Woo Ji-won

[8] Woo's time at Yonsei University coincided with what is often retrospectively dubbed the "golden era" of domestic college basketball.

He and his teammates, as well as their counterparts from traditional athletic rivals Korea University, enjoyed a level of popularity similar to that of idol singers and A-list actors/actresses due to their skills and good looks.

Together with his Yonsei teammates Lee Sang-min and Moon Kyung-eun and Korea University's Hyun Joo-yup and Chun Hee-chul, among others, they were collectively dubbed "Oppa Troupe" (오빠부대) by the media.

[9][10][11][12] Woo and his Yonsei teammates drew significant attention after they defeated a Busan Kia team which boasted the senior amateur league's most formidable offensive players, the "Hur-Dong-Taek Trio" (Hur Jae, Kang Dong-hee and Kim Yoo-taek) during the 1993-94 season.

[3] In 1996, Woo was signed by the Incheon-based team of Daewoo Securities, which has since become Daegu KOGAS Pegasus, and is among the last generation of players who began their senior careers during the semi-professional pre-KBL era.

He and Chun Hee-chul were supposed to participate in the 1998 Asian Games but the Korean Basketball Association's request was turned down by the government agency overseeing their public service term.