# Shim Eun-kyung

Shim Eun-kyung (Korean: 심은경; 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 outshined her adult counterparts.
In 2011, she successfully transitioned to a lead actress via 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. Distinguished for its period detail, witty dialogue and the performances of its ensemble cast, the film shattered the common belief that women-centered pictures can't achieve blockbuster-level success. By appealing to a wide range of age groups, Sunny's box office total stood at more than 7 million admissions at 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 amidst 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 was criticized 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 (in which she also makes 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 film Psychokinesis.
In 2019, Shim made her Japanese film debut in The Journalist and gained good reviews for her performance as a Japanese reporter who delves into a government corruption scandal targeting 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 in the following year after. 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 sit on the jury bench of the 35th Tokyo International Film Festival.
In May 2023, Shim Eun-kyung signs an exclusive contract with Fanfare.

## Personal life

Shim is the youngest daughter in her family. Her 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, in 2010 Shim temporarily quit acting 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 currently 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-jin | |
| 2010 | Happy Killers | Kim Ha-rin | |
| 2010 | The Quiz Show Scandal | Kim Yeo-na | |
| 2010 | A Night on Earth | | short film |
| 2011 | Earth Rep Rolling Stars | Soo-ji (voice) | animated film |
| 2011 | Sunny | young Im Na-mi | |
| 2011 | Romantic Heaven | young Kim Boon-yi | |
| 2012 | Masquerade | Sa-wol | |
| 2014 | Miss Granny | Oh Doo-ri | |
| 2016 | Sori: Voice From The Heart | Sori (voice) | |
| 2016 | Missing You | Hee-joo | |
| 2016 | Train to Busan | Runaway Girl | cameo appearance |
| 2016 | Seoul Station | Daughter (voice) | animated film |
| 2016 | Queen of Walking | Man-bok | |
| 2017 | Fabricated City | Yeo-wool | |
| 2017 | The Mayor | Park Kyeong | |
| 2018 | Psychokinesis | Roo-mi | |
| 2018 | The Princess and the Matchmaker | Princess Songhwa | |
| 2019 | The Journalist | Erika Yoshioka | Japanese film |
| 2019 | Blue Hour | Asami Kiyoura | Japanese film |
| 2020 | Fictitious Girl's Diary | So-yeon | Japanese film |
| 2021 | A Garden of Camellias | Nagisa | Japanese film |
| 2022 | 7 Secretaries: The Movie | Park Sa-ran | Japanese film |
| 2024 | The Killers | | Short film |
| TBA | Starlight Falls | Lee Hyeon-jeong (B) | |

### Television series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2003 | Jewel in the Palace | Saenggaksi | |
| 2004 | The Woman Who Wants to Marry | young Lee Shin-young | |
| 2004 | Jang Gil-san | young Bong-soon | |
| 2004 | Sweet Buns | young Han Ka-ran | |
| 2004 | Emperor of the Sea | student under Lady Jung-hwa | Uncredited |
| 2005 | That Summer's Typhoon | Young Kang Soo-min | |
| 2005 | Drama City: "Goblins Are Alive" | Ji-won | One act-drama |
| 2005 | I Love You, My Enemy | Kim Ga-ram | |
| 2005 | The Secret Lovers | | |
| 2005 | Lovers in Prague | student in Hangul class | Uncredited |
| 2006 | 641 Family | Jin Dal-rae | |
| 2006 | Spring Waltz | Young Song Yi-na | |
| 2006 | Drama City: "Kkot-nim-yi" | Kkot-nim-yi | One act-drama |
| 2006 | 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 | |
| 2009 | Hilarious Housewives | Shim Eun-kyung | |
| 2010 | The Great Merchant | Young Kim Man-deok | |
| 2010 | Bad Guy | Moon Won-in | |
| 2014 | Naeil's Cantabile | Seol Nae-il | |
| 2020 | 7 Secretaries | Park Sa-ran | Japanese drama |
| 2020 | Money Game | Lee Hye-joon | |
| 2021 | Anonymous: Keishicho "Yubisatsujin" Taisakushitsu" | Kuraki Sena | Japanese drama |
| 2021 | Gunjo Ryoiki | Kim Jun-hee | Japanese drama |
| 2023 | Why Didn't I Tell You a Million Times? | Song Ha-young | Japanese drama |

### Web series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 2023 | One Day Off | Lee Jin-sol | Cameo | |

### Hosting

| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
| 2021 | 44th Japan Academy Film Prize | with Shinichi Hatori | |

## Discography

| Year | Song title | From the Album | Notes |
| 2008 | | Seo Taiji: Record of the 8th - 398 | Narration |
| 2010 | "Fly High" | Happy Killers OST | duet with Kim Dong-wook |
| 2014 | "If You Go to Los Angeles" | Miss Granny OST | |
| 2014 | "White Butterfly" | Miss Granny OST | |
| 2014 | "Once More" | Miss Granny OST | |
| 2014 | "Raindrop" | Miss Granny OST | |
| 2014 | "If You Go to Los Angeles" | Miss Granny OST | with Rose Motel |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2006 | KBS Drama Awards | Best Young Actress | Hwang Jini, Kkot-nim-yi | Won |
| 2008 | KBS Drama Awards | Best Young Actress | Women of the Sun | Won |
| 2009 | KBS Drama Awards | Best Young Actress | Kyung-sook, Kyung-sook's Father | Nominated |
| 2010 | 31st Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best New Actress | The Quiz Show Scandal | Nominated |
| 2010 | 47th Grand Bell Awards | Best New Actress | Happy Killers | Nominated |
| 2011 | 47th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Actress | Happy Killers | Nominated |
| 2011 | 48th Grand Bell Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Romantic Heaven | Won |
| 2012 | 48th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress | Sunny | Nominated |
| 2014 | 18th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival | Fantasia Award | — | Won |
| 2014 | KBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Naeil's Cantabile | Nominated |
| 2014 | 50th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress | Miss Granny | Won |
| 2014 | 14th Director's Cut Awards | Best Actress | Miss Granny | Won |
| 2014 | 19th Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Actress | Miss Granny | Won |
| 2014 | 10th Jecheon International Music & Film Festival | Best Actress | Miss Granny | Won |
| 2014 | 23rd Buil Film Awards | Best Actress | Miss Granny | Won |
| 2014 | 51st Grand Bell Awards | Best Actress | Miss Granny | Nominated |
| 2014 | 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Actress | Miss Granny | Nominated |
| 2014 | 1st Korean Film Producers Association Awards | Best Actress | Miss Granny | Won |
| 2015 | 10th Max Movie Awards | Best Actress | Miss Granny | Nominated |
| 2015 | 10th Max Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Miss Granny | Nominated |
| 2016 | 53rd Grand Bell Awards | Best Actress | Missing You | Nominated |
| 2019 | Tama Cinema Forum Awards | Best New Actress | The Journalist | Won |
| 2020 | 39th Zenkoku Eiren Awards | Best Actress | The Journalist | Won |
| 2020 | 43rd Japan Academy Film Prize | Best Actress | The Journalist | Won |
| 2020 | 74th Mainichi Film Awards | Best Actress | The Journalist | Won |
| 2020 | 74th Mainichi Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Blue Hour | Nominated |
| 2020 | 34th Takasaki Film Festival | Best Actress | Blue Hour | Won |

### Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement :
| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Rank | Ref. |
| The Screen | 2019 | 2009–2019 Top Box Office Powerhouse Actors in Korean Movies | 29th | |

### Other

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