Shin Min-a

• Name — Shin Min-a • Birth Name — Yang Min-a • Born — 5 April 1984 • Birthplace — Yecheon County, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea • Education — Dongguk University • Occupation — * Actress • model • Years Active — 1998–present • Agent — AM Entertainment • Website — http: shinmina.co.kr/

Shin began her modeling career in 1998 under her birth name, Yang Min-a, for the teen magazine KiKi. Her entry into the industry followed a first-place win in a magazine competition for which a friend had submitted her photo without her knowledge. She initially gained recognition through television commercials for brands such as Samsung and Korea Telecom 018, in which her catchphrase "Love moves about" became particularly popular among South Korean youth. Shin started acting by starring in music videos. In 2000, she was cast in the high-budget music video for Jo Sung-mo's "Do You Know", as a Vietnamese girl who falls in love with a Korean soldier during the Vietnam War. Ahead of her film debut in Volcano High, she adopted the stage name Shin Min-a, to avoid confusion with the actress Yang Mi-ra. While Volcano High started production earlier, her first appearance as an actress was in the melodrama Beautiful Days. She took five months of acting lessons in preparation for her role. Regarding it, she stated to The Dong-A Ilbo: "It was a completely different role than my regular image [...] At first, it was awkward, but I'm confident I won't get criticized for 'clumsy acting'."

In 2003, she took the main role in the college romance movie Madeleine with Zo In-sung. For her role as a hairdresser, she practiced hairdressing for three months before the movie started filming. She then took on her first main TV role as a boxer in the series Punch, training under the wing of the boxer Kim Ju-hee for two months. The drama's director, Lee Hyun-jik, praised her, saying, "Min-a might be a rookie actor, but she's so enthusiastic sometimes we worry someone might get hurt, and she also excels in expressing emotions." Her role earned her a New Star Award at the 2003 SBS Drama Awards. In 2005, she took on a supporting role in Kim Jee-woon's noir film A Bittersweet Life, reuniting her with previous co-star Lee Byung-hun. She then portrayed a deaf character in Sad Movie. This was followed by leading roles in the melodrama A Love to Kill with Rain, romantic comedy series The Beast and the Beauty with Ryoo Seung-bum, and psychological thriller Lucifer with Uhm Tae-woong and Ju Ji-hoon. In the 2007 film My Mighty Princess, Shin simultaneously played two characters. After her travels were documented on the cable channel O'live in 2008, Shin published a book titled Shin Min-a's French Diary in 2009. • Illustration — Shin at the Go Go 70s press conference in 2008 In the 2008 film Go Go 70s, Shin played a sexy counterculture singer and won numerous accolades for her portrayal. She then acted as an unfaithful wife in The Naked Kitchen, and a cynical young woman in search of her father in Sisters on the Road, a critically acclaimed indie film which also stars fellow actress and close friend Gong Hyo-jin. But Shin became best known for her portrayals of supernatural horror icons revamped into endearingly innocent yet spunky heroines in the rom-com My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho (2010).

Shin starred in the historical drama Arang and the Magistrate (2012). After appearing in The X, a 2013 spy thriller short film directed by Kim Jee-woon, Shin returned to the big screen in 2014 with Gyeongju, an introspective arthouse romance opposite Park Hae-il. This was followed by the romantic comedy film My Love, My Bride, where she and Jo Jung-suk played a newly married couple; it was a remake of the same-titled 1990 hit that starred Choi Jin-sil and Park Joong-hoon. In 2015, Shin and So Ji-sub were cast in the romantic comedy series Oh My Venus. For her character, an overweight lawyer, Shin underwent a three-hour makeup/prosthetic session every shoot. At the 2015 KBS Drama Awards, Shin won the Excellence Award, the Best Actress in a Miniseries award, and the Best Couple Award with So Ji-sub. She also won the Outstanding Korean Actress award at the 11th Seoul International Drama Awards. In 2016, Shin was cast opposite Lee Je-hoon in the fantasy melodrama Tomorrow, With You, portraying a 30-year-old amateur photographer who finds out that her better half can time travel. The drama was fully pre-produced and premiered in February 2017. • Illustration — Shin in 2018 Shin took a break from acting for two years. In 2018, Shin was cast opposite Lee Yoo-young in the mystery film Diva, playing Yi Young, a diver who lost her memory after an accident. The film marks the directorial debut of Cho Seul-ye. It was showcased in the Korean Fantastic features section at the 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival held in July 2021. In 2019, Shin returned to the small screen after three years in the political drama Chief of Staff opposite Lee Jung-jae, as Kang Seon-yeong, a lawyer turned politician. In winter 2019, Shin reprised her role for the second season. In 2021, Shin reunited with director Yoo Je-won in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, starring Kim Seon-ho and Lee Sang-yi. She played the role Yoon Hye-jin, a dentist who moved from the city to open a clinic in the seaside village of Gongjin. It was a remake of 2004 film Mr. Handy, Mr. Hong, which starred Uhm Jung-hwa and Kim Joo-hyuk. The series became a domestic hit with audience ratings peaking at 13.322% and went on to become one of the highest-rated television series on Korean cable television history. Following its release on Netflix, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha became one of the platform's most-watched non-English television shows. It remained on Netflix's non-English popular television show list for 16 weeks, and reached the top 10 charts in more than 20 countries. It also on Netflix's Top 10 Chart for television shows for more than two months from its last episode. She has also contributed her vocals to several singles and soundtracks.

