Hwang Jung-eum debuted with K-popgirl groupSugarin 2001 as a lead vocalist, but left the group in 2004 to pursue a solo career. Hwang appeared as one of the recurring guests of the variety show Love Letter from 2004 to 2006, in which her onscreen pairing with Kim Jong-min became popular. She officially made her acting debut in the television dramaThe Person I Love in 2007. In 2009, she and real-life boyfriend Kim Yong-jun joined the second season of reality dating show We Got Married as the first real-life couple to be featured on the show. Later that year, Hwang rose to mainstream stardom when she appeared in the daily sitcomHigh Kick Through the Roof. Her character in the sitcom as a college student who was full of energetic vibes but sometimes clumsy, confident despite lacking money and opportunities, representing today's college students well, therefore stirred sentiments among many young adults. Regarding this breakout in her acting career, Hwang said: "You need to do what you enjoy doing as well as finding what is right for you. I realized my passion for acting during High Kick. You tend to do well when you get compliments and with director Kim Byung Wook encouraging me, I had fun acting. And because it was fun, I was able to achieve good results." After her turn on High Kick, Hwang signed numerous advertising contracts, and in interviews she often tells the story of how she had just in her bank account when she started the show but walked away with when it ended. She was later ranked 18th on Forbes Korea's Top 40 Celebrities in 2011, and among the Top 7 Female Commercial Stars in Korea as compiled by Ilgan Sports. In February 2010, Hwang hosted MBC's Star Dance Battle together with Kim Shin-young, Oh Sang-jin, and Shin Bong-sun. Later in December, she was also one of the co-hosts of the annual music program SBS Gayo Daejeon along with Super Junior's Heechul, CNBLUE's Jung Yong-hwa, and 2AM's Jo Kwon. Hwang then began playing leading roles in television series. Among her notable TV dramas are 1970s historical epicGiant, deaf romance Listen to My Heart, and medical dramaGolden Time. In 2013, she starred in crime comedyIncarnation of Money, followed by hit melodramaSecret Love. This was followed in 2014 by 1980-1990s set period drama, Endless Love. In 2015, she reunited with some of her former costars, namely Ji Sung from Secret Love for the romantic comedy series Kill Me, Heal Me; then with Park Seo-joon from Kill Me, Heal Me and Go Joon-hee from Listen to My Heart for another romantic comedy, She Was Pretty, which also further solidifies her popularity in China. Ize magazine named her as one of the 10 Persons of the Year and Hwang achieved 1st place in the survey to select Actors of 2015 conducted by Gallup Korea. Less than a month after her marriage, Hwang has been cast in a romantic comedy series, Lucky Romance. Hwang was cast in her first big screen leading role in the 2015 romantic comedy filmMy Sister, the Pig Lady, which was screened at the 39th Montreal World Film Festival as part of their World Greats selection. The film also won Grand Prize at the 2016 Osaka Asian Film Festival. In 2018, Hwang returned to the small screen with romance comedy dramaThe Undateables. She was reunited with Namkoong Min, whom she had starred alongside seven years ago in Listen to My Heart. It was her first drama since giving birth to her son. In 2020, Hwang has been cast in two drama series, a fantasy mystery Mystic Pop-up Bar and upcoming romantic comedy That Guy Is The Guy.
Hwang dated Kim Yong-jun for nine years. They first met in 2005, when Hwang starred in the SG Wannabe music video for My Heart's Treasure Box. The couple then publicly confirmed their relationship in January 2008. Yonhap News Agency broke the news on May 15, 2015, that the couple had ended their relationship after she wrapped up the filming of Kill Me, Heal Me. Hwang later confirmed it in her interview with KBS2's Entertainment Relay. On December 8, 2015, Hwang's agency, C-JeS Entertainment, confirmed that she had been dating Lee Young-don, a professional golfer and businessman, for the past four months. On January 7, 2016, Hwang announced her planned marriage to Lee Young-don, with the ceremony to be held in February. On February 26, 2016, the wedding reception was held at Hotel Shilla, Seoul. Hwang was confirmed to be four months pregnant in February 2017 and gave birth to their first child, a son, on August 15, 2017.
