.