Joo Woo-jae

Joo Woo-jae ((born November 28, 1986) is a South Korean model and actor. Best known for his roles in Come and Hug Me (2018) and Strong Girl Nam-soon (2023), he currently stars as a regular cast member of Hangout with Yoo (since 2023).

1986–2011: Early life
Joo Woo-jae was born on November 28, 1986, in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, as the youngest of two sons. In Changwon Namsan High School, he received "A+" grades in solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, and thermodynamics, and was tested to have an IQ of 137 at the time. For his tertiary education, he studied at Hongik University in Seoul for mechanical engineering with an academic scholarship for ranking within the top 5%, following his father who worked in the automobile industry and older brother who completed his studies in the same department.

2012–2021: Career beginnings and rising popularity


Amidst his studies, Joo was photographed for the cover of a fashion magazine which ranked first place on portal sites, leading to an increase in number of visits on his Cyworld page, and individuals inquiring where his clothes were bought from. With one semester left, Joo requested a leave of absence to enjoy life before graduating and preparing for a job at Samsung. He started an online clothing store for which he modelled and scavenged the styles himself from the Dongdaemun Market, garnering ₩40 million ($40,000) within the first month with men's clothing alone. Established in 2012, its growth led him to become the designer of his clothing brand, SSRL (에스에스알엘) (formerly Siesta). Stemmed from his love for music evoked by the radio since childhood, Joo also bought equipment which included a stereo mix and microphone to broadcast his own radio show through Winamp. Joo worked on his online store during the day, and broadcast his radio show titled "You, Give Me All the Burden" (그대, 모든 짐을 내게), for two hours at midnight. With 1,200 concurrent listeners per broadcast, he was offered to host an offline concert; accepting its offer, Joo programmed the show and invited musicians to guest, including Acoustic Collabo, Cheez, Giriboy, and Nucksal, amidst others, wherein his best outcome garnered 1,200 attendees. Through this, Joo was contacted by a music company and was offered a job at the company, while negotiating the terms with its director, a friend of the CEO of a modelling agency, he introduced Joo to the agency for his height and was hired without an audition.

Philanthropy
Joo participated in a retro-themed flea market organized by YG KPlus with models including Kang Seung-hyun, Hwang Seung-eon, Lee Ho-jung, Lee Jin-i, and Shim So-young, for the 2017 Pohang earthquake. Its entire proceed of ₩11.32 million was donated to its respective cause through the National Disaster Relief Association.