# Shin Eun-kyung

Shin Eun-kyung (Korean: 신은경; born 15 February 1973) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in Downfall (1997) and My Wife Is a Gangster (2001). Shin is one of the most prominent Korean actress in the 1990s, alongside Shim Eun-ha, Ko So-young and Jeon Do-yeon, whom she starred with in General Hospital (1994).

## Career

Shin began appearing in commercials in 1986 at the age of 13, and made her television debut in 1988 on KBS. Throughout the late eighties and early nineties, she acted in a great number of films and TV dramas (notably in the 2001 medical drama General Hospital), garnering fame for her warm screen presence. In 1997, however, she took on her most daring role as a prostitute in veteran director Im Kwon-taek's Downfall. The film was a box-office success, leading her to star status.
In 1999, she starred in two films, including the Korean-Japanese co-produced horror film The Ring Virus, based on the novel by Koji Suzuki. Her success in this role led to her being cast in a small role for a Japanese film, Uzumaki (also known as Spiral). Around this time, Shin was also working as an MC for a television game show.
In 2002, Shin starred in her most famous role as a tough, female gang boss in My Wife Is a Gangster. The film drew more than 5 million spectators and became a strong hit throughout Asia. She also appeared in the sequel, My Wife Is a Gangster 2, but the film faltered at the box office in 2003. Other roles Shin starred in around this time were as a detective in This Is Law (also known as Out of Justice), as a professional matchmaker in the romantic comedy A Perfect Match, and as a naval officer in the box office bomb Blue.
Shin went on a short hiatus after she married and had a baby, and returned to acting in 2005, starring in films such as Bystanders and Mr. Housewife, and television series such as Bad Couple, Mom's Dead Upset, White Lie, Still You and The Scandal. She gained praise for her impassioned portrayals of ruthless and ambitious women in the 2010 melodrama Flames of Desire and the 2014 revenge thriller The Plan.

## Other activities

Shin has been a professor at Seoul Hoseo Art College's Department of Performing Arts since 2011.

## Personal life

On 22 September 2003, Shin married Kim Jung-soo, who was then the CEO of her talent agency Good Player Entertainment. The following year, she gave birth to a son, who was later diagnosed with hydrocephalus. On 24 August 2007, Shin filed for divorce when she learned that Kim had used her private seal without her permission to misappropriate ₩400 million (US$424,800) for his business after its merger with Fantom Entertainment and the box office failure of several films he'd produced. In November, Shin sued Kim for forgery of private documents. In a separate case, she was sued by KM Culture, the company from whom Kim had taken a loan which amounted to ₩290 million (US$218,000). On 28 December 2008, the court ruled that Shin was not liable for her ex-husband's debts, stating that although Shin's seal is on the loan contract, Shin had not seen any of the money loaned, had not authorized her seal's use, and is therefore not responsible for the debt.
She again landed in the entertainment headlines in 2011 when she underwent bimaxillary osteotomy surgery (or jaw realignment surgery), reportedly because she felt making her strong jawline "slimmer and more rounded" would give her a "younger, softer, more feminine" look, which would result in more acting roles. Shin later spoke candidly that she regretted having undergone the procedure for pure cosmetic purposes, saying the public should be better informed about the pain and danger associated with the invasive surgery. In 2012, she sued an oriental medicine clinic for violating her portrait rights and privacy after it posted false ads on the internet without her permission, featuring her photo and treatment process; she had gone to the clinic to decrease the swelling of her face, a side effect of her jaw reconstruction surgery, but the clinic's treatments proved ineffective. The court ruled in Shin's favor and awarded her damages amounting to ₩35 million.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1989 | Kuro Arirang | Sook-hee |
| 1990 | This Is the Beginning of Love | Hyeon-im |
| 1991 | The Lover on the Bicycle | |
| 1992 | Life Isn't a Multiple Choice Test | Min Cho-hee |
| 1993 | No Emergency Exit | |
| 1994 | Love on a Rainy Day | Peng Young-mi |
| 1994 | The Young Man | Jae-yi |
| 1997 | Downfall | Eun-young |
| 1998 | A Mystery of the Cube | Shin Tae-kyung |
| 1999 | The Ring Virus | Hong Sun-joo |
| 2000 | Uzumaki | Chie Maruyama |
| 2000 | General Hospital the Movie: A Thousand Days | Kang Eun-soo |
| 2001 | My Wife Is a Gangster | Cha Eun-jin |
| 2001 | This Is Law | Kang Min-joo |
| 2002 | A Perfect Match | Kim Hyo-jin |
| 2002 | Baby Alone | |
| 2003 | Blue | Kang Su-jin |
| 2003 | My Wife Is a Gangster 2 | Cha Eun-jin |
| 2005 | Mr. Housewife | Go Soo-hee |
| 2005 | Diary of June | Chu Ja-young |
| 2010 | Love, In Between | Han So-young |
| 2013 | Born to Sing | Moon Bo-ri's mother |
| 2014 | The Plan | Se-hee |
| 2020 | Shiho | Su-jeong |
| 2022 | It's Alright | TVING Shorts Film |

