Gong Yoo graduated from Kyung Hee University with a B.A. degree in theater. In 2000, he started his show business career as a video jockey on Mnet and debuted as an actor in the TV series School 4 in 2001. Thereafter, Gong did a number of supporting roles in dramas and movies and also hosted the music program Music Camp in 2004.

In 2005, he landed his first lead role in SBS’s Hello My Teacher opposite Gong Hyo-jin. This was followed by the romance melodrama One Fine Day in 2006.

On January 14, 2008, Gong Yoo enlisted for the mandatory service, which ended on December 8, 2009. He did 8 months of frontline active service in Cheorwon and was transferred to the Defense Media Agency, where he served in the public relations department and hosted as a DJ for the army radio station. He was discharged in December 2009.

He then initiated and pursued the production of a theatrical adaptation of Gong Ji-young’s novel The Crucible, a congratulatory gift from his senior for his promotion during enlistment. This movie was internationally released under the title Silenced. Upon its release on September 22, 2011, the film sparked public outrage. This led to a reopening of the investigations into the incidents on which the novel and film are based. Public demand for legislative reform reached the National Assembly, where a revised bill to target sex crimes against minors and the disabled, dubbed the Dogani Bill after the Korean title of the film, was successfully passed in late October 2011.

In 2013, he returned to the big screen after a two-year gap in the movie The Suspect. He played an elite North Korean spy who defects after being betrayed by his country. In November 2013, Gong Yoo was appointed as a special representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Korea, in conjunction with a celebration of the 24th year since the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was adopted. Following his appointment, he has visited countries around the world to raise awareness of the situation of children in underdeveloped countries.

On July 7, 2014, Gong Yoo was named as an ambassador for the National Tax Service (NTS), alongside actress Ha Ji-won. The pair modeled for promotional posters and took part in street campaigns that encourage honest tax payment in support of the NTS.

Gong Yoo experienced a new high in his career with consecutive hit works in 2016. His first film in 2016 was the melodrama A Man and a Woman alongside critically acclaimed actress Jeon Do-yeon. He then starred in the hugely successful zombie blockbuster Train to Busan, which surpassed 11 million admissions in South Korea. He then starred in another box office hit The Age of Shadows, which surpassed 6 million admissions in two weeks.

In December 2016, Gong Yoo returned to television in Kim Eun-sook’s fantasy-romance drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, playing the titular goblin. The drama was a massive hit and Gong won Best Actor at the Baeksang Awards for his performance.

In October 2018, Gong Yoo was cast in two films. In Lee Yong-ju’s action thriller film Seo Bok, Gong will play a former intelligence agent who is caught up in the chase of catching the first human clone to uncover the secret to eternal life. In the feminist film Kim Ji-young: Born 1982, Gong plays the role of Kim Ji-young’s husband.

In March 2020, Gong Yoo was cast in Kim Tae-yong’s upcoming film Wonderland, where he will appear alongside Chinese actress Tang Wei.