From a famous child star to a hated actress
Shin Se Kyung started acting at the age of 4. When she was young, she was a child actress who was highly expected by viewers and experts because of her lovely appearance and confidence when appearing in front of the camera. She became a familiar face to many children’s programs or children’s fashion shoots. At the age of 8, Shin Se Kyung became more famous than ever when appearing in the album photo of the legendary group Seo Taiji. Shin Se Kyung’s stunning beauty and sharp facial features even though she’s only 8 years old, surprised the audience.
As expected, Shin Se Kyung soon became famous and her name even went beyond the Korean border to be popular all over Asia. However, when Shin Se Kyung grew up and became a professional actress, the enthusiasm of the audience in her has gone and was replaced by hatred. In addition to acting, Shin Se Kyung also received negative responses due to her participation in the script of High Kick 2’s tragic ending, in which both the actress and the male lead died in a car accident. Many sources said that it was Shin Se Kyung who influenced the scriptwriter to change the script, ending High Kick 2 with a bad ending. The actress has been severely criticized by netizens since then. However, this information has not been verified.
Even though having many years of acting experience, her acting hasn’t changed much compared to the start of her career. Many netizens commented that her strength should only be focused on modeling, not acting.
A criticized love story with Jonghyun (SHINee)
Shin Se Kyung and Jonghyun (SHINee) were said to be dating in 2010 and this love story has caused outrage in public. As a result, the two quickly split up in 2011 after a year of dating. Even after Jonghyun’s death in 2017, the actress was also vilified by the public just because of her appearance at his funeral.
In 2017, Shin Se Kyung was suddenly rumored to be the one who caused Nam Joo Hyuk to break up with Lee Sung Kyung. However, Shin Se Kyung is still single until now while Nam Joo Hyuk is constantly said to have gotten back with his ex. This clearly proves there is no special relationship between Shin Se Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk.
Trying to prove herself through a new role: a YouTuber
She has not achieved many achievements in the acting field, but as a YouTuber, Shin Se Kyung has achieved a lot of success. She quietly set up a YouTube channel in September 2018 and immediately attracted the public’s attention with interesting content, although she mainly shared her daily life. Currently, the YouTube channel has 1.44 million subscribers and all of her videos have a huge number of views.
On her YouTube channel, the actress transforms herself into a very ordinary girl, who likes cooking, reading books and going to coffee, without showing off her wealth or popularity. Even Shin Se Kyung doesn’t say much in her videos, but her YouTube channel still has unbelievable charm. It was her simple appearance that helped her win the hearts of the public.
Under fire for being ‘too pretty’
In 2024, Shin Se Kyung took park in drama ‘Captivating the King‘, gaining attention. Hower
Shin Se Kyung’s character in the film is Kang Hee Soo, a beautiful, charming, and talented young woman who is also a skilled Go player. In her quest for revenge, she disguises herself as a man, taking the name Kang Mong Woo, and earns money by playing Go. Through this disguise, she becomes friends with Yi In (Jo Jung Suk), the grand prince of Jinhan, who will later ascend to the throne. Yi In is also a Go genius, which leads to a close friendship with Hee Soo. Unbeknownst to Yi In, Hee Soo has intentionally approached him for revenge, and to their surprise, they soon develop feelings for each other.
In the early episodes of the film, Shin Se Kyung primarily appeared in her male disguise, which has sparked significant controversy. The media and netizens in South Korea unanimously claimed that Shin Se Kyung’s face is the biggest flaw of this work. Despite her best efforts in acting, her delicate and strikingly beautiful featured hinder the audience’s ability to accept her character, even causing frustration among viewers.
Comeback to big screen
Shin Se-kyung has been selected as the new lead for “Humint” (directed by Ryoo Seung-wan and produced by Outlaw Pictures), taking over from Nana, who recently exited the project due to scheduling conflicts. In her role, she will portray Chae Sun-hwa, a worker at a North Korean restaurant, and will exhibit strong chemistry with Jo In-sung, who plays a National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent, as well as Park Jung-min, who takes on the role of Park Geon, an officer from the North Korean Ministry of State Security.
