 Jo Tae-gyu made his acting debut in musical theatre in 2001, in the Korean stagings of popular musicals "The Rocky Horror Show" and "Grease".From 2003 to 2004, using the stage name Kang Ji-hwan, he began appearing in small roles on television, which included the sitcom "Nonstop 4" and the Korean dramas "Summer Scent" and "Save the Last Dance for Me".Kang shot to fame in 2005 with "Be Strong, Geum-soon!