Jang Wooyoung

Biography

Jang Woo-young (Korean: 장우영; born April 30, 1989), known mononymously as Wooyoung, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and entertainer. In 2008, he debuted as a member of 2PM, a boy band currently managed by JYP Entertainment. He debuted as a solo artist in 2012 with his first extended play, 23, Male, Single. As of 2026, he has released a total of six EPs and one compilation album.
Following his discharge from his mandatory military service in 2020, Jang has worked as a television personality on various Korean variety shows such as Beat Coin, I Can See Your Voice, and Street Man Fighter. He is currently a cast member for the Netflix variety program Screwballs. He is also known for his role as Jason in the 2011 Korean drama Dream High.

Early life and education

Born and raised in Busan, Jang enjoyed dancing from a young age but was forced to hide his interest from his father, who had strongly disapproved of his ambitions to become a dancer due to the lack of job stability. In 2007, he secretly applied for JYP Entertainment's first open audition and uploaded clips himself dancing on the website Mgoon, an early Korean predecessor of YouTube. He eventually beat thousands of applicants and placed first, with future Highlight member Yoon Doo-joon placing second.
Upon moving to Seoul to begin training under JYP Entertainment, he attended Seoul Institute of the Arts as a dance major. In 2009, he began an undergraduate degree in broadcasting at Howon University, the same university his bandmates Lee Jun-ho and Hwang Chan-sung attended.

2PM

In 2008, he participated in Mnet's Hot Blooded Men, a program that chronicles the rigorous training of thirteen aspiring trainees, all vying for a coveted spot in the boy band One Day. This initiative ultimately led to the formation of two distinct boy bands, namely 2AM and 2PM.
Half a year following the televised airing of Hot Blooded Men, the group 2PM made their debut with the release of their inaugural single "10 Out of 10" from their first single album titled Hottest Time of the Day. However, it was their second single album, 2:00PM Time For Change, that propelled them to mainstream success in Korean music, solidifying their meteoric rise. As of 2021, the group has released seven studio albums in Korea and five studio albums in Japan. Jang has written and composed several songs for the group, including "Make It", the title track of their seventh studio album, Must.
In 2022, Jang held a joint fan-concert with bandmate Jun. K titled 115430 in Seoul on April 30 and May 1, with the latter show also being streamed online via Beyond Live. He has also participated in activities of the unofficial 2PM sub-unit ENWJ with Jun. K and Nichkhun, holding events and concerts with the group since 2023.

