Cha graduated from Rutgers University in the United States with a degree in economics. His father ran a shipping company and had intended for Cha to take over the family business.
Career
After working at Hanjin Shipping for several years he quit his job to pursue acting full-time. In 1993 he joined MBC and made his debut in the television series Under the Same Roof (ko) before completing his mandatory military service. He has since garnered an extensive filmography in both film and television, including Crossing which was South Korea's entry for the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and earned him several nominations for various awards. He has also collaborated with Korean-American director Benson Lee in the period drama-comedy indie film Seoul Searching, which was screened at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and features a diverse cast and crew drawn from the worldwide overseas Japanese, Chinese and Korean diaspora.
MC
Environmental Special (Korean: 환경 스페셜) (KBS, 2007)
Blackbox (KBS, 2002)
Love for Three Days (Korean: 3일간의 사랑; co-host, Park Cheol) (iTV, 1998)
Music videos
Forgiveness (용서, Cho Jang-hyuk, 2001)
Sad... (Cho Jang-hyuk, 2001)
Forever (영원, Sky, 1999)
Discography
"Heart Fire" (心火, Xin Huo) - The Four Detective Guards opening theme song (2004)
"Dream" (梦, Meng) - The Four Detective Guards ending theme song (2004)