Actor You Need to know: Park Shin-hye

Park Shin-hye majored in theater and was recognized with a service award at the convocation ceremony of Chung-Ang University for her endeavors as an artist ambassador. The singer-actor is the very definition of a person who has an incredible filmography. If you’re a fan of Park’s performances in You’re Beautiful (2009), The Heirs (2013), Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013), Pinocchio (2014-2015), Doctors (2016), Memories of Alhambra (2018-2019), Alive (2020) or Sisyphus: The Myth, you’re already aware of her aptitude for channelling creativity and digging emotions deftly. Maybe that became a routine for the actor early on in her career. She rose to prominence as the young Choi Ji-woo in the acclaimed K-drama Stairway to Heaven (2003), broadening her horizons thereafter by appearing as a supporting actress in a variety of TV series, most memorably in the role of a wayward adolescent in the drama, Very Merry Christmas (2004).

I assume that once Park got to work, she unlocked her creative potential and the energy began to flow, igniting her desire to keep going. A breakout lead role happened in the 2006 South Korean-Japanese melodrama Tree of Heaven, for which Park won plaudits from critics. The horror film Evil Twin (2007), in which she played two roles – the main character and the ghost of the character’s sister – served as her movie debut. The diva has always been resourceful and can effortlessly transition from one character to another. For instance, after Princess Hours (2006), Park went on to play her first negative role in the rom-com Prince Hours. She later starred as the female lead in the weekend drama Kimcheed Radish Cubes and won the MBC Entertainment Awards for Best Newcomer in a Variety Show for hosting Fantastic Partner (2006–2007).

Park reportedly became more motivated to explore sensitive and emotional issues after her breakthrough as the cross-dressing star in the romantic comedy and musical drama, You’re Beautiful. She was fantastic as both Ko Mi-nyeo (a naive girl who aspires to be a nun) and Ko Mi-nam (disguised as her twin brother who’s a K-pop idol). Her brother’s manager convinces her to impersonate him in order for him to keep his spot in the band A.N.JELL. However, when she and the band’s lead vocalist/guitarist (Jang Keun-suk as Hwang Tae-kyung) fall in love, things don’t unfold as planned. Park not only starred in the drama but also recorded two songs for the soundtrack, “Lovely Day” and “Without Words.” You’re Beautiful became a cultural cornerstone, elevating the actors in it to greater stardom and making Park a household name across Asia, notably in Japan.

Be it in low-budget ventures like Cyrano Agency (2010) – which earned Park the Most Popular Actress award in films at the Baeksang Arts Awards – or lending her voice to the protagonist of the animated film Green Days: Dinosaur and I (which premiered at the 15th Busan International Film Festival), Park has effectively rendered emotions, imparting a lot of honesty to her characters. Her fantastic chemistry with co-stars in the cult classics Heartstrings and You’re Beautiful catalyzed her fame in Japan, resulting in an exclusive contract with the Japanese management agency IMX. In 2011, the diva collected the LETV Movie and Drama Awards’ Popular Asian Star trophy for featuring in the Taiwanese drama Hayate the Combat Butler and also received accolades for acting in the third instalment of the KBS drama special, Don’t Worry, I’m a Ghost, the following year. She was cast in the reality show Music and Lyrics in 2012 and in the third season of tvN’s ‘Flower Boy’ series, My Cute Guys, in 2013. In effect, therefore, this entire phase marked Park’s meteoric rise to fame; by 2012–2013, she had cemented herself as a major South Korean actress.

The legendary American actor Helen Hayes once said, “Everybody starts at the top and then has the problem of staying there.” Park saw success from the very beginning; hers was not a languid ascent. However, I believe she has been constant in terms of accomplishments as a result of self-discipline and determination. Following her award for Best Supporting Actress in the super-hit epic drama film Miracle in Cell No. 7, Park embarked on the 2013 Park Shin Hye Asia Tour: Kiss of Angel in four Asian countries, becoming the first actress to do so. Furthermore, she co-starred in The Heirs (aka The Inheritors) with Lee Min-ho, a teen drama that was wildly popular both in Korea and overseas. The TV series established Park as a Hallyu star and she was venerated with the Popular Foreign Actress award at the 2013 Anhui TV Drama Awards.

Radiantly stunning in different scenes and sequences, the 32-year-old has consistently delivered strong performances ranging from being the doe-eyed queen in The Royal Tailor to being a young woman in Pinocchio opposite Lee Jong-suk (as Choi Dal-po/Ki Ha-myung), who suffers from ‘Pinocchio complex’ that causes her to hiccup every time she lies. Pinocchio became a huge success story, and together with her triumphs in The Heirs, Park created a precedent for becoming this cultural phenomenon in a variety of movies and dramas. The actor was consequently listed on Forbes Korea’s list of Power Celebrities in 2015, 2017 and 2022. Also known as ‘Nation’s Little Sister,’ Park was recognized for her contribution to the Korean wave when she received the Prime Minister’s Commendation at the Korea Popular Culture Awards.

It’s fairly obvious that the artist is driven to acknowledge the importance of expanding and reinventing herself, aiming to forgo what she’s already achieved and striving to improve while seizing every opportunity to grab something unique. Her small-screen return in 2016 with SBS’ medical drama Doctors depicted a different Park in the shoes of a troubled teenager who transitioned into a competent doctor with time. During its 10-week run, the drama was a smash hit, topping viewership and popularity records. Park appeared later as a judo coach in the comedy movie My Annoying Brother, with actors Jo Jung-suk and Do Kyung-soo (D.O of EXO), and was chosen as the Most Favorite Korean Actress by Hallyu fans in the United States.

The Korean superstar, in a nutshell, has made significant advancements thus far. It’s worth noting how consistently she has been able to express a character’s deepest emotion in all of its originality while being true to her own strengths – her style and beauty. She landed a role in the hit show Little Cabin in the Forests in 2018, where she and co-actor So Ji-sub chronicled their daily routines in a small shack in the woods of Jeju. That same year, she co-starred with Hyun Bin in tvN’s runaway hit fantasy-suspense drama Memories of the Alhambra, playing the double roles of a hostel owner and a guitarist. Park also featured with Yoo Ah-in in the zombie apocalypse #Alive as an enigmatic girl who helps him in his survival. She was shown as particularly skilled at eliminating zombies that trespassed on her house, with her hand axe and booby-trapped door. The film was a commercial success, ranking seventh in South Korea for the year 2020.

With a plethora of accomplishments and more to come, the artist seems to be in charge of her goals, expanding her repertoire by accepting more demanding roles, revealing her propensity to overcome apprehension, and trying tirelessly to emote varied characters. So, after #Alive Park shared screen time with Young Sook in the dark suspense thriller The Call, centered on two women from different eras linked by a mysterious phone call. Following that, she most recently featured in the time-travel thriller Sisyphus: The Myth, co-starring with Cho Seung-woo as a tech prodigy who unwittingly teams up with Gang Seo-hae (Park), a fierce warrior from the future sent back in time. As different forces pursue them for their evil agendas, the two are thrust into one deadly situation after another.