Jo was raised by his mother and father who was a gymnastinSeoul. Jo decided to become a goalkeeper when he saw Kim Byung-ji's lead while watching 1998 France in elementary.[5] He later said, "I was excited about playing football after watching the World Cup as I could be someone else's dream."[6] In his fifth grade, the football coach of Shinjeong Elementary School Ham Sang-heon asked for the best goalkeeper in the schoolyard as he was worried he would not have a goalkeeper. The children pointed to Jo. The coach tested Jo by making him save several shots. This would be the beginning of his career. He has been the main goalkeeper and has played in national tournaments ever since. In response, his old coach said "It was not once or twice that teams won because of Jo's success in the penalty shoot-out".[7]
After graduating from Sun Moon University, Jo entered the 2013 K League 1 draft and was selected by Daegu FC.[8] He failed to prevent the relegation of his team in his first professional season, and had to compete in the K League 2. Since the 2015 season, Jo evolved into Daegu's first-choice goalkeeper and became the best goalkeeper in the K League 2. He finally helped Daegu promote to the K League 1 in 2016. He also contributed to Daegu's first Korean FA Cup title in 2018.
After a successful career in Daegu, Jo joined Ulsan Hyundai on 20 January 2020.[9] He contributed to Ulsan's K League 1 title in the 2022 season.
In May 2018, Jo was named in South Korea's preliminary 28-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[12] Originally expected to be the third-choice keeper, Jo made his international debut in a major competition.[13][14] His performances in the first two matches against Sweden and Mexico were impressive, despite both ending in defeats for South Korea. He was lauded particularly for his point-blank save against Swedish striker Marcus Berg which put him in the spotlight. Jo then played a prominent role in Germany's historic elimination from the first round of a World Cup for the first time since 1938 with a stellar performance, earning him the Man of the Match award.[15] Jo made seven saves without conceding any goals.[4] Despite this performance, South Korea learned after the match that they had been eliminated from the tournament due to Sweden beating Mexico (South Korea needed Mexico to beat Sweden to advance).[16] South Korea finished ahead of Germany in Group F, placing third.
Jo was named in the South Korean under-23 team for the 2018 Asian Games as an over-aged player. He appeared in two matches against Bahrain and Kyrgyzstan in the group stage and finalized them with clean sheets.
He also played in the round of 16 against Iran, but he was injured in this match. He was replaced by Song Bum-keun in the quarter-finals against Uzbekistan, but Song conceded three goals. Song received criticisms for his poor performance, and so Jo appeared again in semi-finals and final. He contributed to South Korea's gold medal by conceding only two goals in the tournament and was subsequently exempt from mandatory military service.
^Park, Jae-rim (15 November 2017). 깜짝스타 조현우, 선수 시작은 ‘땜질용’이었다 (in Korean). Football Journal. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
^대구FC신인 보강 마무리 (in Korean). Youngnam Ilbo. 11 December 2012. Archived from the original on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
^조현우 국가대표 골키퍼 울산 현대 이적 (in Korean). The Kookje Daily News. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
^Kim, Ui-gi (16 December 2017). 이재성 동아시안컵 MVP, 조현우 베스트GK등극 [Lee Jae-sung Dong-A San Cup MVP, Jo Hyun-woo best GK] (in Korean). Hankook Ilbo. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
^Choi, Ji-yoon (6 March 2022). 결혼4개월차 장동민, 장인과 일상 공개…'딸도둑들' [Jang Dong-min revealed his daily life with his father-in-law four months after marriage…'Daughter Thieves']. Naver (in Korean). Newsis. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