Solo work

On May 24, 2012, JYP Entertainment announced that Jang would release his debut solo album in early July. On June 28, he performed the two of the album's tracks at the Mnet 20's Choice Awards: "2Nite" and title track "Sexy Lady". The EP, titled 23, Male, Single×23, Male, Single8 July 2012 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks12Nite3:212Sexy Lady3:553DJ Got Me Goin' Crazy3:524Be With You3:475Falling Down3:456시작도 없던 것처럼3:217Only Girl3:22, was released on July 8 and included two songs composed and written by fellow 2PM members Jun. K and Lee Jun-ho. He held a mini-showcase on July 9 and appeared on TV music programs such as Mnet's M Countdown starting from July 12 as part of the mini-album's promotion. The EP peaked at number two on the Gaon Weekly Album Chart and stayed on the chart for six consecutive weeks.
In September 2012, Jang, along with J.Y. Park, his bandmate Ok Taec-yeon and miss A's Suzy, promoted the clothing line Reebok's "Classic Campaign" with a collaboration song titled "Classic". In December 2013, Jang collaborated with 125 artists including his bandmates Jun. K, Nichkhun, and Hwang Chan-sung for a single titled "You Are a Miracle" for the 2013 SBS Gayo Daejeon, the proceeds of which were donated to charity. In 2014, Jang released two duets: "Holding Hands Together" (깍지 낀 두 손) with Park Se-young as part of the MBC variety show We Got Married and "Fireflies' Glow" (반딧불을 따라서) with indie singer Lel.
Jang made his solo debut in Japan on March 4, 2015 with the single album R.O.S.E×R.O.S.E4 March 2015 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11R.O.S.E3:342COCKTAIL3:523Happy Birthday4:424R.O.S.E (Instrumental)3:325COCKTAIL (Instrumental)3:506Happy Birthday (Instrumental)4:45Disc 21R.O.S.E MUSIC VIDEO (Original ver.)2R.O.S.E MUSIC VIDEO (Performance ver.), while concurrently holding a concert tour with the same name with nine shows in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya from February 19 to March 11. R.O.S.E peaked at number two on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart and number five on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. On April 20, he released a Korean version of the single album, which peaked at number four on the Gaon Albums Chart and stayed on the chart for six consecutive weeks.
In 2017, Jang released two EPs in Japan: Party Shots on April 19 and Mada Boku Wa... (まだ僕は・・・; Still Here...) on October 11. Both mini-albums peaked at number two on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart. In addition, both EPs were released in the midst of a solo Japanese concert tour: Party Shots from April 5–30, which ended on his birthday, and Mada Boku Wa... (まだ僕は・・・; Still Here...) from September 29 to December 6, which ended with two concerts at the Nippon Budokan. On October 11, Jang released the single "Still Here" (똑같지 뭐), a Korean version of the title track "Mada Boku Wa..." (まだ僕は・・・; Still Here...) from the EP of the same name.
On January 15, 2018, Jang released his second Korean EP titled Bye (헤어질 때×헤어질 때16 January 2018 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1I like3:162뚝3:033Don’t act3:214맘껏3:415얘들아3:176Party Shots3:017Going Going3:30), which included Korean versions of two songs from his Japanese EP Party Shots×Party Shots3 April 2017 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Party Shots3:00, "Going Going" and "Party Shots". During his week-long promotions for the mini-album, he performed "Don't Act" and title track "Quit" (뚝) on TV music programs. Bye peaked at number four on the Gaon Albums Chart and stayed on the chart for four weeks. Jang then held a series of eight concerts titled Eh? Call! (엥? Call!) in Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka, and his hometown of Busan from February 9 to April 29, marking his first solo concerts in South Korea.
An episode of the MBC show Song One – The Song of My Life featuring Jang as a guest aired on September 30, 2018, having been filmed prior to his enlistment for his mandatory military service. In the episode, Jang performed a cover of the 2003 song "Think About' Chu" by Korean indie band Asoto Union; the cover version was released as a digital single the next day.
In 2023, as part of a project for the variety show Beat Coin, Jang collaborated with his castmates on the song "Never", written and composed by Rado of Black Eyed Pilseung. Later that year, he collaborated with BtoB's Seo Eun-kwang and their team of contestants from the TV show King of Karaoke: VS on a cover of BtoB's song "Naviety".
On June 7, 2023, Jang released his third Japanese EP titled Off the Record×Off the record7 June 2023 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1From here3:122Off the record3:323Season 23:114Just be you3:345Baby3:13, which consisted of five tracks including a title track of the same name, while holding a solo concert tour with the same name from May 24 to June 11 with five dates in four cities: Fukuoka, Yokohama, Tokyo, and Osaka. In 2024, he held his first solo fan meetings titled Be Young in Seoul on August 3–4, Busan on September 28–29, Osaka on December 14–15, and Yokohama on December 21.
On June 23, 2025, Jang released a digital single titled "Simple Dance×Simple Dance23 June 2025 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Simple Dance3:29", his first solo Korean release in seven years. He released his third Korean EP titled I'm Into×I'm into15 September 2025 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Carpet3:132Think Too Much (feat. DAMINI)2:433She is2:414Reality2:535Homecance3:20 with the title track "Think Too Much" featuring rapper Damini on September 15 and held a concert titled Half Half in Seoul on September 27–28. In commemoration of the tenth of his anniversary of his debut as a solo artist in Japan, he released his first compilation album titled 3650.zip×3650.zip24 December 2025 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 18 tracks1Reason3:032R.O.S.E3:373Going Going3:324ハンパない3:325COCKTAIL3:556Season 23:117Off the record3:328二人だけ3:149まだ僕は…3:3710Happy Birthday4:4611波4:2912天の川 ～GALAXY～ (WOOYOUNG ver.)3:5513Give Up3:4814君の別の名前3:1415Formula3:3116MORE3:4217Party Shots3:0518Yo モリアガッテ Yo (WOOYOUNG ver.)3:17, with two new tracks: "Reason" and a cover of the self-composed song "Yo Moriagatte Yo" (Yo モリアガッテ Yo), originally released by his former labelmates Got7. In conjunction with the release, he brought his Half Half concert series in Tokyo on November 29–30 and Kobe on December 27–28. He also held a Half Half concert in Taipei on March 8, 2026, marking his first concert as a solo artist in Taiwan.

