1998-2000: Theater debut

After successfully passing the audition and becoming a trainee member of the Seoul Theater Company,^{[note 1]} and becoming a trainee member, Woo made her acting debut in 1998 at the age of 24. Her debut role was Petra in the Korean adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's play An Enemy of the People.^[1][2][3] It was a highly anticipated production directed by Kim Seok-man and featured acclaimed actors Lee Ho-jae as doctor Thomas Stokeman and Yoon Joo-sang as his older brother, Mayor Peter Stokeman. Both actors had previously won the prestigious Lee Hae-rang Theater Award. This project marked their first collaboration in 20 years since their last work together in Shakespeare's As You Like It. For a young rookie actress like Woo, the opportunity to be a part of such a significant production was unexpected, and it left her with unforgettable memories.^[1]

Woo also participated in another project with the Seoul Theater Company, the MBC Family Musical Lulu and the Twelve Fairies – A Beautiful Winter Story (1999). In this musical, which was televised by the MBC network, Woo took on dual roles as a rabbit and the Fairy of August.^[15]

2001-2014: Yeonwoo Theater Company and Iru Theater Company

From 2001 to 2004, Woo Mi-hwa was member of Yeonwoo Theater Company.^{[note 2]} During that time, she participated in over ten of their stage productions, which included their famous plays Lee (2001), Korean Wooturi (2002) and That Guy Looks Like a Radish (2003).^[4]

In 2004, Son Ki-ho, a former member of the Yeonwoo Theater Company, established Theater Company Iru (극단 이루). Woo and fellow actress Yeom Hye-ran joined him as founding members. Through her collaboration with Son Ki-ho, Woo gained recognition as an actress in Daehangno. One of their notable joint projects was the play Blowing Songs Flowers in the Rain, which premiered in 2010 and received numerous encore performances due to its popularity. The play received critical acclaim and prestigious awards, including the 2010 Jeon Mun-yeon Drama Competition Winner and the 2010 Myeongdong Arts Theater Creative Factory awards. In the 2011 Seoul Theater Festival, it achieved further success by winning four awards, including the Grand Prize, Male Acting Award, Female Acting Award, and Popularity Award. Woo herself was honored with the Female Acting Award at the 2011 Korean Drama Awards for her outstanding performance in the play. Additionally, her co-star received the Male Actor Award at the 2011 Dong-A Theater Award.^[4][5][17]

From 2008 to 2010, Woo appeared in the plays The People Who Lived in Gampo, Deok-yi, and Yeol-soo.^[18] In 2009, while reprising her roles in the previous plays, she also took on an additional project: a preview performance of the Korean adaptation of the play We Love Too Much To Meet Everyday. This adaptation was based on the French play "On s’aimait trop pour se voir tous les jours" written by playwright Guy Alloucherie.^[19] In 2010, she continued to leave her mark onstage by participating in the 6th Women's Director's Fair productions, specifically "Fighting Women" and "Who Else Said We Would Be Like Us?".^[18]

In 2013, Woo had the opportunity to showcase her talent alongside Kim Ji-won and Jang Ji-a in the Korean adaptation of Anton Chekhov play Three Sisters. She portrayed the title role of Olga in this production, which was directed by Moon Sam-hwa and staged at the Seoul Arts Center's Free Small Theater.^[6] Woo's portrayal of Olga earned her the prestigious Best Actress award at the 2013 Korean Drama Awards, recognizing her exceptional performance in the play.^[6]

2015-present: Television debut

Woo ventured to television without any special reason. As there are many theater actors who do movies and dramas, she was given chance to do minor roles. Her first role was female tailor in drama series Heard It Through the Grapevine (2015). The following year, she returned to theater for Kim Kwang-rim's 1996 stage play encore Come see me (2016). The National Theater production is loosely based on the true story of Korea's first confirmed serial murders, which took place between 1986 and 1991 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, in which Woo played Park Gi-ja.^[20]

In 2017, she played the title role of Elena in Dear Elena, Oh In-ha's Korean adaptation of Dorogaya Yelena Sergeyevna, an eponymous play by Lyudmila Razumovskaya, for which she won the 2017 SACA Best Actress Award.^[22]

In the same year, Woo joined late Kim Dong-hyun memorial performance, the play 'Are you okay?' that were performed at Doosan Art Center Space 111. Woo acted with Seong Yeo-jin and Jeon Park-chan. Kim Dong-hyun was founder of the Theater troupe Elephant Manbo. Despite his absence, his colleagues still celebrating its 10th anniversary of his Theater troupe. Even though Woo is a member of the troupe Iru, but she also has been active in Theater Elephant Manbo.^[23]

In 2018, Woo was cast in theater play Warrior of Sunshine. In the same year, Woo took on few television minor roles.^[24] Most notable one was Do-hoon's Mom in JTBC hit drama Sky Castle, where Woo acted as mother who flirts with Han Seo-jin (Yeom Jeong-ah) for her son education.^[25] In the same year, Woo finally landed her first supporting role in television series, as gynecologist Kim Jung-hee in drama Life. Woo said, "It was the first time that a name was created and I was able to talk about the thoughts and values of the name. "I was so grateful," Woo said, expressing her affection for the character.^[24]

In 2019, Woo and Seo Yi-sook were double cast as Nora; and Son Jong-hak and Park Ho-san were double cast as Torwald in Korean adaptation of play A Doll's House Part 2 by American playwright Lucas Hnath. The original play was released in 2017, written as the “sequel” of Henrik Ibsen's masterpiece A Doll's House, premiered in December 1879. In A Doll's House, main character Nora Helmer, a mother of three and wife of Torvald, is living out the ideal of the 19th-century wife, but leaves her family at the end. In A Doll's House Part 2, set in 1894, Nora Helmer, who already became successful writer, back after 15 years to file for her divorce.^[26]

Woo made her feature film debut in 2020 as the titular character in Han Jae-yi's melodrama Ivy. It follows the life of Eun-soo and Ye-won, a lesbian couple who suddenly had to take care Eun-soo's niece Su-min, who lost her mother in a sudden accident.^[27] Also that year, she appeared as Dr. Livingstone, the psychiatrist, in the Seoul Art Center adaption of John Pielmeier's play Agnes of God.^[28]

In March 2021, Woo was offered the role Anita in the MPN Company play Vincent River, adaption of Philip Ridley's play, directed by Shin Yoo-cheong. Anita is mother who lost her gay son Vincent overnight in a homophobic assault and murder case. The storyline is focused on conversation between Anita and Davy, who hovers around Anita. This play discuss issues of homophobia, crimes caused by that hate, and discriminatory views.^[29] The play was the second collaboration between MPN Company and Ateod, which aimed to revitalize the Daehangno performance market and create a stable production environment. It was performed for the first time in Korea in April 2021.^[30] Woo reprised her role as Anita in 2022.

In 2021, Woo starred alongside Song Kang-ho in Han Jae-rim's film Emergency Declaration.^[31][32]

Film

Television series

Web drama

Television show

Musical

Theater