### Television series

| Year | Title | Role | Network |
| 1988 | Door of Desire | | KBS1 |
| 1990 | What the Women Live | | MBC |
| 1990 | Pacheonmu | Queen Jeongsun | KBS2 |
| 1991 | Thief's Wife | | KBS2 |
| 1991 | Velvet Grass of the Old Days | | KBS2 |
| 1992 | Self-Portrait in Black | | KBS2 |
| 1993 | January | | KBS2 |
| 1993 | Pilot | Do Jin-sook | MBC |
| 1994 | The Last Match | Kim Soo-jin | MBC |
| 1994 | General Hospital | Lee Jung-hwa | MBC |
| 1995 | Yeo (Woman) | Yong-seol | MBC |
| 1996 | Salted Mackerel | Yoo Young-woo | MBC |
| 1998 | Song of the Wind | Jung Sun-joo | SBS |
| 1999 | Wave | Lee Ok-jeom | SBS |
| 2007 | Bad Couple | Kim Dang-ja | SBS |
| 2008 | Mom's Dead Upset | Na Young-su | KBS2 |
| 2008 | White Lie | Seo Eun-young | MBC |
| 2010 | Flames of Desire | Yoon Na-young | MBC |
| 2012 | Still You | Cha Soon-young/ Baek In-ah | SBS |
| 2013 | The Scandal | Yoon Hwa-young | MBC |
| 2013 | Your Neighbor's Wife | Hong Kyung-joo | jTBC |
| 2014 | Wife Scandal: "The Wind Rises" | Wife (episode 1: "Lie") | TV Chosun |
| 2014 | Family Secret | Han Jung-yeon | tvN |
| 2015 | Oh My Ghost | Jo Hye-young | tvN |
| 2015 | The Time We Were Not in Love | Gu Yeon-jung | SBS |
| 2015 | The Village: Achiara's Secret | Yoon Ji-sook | SBS |
| 2017 | | | SBS |
| 2017 | Drama Special: "Bad Families" | Park Myung-hwa | KBS |
| 2018 | The Last Empress | Empress Kang | SBS |
| 2020–2021 | The Penthouse: War in Life | Kang Ma-ri | SBS |
| 2023–2024 | The Escape of the Seven | Cha Joo-ran | SBS |

### Variety show

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1997 | Beautiful Morning with Shin Eun-kyung and Kim Chang-wan | Host |
| 1999 | Creating a Better World | |
| 2011-2012 | She and Him | |
| 2014 | A Man Who Satisfies 99 Women | Host |

### Music video

| Year | Song Title | Artist |
| 2001 | "Fixing My Makeup" | Wax |
| 2002 | "Ace of Sorrow" | Jo Sung-mo |
| 2005 | "Smile Again" | KCM |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1994 | TV Journal Star of the Year Awards | Excellence Award, TV Acting category | General Hospital | Won |
| 1994 | MBC Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress | General Hospital | Won |
| 1995 | 31st Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Actress (TV) | General Hospital | Won |
| 1997 | 18th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | Downfall | Won |
| 1997 | 18th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Popular Star Award | Downfall | Won |
| 1998 | 34th Baeksang Arts Awards | Most Popular Actress (Film) | Downfall | Won |
| 1999 | 20th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | The Ring Virus | Nominated |
| 2001 | 22nd Blue Dragon Film Awards | Popular Star Award | My Wife Is a Gangster | Won |
| 2002 | 1st Korean Film Awards | Best Actress | A Perfect Match | Nominated |
| 2007 | SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actress | Bad Couple | Nominated |
| 2007 | SBS Drama Awards | Top 10 Stars | Bad Couple | Won |
| 2008 | KBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama | Mom's Dead Upset | Nominated |
| 2009 | MBC Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actress | White Lie | Nominated |
| 2010 | MBC Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actress | Flames of Desire | Won |
| 2012 | SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Weekend/Serial Drama | Still You | Won |
| 2012 | SBS Drama Awards | Top 10 Stars | Still You | Won |
| 2013 | 21st Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Drama | The Scandal | Won |
| 2013 | MBC Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Special Project Drama | The Scandal | Won |
| 2020 | SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-Length Drama | The Penthouse: War in Life | Won |
| 2021 | 57th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Supporting Actress (TV) | The Penthouse: War in Life | Nominated |