Park Ji-young got her start in the entertainment industry when she was named first runner-up at the 1988 Miss Chunhyang beauty pageant. Some of her early acting projects are the SBS dramas Yushimcho aired in 1991 and The Woman Who Walked on Water released in 1992. In 1995, she starred as the titular character in the KBS2 sageuk Jang Nok-su. In 1997, she acted alongside Yoo Dong-geun and Bae Jong-ok in the KBS2 romance drama Sea of Ambition. In 2007, she made her big screen debut in the action film The Show Must Go On, in which she co-starred with Song Kang-ho. In 2012, she played the Queen Mother in the erotic romantic historical film The Concubine, which won her Best Supporting Actress at the 21st Buil Film Awards. In 2016, she appeared in the romantic comedy Jealousy Incarnate and in the fantasy sageuk Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, which both aired on SBS. In 2021, she joined another SBS sageuk, The Red Sleeve Cuff, which earned her an Excellence Award nomination at the SBS Drama Awards.


Park Ji-young’s younger sister Park Hye-jin is an announcer.