• Illustration — Shin in 2022 Shin starred in Noh Hee-kyung's omnibus drama Our Blues. Shin played Min Seon-ah, a divorcee with one child who came to Jeju and met her childhood friend Lee Dong-seok. It premiered on tvN on April 9, 2022. Shin was cast in the movie Our Season in 2020, which released in 2023. The film was her first big screen role in three years after the thriller Diva. Playing a woman whose dead mother gets a "trip from heaven" to visit her, Shin chose to appear in the film because of its heartwarming feel and relatable subject matter. She played against type with a gloomier character, as in her previous project, Our Blues—explaining her choice, she stated that she wanted to play a variety of roles. A writer for the Korean news outlet Dispatch, reviewing the movie, said Shin's performance with Kim Hae-sook was "like seeing a real mother and daughter". The same year Our Season was released, Shin also returned to television with the series No Gain No Love; it began airing in August 2024. In 2025, Shin starred in Netflix's crime thriller television series Karma directed by Lee Il-hyung. It is based on the Kakao webtoon of the same name by Choi Hee-seon, about people who are unexpectedly entangled and destroy each other while pursuing their own desires.

Along with Kim Hyo-jin, Kim Min-hee, and Yang Mi-ra, she was considered one of the "four teenage commercial stars", and a representative of the "N generation" (a Korean analogue to the millennial generation). She has since become one of the most in-demand and highest paid commercial endorsers in South Korea. • Illustration — Shin for LG Xnote Notable among her forays into branded entertainment is the 2008 multi-episode Summer Days opposite Hyun Bin and Ryoo Seung-bum for LG Xnote featuring music by You Hee-yeol, as well as Friends & Love, a movie-style extended advertisement for Giordano in 2011 costarring Jung Woo-sung and So Ji-sub. In 2009, Shin went to Milan, Italy to shoot a photo spread for Elle Korea with Calvin Klein model Jamie Dornan. In 2011, she was chosen as the first Asian model for the DIY Project ad campaign of American clothing brand Rag & bone, and in 2012 was featured in The New York Times T Magazine. Shin is a Roger Vivier's Maison ambassador for Korea. On November 11, 2021, she was appointed as Gucci's brand ambassador with Lee Jung-jae.

Shin is a distinguished philanthropist whose cumulative contributions surpassed ₩4 billion by 2025. Her commitment to social welfare has been widely recognized, earning her a Presidential Citation in 2019 and the Good People Artist Award at the 14th Beautiful Artist Award in 2024. Her contributions already surpassing ₩1 billion by 2015 and reaching a milestone of ₩3.3 billion by the end of 2022. That year alone, her year-end gifts of ₩260 million to the Community Chest of Korea and Asan Medical Center brought her annual total to ₩360 million. Shin has been a dedicated benefactor to medical sector, focusing on pediatric care and specialized treatment. Shin is a constant donor to the Community Chest of Korea. Since December 2009, she has donated ₩2 million monthly, supplemented by year-end gifts ranging from ₩50 million to ₩100 million. By 2015, her contributions totaled approximately ₩717 million. Per her wishes, these funds primarily support heating costs for the elderly living alone, medical expenses for children with burns, and education for immigrant children. In February 2020, she contributed ₩100 million to support medical staff and vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2014, she took part in the Ice Bucket Challenge. In October 2015, she participated in the "Ohui Beautiful Face Campaign" and personally donated a ₩50 million to Seoul National University Children's Hospital. In September 2016, she donated ₩50 million to the same hospital. Since 2015, she has been a supporter of the Hallym Burn Foundation. She participated in the "Let's Share the Heart" talent donation campaign in November 2016. She donated of ₩100 million in December 2020, and another ₩100 million in December 2021. Shin have been supporting Asan Medical Center since 2018. In December 2021, she donated ₩100 million each to Asan Medical Center and the Korean Developmental Society to support psychological treatment for children affected by prolonged COVID-19 infections. In 2010, Shin donated ₩50 million to help build Korea's first multicultural school in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. Shin has also maintained a long-term partnership with Good Friends, an organization she began supporting in 2010 after being introduced by writer Noh Hee-kyung. Since then, her cumulative donations of ₩290 million have funded essential services for North Korean defectors, specifically targeting single mothers and their children. Most recently, in December 2025, Shin and her husband, Kim Woo-bin, jointly donated ₩300 million through organizations such as the Hallym Burn Foundation and Good Friends to ensure medical access for low income families and those in difficult circumstances. She has also donated to disaster relief. In May, Shin donated ₩100 million to Nepal earthquake relief efforts via The Korean branch of Join Together Society. In August 2020 she donated ₩50 million to Community Chest of Korea to assist victims of torrential rains. In March 2022, Shin donated 100 million to the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association, to help victims of the wildfires in Uljin County. On February 8, 2023, Shin donated 50 million via the same NGO to help victims of the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake. In March 2025, Shin donated 50 million to the Korean Red Cross to help wildfire victims in the Ulsan, Gyeongbuk, and Gyeongnam.

