As a child, Jang Hyuk spent most of his life in his birthplace Busan, before making his drama debut in the SBS drama Model in 1997. Besides the TV drama School and a minor role in the little-seen film Zzang, Jang appeared in the music video To My Mother, the 1999 debut single of popular boyband g.o.d.. He also acted in several music videos from his rap album, released in 2000 under the name TJ Project. His career first began to take off in 2001 when he was cast in the lead role of the special-effects extravaganza Volcano High together with actress Shin Min-ah. His acting in the eccentric role drew praise from fans and critics.

In 2002 he continued to make a name for himself, starring in the sleeper hit Jungle Juice, which made the top of the weekly box-office, and especially in the hugely popular TV drama Successful Story of a Bright Girl with actress Jang Na-ra. He also took a role in Public Toilet, the HK-Korea co-production by acclaimed Hong Kong director Fruit Chan which won a Special Mention in the Upstream section of the 2002 Venice film festival.

In 2003 Jang appeared with actress Lee Na-young in the comedy Please Teach Me English, by director Kim Sung-soo. His next project was even more high-profile, opposite top star Jeon Ji-hyun in Kwak Jae-yong's Windstruck. Although this film was generally not well received in Korea, it went on to beat Shiri and become one of the best-selling Korean films in Japan.

In late 2004, together with fellow actors Song Seung-heon and Han Jae-suk, Jang was found to have illegally avoided his mandatory military service. Amid widespread public condemnation, Jang apologized to his fans, then began to serve his two-year term.

After his discharge from the army in 2006, Jang rejoined the entertainment scene through the MBC drama Thank You. A heartwarming story about a young single mother (played by Gong Hyo-jin) with an HIV-positive daughter and the cynical doctor who enters their lives, Thank You surprisingly became a modest hit, and with it Jang left the stigma of his draft dodging scandal behind him.

He then signed up for the international movie production Dance of the Dragon, a love story that mixes ballroom dancing with martial arts action that costarred Singaporean actress Fann Wong. He won the Best Actor award at the inaugural West Hollywood International Film Festival for his role.

Jang made a cameo in Japanese drama Ryokiteki na Kanojo, a remake of the 2001 Korean film My Sassy Girl. After his earlier guesting on star Tsuyoshi Kusanagi's talk show, the director of the drama reportedly added new scenes for Jang that were not included in the original script. Jang then appeared as the love interest in three music videos of Taiwanese singer Elva Hsiao.

More dramas and movies followed, including Robber (in Korean, Bulhandang or "con artist"), Tazza opposite Han Ye-seul adapted from the 2006 gambling film, the short film His Concern in the omnibus Five Senses of Eros, the risque thriller Searching for the Elephant (also known as Penthouse Elephant) with Jo Dong-hyuk and Lee Sang-woo, and the melodrama Maybe (also known as The Rabbit and the Lizard) opposite Sung Yu-ri.

In 2010, he received the best reviews of his career for his leading role as the slave hunter ("chuno") Dae-gil in the hit fusion historical drama The Slave Hunters. His acting coach of 14 years described Jang as being relentless in his analysis of a character. According to Jang, "It is easy to fail if you don’t understand the steps one has to take to be famous." He won several acting awards, most significantly the Grand Prize ("Daesang") at the KBS Drama Awards, and a Best Actor nomination at the 2011 International Emmy Awards.

Shortly afterward he starred in Ai Shang Nu Zhu Bo ("Fall in Love with Anchor Beauty"), the Chinese remake of 2000 Korean drama All About Eve. The drama posted high ratings in China during its run.

Back in Korea, Jang played a fund manager-turned-lawyer in Midas, also starring Lee Min-jung and Kim Hee-ae. Jang's character nabs the job of a lifetime working for a chaebol household, but it involves him in a high stakes game of power that threatens to transform him into a money-hungry monster.

He next starred in the legal thriller The Client with Ha Jung-woo and Park Hee-soon, saying the film satisfied his wish to play a more emotionally complex persona. Playing a man accused of murdering his wife, Jang said he had to find "the right balance" between appearing "as someone who can appear at times like a criminal or at other times like an innocent man."

Initially reluctant to sign on to historical drama Deep Rooted Tree because he found the role of low-level royal guard Kang Chae-yoon uninteresting in the original novel, Jang changed his mind upon reading that the character had been dramatized and made richer in the TV script. It tells the story of Kang investigating a case involving the serial murders of Jiphyeonjeon scholars in Gyeongbok Palace while King Sejong the Great (played by Han Suk-kyu) is developing the Korean alphabet.

In 2013, he headlined Iris II: New Generation, sequel to the 2009 spy action series. This was his third acting collaboration with actress Lee Da-hae, after Robber and The Slave Hunters.

To the surprise of many given his past draft-dodging scandal, he then joined Real Men, a weekly show in which six male celebrities are filmed documentary-style as they enter army boot camp. This was Jang's first regular appearance on a reality/variety show in his 17-year acting career. He said, "I'd like to use this opportunity to reflect on myself through Real Men and to experience army life again."

Jang returned to the big screen in 2013 disaster blockbuster film The Flu, in which he and Soo Ae play a firefighter and a doctor racing against time to find the cure for a deadly strain of the cold virus that's spreading like wildfire. He also wrote a collection of essays on his life experiences titled Jang Hyuk, Hot-Blooded Man, published on August 6, 2013.

He reunites with Volcano High director Kim Tae-gyun in Strawberry Milk, an upcoming film about a high school girl who has a crush on her gym teacher.

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