Shim Eun Kyung

In 2020, she became the first Korean to win Best Actress at the Japanese Academy Awards (Japan's equivalent of the Oscars).

• Name — Shim Eun-kyung • Born — 31 May 1994 • Birthplace — Gangneung, South Korea • Education — Professional Children's School • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 2004–present • Agent — * PanPare Inc. (South Korea) • Humanité (company) (Japan) 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).

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, Sunnys 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. • Illustration — Shim at the 2014 PiFan Film Festival 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 Sunnys, 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.

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.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. Reference(s) • 2003 — Jewel in the Palace — Saenggaksi • 2004 — 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 — Uncredited • 2005 — 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 — Uncredited • 2006 — 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-young • 2009 — Kyung-sook, Kyung-sook's Father — Jo Kyung-sook • Hilarious Housewives — Shim Eun-kyung • 2010 — The Great Merchant — Young Kim Man-deok • Bad Guy — Moon Won-in • 2014 — Naeil's Cantabile — Seol Nae-il • 2020 — 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

• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. Reference(s) • 2023 — One Day Off — Lee Jin-sol — Cameo

• Year — Title — Notes — Ref. Reference(s) • 2021 — 44th Japan Academy Film Prize — with Shinichi Hatori

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement • Publisher — Year — Listicle — Rank — Ref. Reference(s) • Korean Film Council — 2021 — Korean Actors 200 • The Screen — 2019 — 2009–2019 Top Box Office Powerhouse Actors in Korean Movies — 29th

In September 2022, she was appointed to the committee at the 35th Tokyo International Film Festival.

The authorities additionally record the headings 심은경 (1994년 5월 31일생) and Sim Eungyeong. Her recorded languages were Korean and Japanese. Her recorded confession was Catholicism.