Television career

Jang and fellow 2PM member Ok Taec-yeon hosted SBS's music show Inkigayo with actress Ha Yeon-joo from July 2009 to January 2010 and with f(x)'s Sulli from February 2010 to July 2010. From February 2, 2010 to August 3, 2010, he starred as an assistant MC on Kim Seung-woo's KBS talk show Win Win alongside Girls' Generation's Taeyeon.
In 2014, he was paired with actress Park Se-young as a couple for nine months during the fourth season of MBC's We Got Married. In 2017, Jang and model Irene Kim hosted the web show Which Is Better?, in which the two tested trending products and services to evaluate their value worth.
In 2021, he was a fixed panelist on the eighth season of I Can See Your Voice after previously appearing as a guest in the third and fifth seasons. The same year, he was cast as a judge for Joseon Top Singer, a Korean traditional music competition program. In 2022, he was cast as a judge for Mnet's Street Man Fighter, a dance competition show between male dance crews, due to his past experience in street dance battles prior to his debut. In 2023, he was interviewed for the documentary series K-Pop Generation along with his bandmates Jun. K, Nichkhun, and Hwang Chan-sung. That same year, he was cast as a judge and producer on the reality competition shows My Teenage Boy: Fantasy Boys and King of Karaoke: VS.
From 2022 to 2024, Jang was a main cast member of the KBS2 weekly variety show Beat Coin. Along with his co-star Joo Woo-jae, he was nominated for the Rookie of the Year Award at the 2022 KBS Entertainment Awards for his work on the show. He rejoined the cast and production team of Beat Coin on a successor show titled Screwballs, which began airing on Netflix on February 23, 2025.
In 2025, Jang hosted two YouTube web shows: the web variety series K-Requests on OOTB Studio's YouTube channel, which focused on product design research and development activities for various companies, and the interview web series Should We Meet Up Today? on Billboard Korea's YouTube channel. Later that year, he was cast as a co-host for the KBS2 dating show Mind the Noona Gap.
In 2026, he was a cast member for the tvN home renovation show Unpredictable House. Later that year, he started a personal YouTube channel, JangWooyoungE, with the series Producer Wooyoung Buyeoung documenting the songwriting and preparation process for an upcoming concert series scheduled to start in November.

Acting

Jang debuted as an actor in the 2011 KBS teen drama Dream High, in which he played the role of Jason, a Korean-American dancer. In preparation for the role, he studied English with the help of his bandmates Taecyeon and Nichkhun, both of whom had previously lived in the United States. His on-screen romance with co-star IU garnered attention, with the two being nominated for the Best Couple Award at the 2011 KBS Drama Awards.
In September 2011, Jang and Dream High co-star Suzy made a cameo appearance in an ending credits scene of the KBS drama special Human Casino, playing the role of a couple caught up in gambling scandals. In December 2013, he appeared in the short film The Miracle, a parody of popular TV series with a cast made up entirely of K-pop idols, which aired during the 2013 SBS Gayo Daejeon.
In 2024, Jang revealed that despite passing casting auditions for more acting opportunities since Dream High, he chose to turn them down in order to focus on his music career instead.

Military enlistment

Jang enlisted for his mandatory military service on July 9, 2018. He served at the 21st Infantry Division of the South Korean Army, with a discharge date scheduled for February 28, 2020. However, on February 25, 2020, a representative from JYP Entertainment confirmed that Jang was already discharged, a few days earlier than his scheduled discharge date, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea.

Philanthropy

On April 19, 2019, Jang donated 50 million won to help those recovering from damage from the 2019 Goseong fire through the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association. At the time, he was in the midst of his military service in Gangwon-do, which was the primary area impacted by the fires.
From June 26, 2020 to July 15, 2020, Jang collaborated with BOX337, an organization which works with celebrities who donate personal items to be sold, the proceeds of which are sent to charities. The proceeds of Jang's donation campaign went to the Green Umbrella Children's Foundation.
On March 31, 2025, Jang donated 100 million won to help those recovering from damage from the 2025 South Korea wildfires through the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association.

Compositions

All credits are adapted from Korea Music Copyright Association (KMCA) database.