On July 22, 2015, through their agencies, Shin and actor Kim Woo-bin confirmed their relationship. They met each other as models for the same fashion brand two months prior. In November 2025, Kim announced that they would be getting married in December. On December 20, their wedding took place at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. Reference(s) • 2001 — Beautiful Days — Lee Min-ji • 2003 — Punch — Jang Yoo-bin • 2005 — A Love to Kill — Cha Eun-seok • 2007 — Lucifer — Seo Hae-in • 2010 — My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho — Gu Mi-ho • 2012 — Arang and the Magistrate — Arang / Lee Seo-rim • 2015–2016 — Oh My Venus — Kang Joo-eun • 2017 — Tomorrow, with You — Song Ma-rin • 2019 — Chief of Staff — Kang Sun-young — Season 1–2 • 2021 — Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha — Yoon Hye-jin • 2022 — Our Blues — Min Seon-ah • 2024 — No Gain No Love — Son Hae-yeong • 2025 — Karma — Lee Ju-yeon • 2026 — The Remarried Empress — Navier

• Year — Song title — Artist • 1999 — "A Request" — Lee Seung-hwan • "Eyes Want to Travel" — Leon Lai • "Love and Remembrance" — g.o.d • 2000 — "Since You Left Me" — g.o.d • "Do You Know?" — Jo Sung-mo • 2001 — "With Coffee" — Brown Eyes • "I Love You" — Cha Tae-hyun • "Sad Love" — g.o.d • "A Fool" — g.o.d • "You Just Don't Know" — g.o.d • 2008 — "Summer Day" — You Hee-yeol feat. Shin Jae-pyung of Peppertones • "My Happy Day" — You Hee-yeol feat. Shin Min-a • 2009 — "Miracle Blue" — Loveholics feat. Shin Min-a

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement • Publisher — Year — Listicle — Placement — Ref. Reference(s) • Forbes — 2010 — Korea Power Celebrity 40 — 28th • 2011 — 15th • 2012 — 31st • Gallup Korea — 2021 — Gallup Korea's Actor of the Year — 2nd • 2022 — 12th • Inews24 — 2022 — Best Actor of the Year — 6th

Shin Min-a was recorded at birth as 양민아. The authorities additionally record the heading Yang Min-a. Her recorded language was Korean. Her recorded confession was Buddhism.

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination • Award ceremony — Year — Category — Nominee / Work — Result — Ref. Reference(s) • APAN Star Awards — 2022 — Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries — Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha Our Blues • Popularity Star Award, Actress — Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha • Baeksang Arts Awards — 2015 — Best Actress – Film — Gyeongju • InStyle Fashionista Award • Beautiful Artist Awards — 2024 — Good People Artist Award • Blue Dragon Film Awards — 2021 — Best Leading Actress — Diva • Chunsa Film Art Awards — 2009 — Best Actress — Go Go 70s • Cosmo Beauty Awards — 2011 — Beauty Icon of the Year — rowspan="2" • Dior Timeless Beauty Award — 2006 — Recipient • KBS Drama Awards — 2005 — Best New Actress — A Love to Kill • 2007 — Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries — Lucifer • 2015 — Top Excellence Award, Actress — Oh My Venus • Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries • Best Couple with So Ji-sub • Korean Advertisers Association Awards — 2010 — Good Model Award • Korean Film Awards — 2008 — Best Supporting Actress — Go Go 70s • Max Movie Awards — 2009 — Best Actress • MBC Drama Awards — 2012 — Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries — Arang and the Magistrate • Best Couple with Lee Joon-gi • Mnet 20's Choice Awards — 2009 — Hot Fashionista • SBS Drama Awards — 2003 — New Star Award — Punch • 2010 — Excellence Award, Actress in a Drama Special — My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho • Best Couple with Lee Seung-gi • Top 10 Stars • Seoul International Drama Awards — 2016 — Outstanding Korean Actress — Oh My Venus • Style Icon Awards — 2009 — Female Fashionista — rowspan="1" • 2010 — Style Icon Actress, TV category — My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho • TVCF Awards — Best CF Model • University Film Festival of Korea — 2008 — Best Supporting Actress — Go Go 70s • Wildflower Film Awards — 2015 — Best Actress — Gyeongju • Special Jury Prize

Name of country, year given, and name of honor • Country — Organization — Year — Honor or Award — Ref. Reference(s) • South Korea — Financial Services Commission — 2019 — Presidential Citation • National Tax Service — 2011 — Presidential Commendation