Shim Eun-kyung (; born May 31, 1994) is a South Korean actress. She starred in the box office hits Sunny (2011), Miss Granny (2014) and Fabricated City (2017), as well as television series Naeil's Cantabile (2014). She has starred in both Korean and Japanese language entertainment. In 2020, she became the first Korean to win Best Actress at the Japanese Academy Awards (Japan's equivalent of the Oscars).
Career Shim made her acting debut at age 9 in the 2004 TV series The Woman Who Wants to Marry, and subsequently made a career as one of the best child actresses of her generation. She first gained attention for her role as a sexually abused girl in the horror fairytale Hansel and Gretel, and also starred in TV series such as Hwang Jini, The Legend, Women of the Sun, and The Great Merchant; critics say at times she even outshone her adult counterparts.
In 2011, she successfully transitioned to a lead actress role in the retro dramedy Sunny, which tells the story of seven women, crosscutting between their lives in the present and the experiences that first brought them together as teenagers in the 1980s. Recognized for its period detail, witty dialogue and the performances of its ensemble cast, the film shattered the commonly-held belief that women-centric pictures can't be blockbusters. By appealing to a wide range of age groups, Sunny'''s box office total reached more than 7 million admissions by the end of its long run. Director Kang Hyeong-cheol described Shim as someone "who is already complete as an actress."
Shim's other notable roles include a girl caught up in chaos of the Korean War in black comedy Kyung-sook, Kyung-sook's Father (also known as My Dad Loves Trouble), a sister with seemingly supernatural abilities in Possessed, a depressive in The Quiz Show Scandal, and a court taster in Masquerade.
In the 2014 comedy Miss Granny, Shim played a woman in her 70s who miraculously finds herself back in her 20-year-old body. She said, "This film is quite close to my heart as it is the first film for me to star in not as a child actor, but as full-fledged actress." With 8.65 million admissions, its box office success surpassed Sunny's, proving Shim's ability to carry a film. She also won Best Actress at the Chunsa Film Art Awards, the Baeksang Arts Awards, the Director's Cut Awards, and the Buil Film Awards.
Shim next starred as the eccentric savant pianist heroine in Naeil's Cantabile, a Korean drama adaptation of Japanese manga Nodame Cantabile. However, the series was a critical and commercial flop, and Shim took criticism for her acting in the series.
Shim returned to film, starring in Seoul Station directed by Yeon Sang-ho, who also directed Train to Busan (where she also made a cameo appearance), revenge thriller Missing You, and Queen of Walking, which Shim calls a turning point in her career. In 2017, she starred alongside Ji Chang-wook in the action thriller Fabricated City and alongside Choi Min-shik in the election film The Mayor. In 2018, she starred in The Princess and the Matchmaker, the second installment of the "divining art trilogy" after The Face Reader; and black comedy Psychokinesis.
In 2019, Shim made her Japanese film debut in The Journalist and received positive notices for her performance as a Japanese reporter who looks into a government corruption scandal centered on the Abe administration. She won the Best Actress award at the Mainichi Film Awards, and subsequently the Best Actress award at 43rd Japanese Academy Awards the next year. She also starred in the film Blue Hour, a story of an unusual friendship. She won the Best Actress award at the Takasaki Film Festival for her performance.
In 2020, Shim returned to Korean entertainment with the finance drama Money Game.
In 2022, Shim was invited to sit on the jury bench of the 35th Tokyo International Film Festival.
In May 2023, Shim Eun-kyung signs an exclusive contract with PanPare Inc.
Personal life Shim's hobbies are listening to music, reading science fiction comics, and doing taekwondo. She is the drummer of a band she formed with friends, Chick and Candy.
After graduating from Eonbuk Elementary School and Cheongdam Middle School, Shim temporarily quit acting in 2010 to move to the U.S., explaining, "I chose a place where there aren't a lot of Korean people and decided on a high school in Pittsburgh. Studying is a goal, but I also chose this because I've grown tired mentally and physically after having acted since a young age." She finished her high school at the Professional Children's School in 2013.
She shot a commercial with rocker Seo Taiji in 2008 and played the younger version of Lee Ji-ah's character Sujini in The Legend, but she didn't know that Lee and Seo were secretly married until 2011 when Shim was implicated in rumors that she was Seo and Lee's daughter, which she denied.
