Shin Ha-kyun

Shin Ha-kyun first trained as a stage actor at the Seoul Institute of the Arts before acting in a large number of plays by Jang Jin. Shin was cast in Jang's first movie, The Happenings, and he has since appeared in almost all of Jang's feature films. Impressed by his acting abilities, director Kim Jee-woon cast him in minor roles in The Foul King and his 30-minute internet film Coming Out.

Shin first became a superstar with his role as a young North Korea soldier in Park Chan-wook's smash hit Joint Security Area in late 2000. He developed a large fan following which, together that of co-star Won Bin, helped make his next film Guns & Talks a strong commercial hit.

In Park Chan-wook's acclaimed 2002 film, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Shin played a deaf man with bright green dyed hair who is driven by desperation to kidnap a young girl. In Jang Joon-hwan's Save the Green Planet! (2003), Shin played a mentally unbalanced man who believes that aliens are plotting to invade the earth.

Also noteworthy are Shin's performances in two films set during the Korean War: Welcome to Dongmakgol, a dramedy that takes place in a small mountainous village, and The Front Line, a harrowing tale of soldiers fighting over a small, bomb-blasted hill that regularly changes hands. His other film roles include: a developmentally disabled man in My Brother, a rural postman in A Letter From Mars, a suspect under interrogation in Murder, Take One, an eccentric hitman in No Mercy for the Rude, a struggling artist who makes an unwise bet in The Devil's Game, a sickly cuckolded husband in Thirst, a macho cop in Foxy Festival, and a music teacher having an affair in Cafe Noir.

Primarily a film actor, Shin's first TV series was 2003's Good Person on MBC. In 2010 he returned to television in Golden House. His portrayal of a cold, ambitious neurosurgeon in the 2011 medical drama Brain, brought him to new heights of mainstream popularity. For his performance in Brain, he won the Grand Prize ("Daesang") at the KBS Drama Awards.

In 2013, Shin headlined the romantic comedy series All About My Romance about two legislators from rival political parties who fall in love, followed by the high-profile action film Running Man about an ordinary man forced to become a fugitive after he gets framed for murder.

He then played a septuagenarian whose body magically reverts to his thirties in the 2014 romantic comedy series Mr. Back. Shin next gave a villainous turn as an evil mastermind game planner in the action-thriller Big Match. In 2015, he headlined his first period film with Empire of Lust, playing a distinguished admiral of the recently established Joseon empire.

In 2016, Shin starred in the police procedural crime drama Piped Piper (2016), playing a negotiator. He then starred in the comedy film Detour, followed with comedy thriller Room No.7. He also played a supporting role in the action film The Villainess co-starring Kim Ok-bin.

In 2018, Shin starred in the romantic comedy film What a Man Wants. The same year, he was cast in the comedy film Inseparable Bros. He returned to the small screen in the Korean remake of British crime drama Luther.

In 2020, Shin starred in the medical drama Soul Mechanic.

In 2021, Shin starred in the psychological thriller drama Beyond Evil as an impulsive and eccentric police officer. His performance earned him the award for the Best Actor - Television at 57th Baeksang Arts Awards.

In 2022, he appeared in the mystery-thriller film Anchor and in the Coupang Play sitcom Unicorn.