Cho Jae-hyun is a South Korean film, stage, and TV actor. He is commonly dubbed "director Kim Ki-duk's persona" since Cho has starred as leading and supporting characters in almost all films directed by Kim.
Early years and education
Cho Jae-hyun was born in Gyeongju on June 30, 1965. He and his family lived in a poor neighborhood on the slopes of a hill until his father became successful with his restaurant business in the Jongno area, Seoul. In a 2002 interview with the film magazine Cine21, Cho said he was a rebellious boy wandering outside the home. He aspired to be a painter, so tried to enter an art high school but failed. When he entered another high school, Cho ran away from home to Busan. Cho worked as a waiter there, and studied on his own to pass a qualification exam equivalent to obtaining a high school diploma. However, Cho failed it, so returned to Seoul to finish his high school year. Cho was admitted to study theater and film at Kyungsung University. Cho recollected he indulged himself in Busan's culture as a freshman and sophomore, then focused on theater for the rest of his university years. Cho said a question from his junior in school during his third summer break shook him to rethink about his future; "What would you do after the graduation from the school?" Cho said he felt shame at the time because he could not clearly answer the question. Therefore, Cho started dedicating himself to acting.
Acting career
After graduation, Cho was selected as a TV actor by a public recruit of Korea Broadcasting System, and officially debuted as a professional actor by starring as the youngest brother of Yu In-chon in The Age of Ambition. But theater remained his main priority, as Cho and his friends established a theatrical company named "Jongak", which produced several works on the stage such as Tricycles, Look Back in Anger and The Lovers of Woomook-baemi. In 1991, Cho won Best New Actor in Theater at the Baeksang Arts Awards for his acting in Equus; he reinterpreted the leading role Alan Strang as an innocent person, though he is largely depicted as a cruel and rebellious character. In 2009, Cho revisited Equus by directing the play and playing the other lead character Martin Dysart. This was part of the highly successful Yeongeuk Yeoljeon, of which Cho was the programmer in 2008-2009. Cho was praised for reinvigorating the faltering local theater scene in Daehangno by coming up with the series and its star-studded casting, promotion and marketing. In 2018, Cho starred as a doctor and head of an organ transplant centre in the medical TV series Cross opposite Go Kyung-pyo. However, on February 24, 2018, while the TV series was still being shot and aired, he was removed from the cast list following his admission of committing sexual harassment.
Other activities
Cho is also the chairman of the Gyeonggi Film Council since 2009, executive festival director of the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival since 2009, chairman of the Gyeonggi Arts Center since 2010, an associate professor at Sungshin Women's University's College of Convergence Culture and Arts since 2012, and an associate professor at Kyungsung University's Department of Theater and Film since 2014.
On February 23, 2018, Cho Jae-hyun was accused of sexual misconduct by actress Choi Yul, who claimed that Cho had sexually assaulted her in the past. On February 24, Cho acknowledged the allegations.