Originally nominated for the Best Actress award at the 2011 Grand Bell Awards for her role in Sunny, Shim complained publicly through her Twitter account when the awards committee removed her name from the official list of the nominees after she notified them she could not attend the event because she was then studying in the U.S. She was one of four actors and actresses removed from the initial nomination. Shim ended up winning Best Supporting Actress for her role in Romantic Heaven; Chun Woo-hee, her castmate in Sunny'', accepted the honor on Shim's behalf.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 2004 Thomas An Jung-geun An Jung-geun's daughter 2007 Hansel and Gretel Kim Young-hee 2009 Possessed So-jin2010 Happy Killers Kim Ha-rin The Quiz Show Scandal Kim Yeo-na A Night on Earth Short film2011 Earth Rep Rolling Stars Soo-ji (voice) Animated film Sunny young Im Na-mi Romantic Heaven young Kim Boon-yi 2012 Masquerade Sa-wol 2014 Miss Granny Oh Doo-ri 2016 Sori: Voice From The Heart Sori (voice) Missing You Hee-joo Train to Busan Runaway Girl Cameo appearance Seoul Station Daughter (voice) Animated filmQueen of Walking Man-bok2017 Fabricated City Yeo-wool The Mayor Park Kyeong 2018 Psychokinesis Roo-mi The Princess and the Matchmaker Princess Songhwa 2019The Journalist Erika YoshiokaBlue Hour Asami Kiyoura2020Fictitious Girl's Diary So-yeon 2021A Garden of Camellias Nagisa 2022 7 Secretaries: The Movie Park Sa-ran 2024 The Killers Short film 2025 Two Seasons, Two Strangers Lee 2026 The Table: Day and Night Hye-jin Opening film of BIFF scope="row" Starlight Falls Lee Hyeon-jeong (B)
Television series Year Title Role Notes 2003 Jewel in the Palace Saenggaksi2004 The Woman Who Wants to Marry young Lee Shin-young Jang Gil-san young Bong-soon Sweet Buns young Han Ka-ran Emperor of the Sea student under Lady Jung-hwa Uncredited2005 That Summer's Typhoon Young Kang Soo-min Drama City:"Goblins Are Alive" Ji-won One act-drama I Love You, My Enemy Kim Ga-ram The Secret Lovers Lovers in Prague student in Hangul class Uncredited2006 641 Family Jin Dal-rae Spring Waltz Young Song Yi-na Drama City:"Kkot-nim-yi" Kkot-nim-yi One act-drama Hwang Jini Young Hwang Jini 2007 The Legend Young Sujini 2008 Women in the Sun Young Shin Do-young2009 Kyung-sook, Kyung-sook's Father Jo Kyung-sook Hilarious Housewives Shim Eun-kyung2010 The Great Merchant Young Kim Man-deok Bad Guy Moon Won-in 2014 Naeil's Cantabile Seol Nae-il2020 7 Secretaries Park Sa-ran Money Game Lee Hye-joon 2021 Anonymous:Keishicho "Yubisatsujin" Taisakushitsu" Kuraki Sena Gunjo Ryoiki Kim Jun-hee 2023 Why Didn't I Tell You a Million Times? Song Ha-young 2025 Queen of Mars Galle-J0517 Miniseries 2026 Mad Concrete Dreams Yona
Web series Year Title Role Notes 2023One Day OffLee Jin-sol Cameo
Hosting Year Title Notes 2021 44th Japan Academy Film Prize with Shinichi Hatori
Discography Year Song title From the Album Notes 2008 Narration 2010 "Fly High" duet with Kim Dong-wook2014 "If You Go to Los Angeles" "White Butterfly" "Once More" "Raindrop" "If You Go to Los Angeles" with Rose Motel
Accolades Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result2006KBS Drama AwardsBest Young ActressHwang Jini, Kkot-nim-yi2008Women of the Sun2009Kyung-sook, Kyung-sook's Father201031st Blue Dragon Film AwardsBest New ActressThe Quiz Show Scandal47th Grand Bell AwardsHappy Killers201147th Baeksang Arts AwardsBest New Actress48th Grand Bell AwardsBest Supporting ActressRomantic Heaven201248th Baeksang Arts AwardsBest ActressSunny201418th Puchon International Fantastic Film FestivalFantasia AwardKBS Drama AwardsExcellence Award, Actress in a MiniseriesNaeil's Cantabile50th Baeksang Arts AwardsBest ActressMiss Granny14th Director's Cut AwardsBest Actress19th Chunsa Film Art Awards10th Jecheon International Music & Film Festival23rd Buil Film Awards51st Grand Bell Awards35th Blue Dragon Film Awards1st Korean Film Producers Association Awards201510th Max Movie AwardsBest Supporting Actress201653rd Grand Bell AwardsBest ActressMissing You2019Tama Cinema Forum AwardsBest New ActressThe Journalist 202039th Zenkoku Eiren AwardsBest Actress43rd Japan Academy Film PrizeBest Actress 74th Mainichi Film AwardsBest ActressBest Supporting ActressBlue Hour34th Takasaki Film FestivalBest Actress202538th Nikkan Sports Film AwardsBest ActressTwo Seasons, Two Strangers202680th Mainichi Film AwardsBest Lead Performance 99th Kinema Junpo AwardsBest Actress 8th Newsis K-Expo Cultural Awards Seoul Mayor's Award
Listicles +Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placementPublisherYearListicleRank Korean Film Council 2021 Korean Actors 200 The Screen20192009–2019 Top Box Office Powerhouse Actors in Korean Movies29th
Other In September 2022, she was appointed to the committee at the 35th Tokyo International Film Festival.
Notes
References
External links
Shim Eun-kyung at A.N.D Entertainment