Shin Min-a

Biography

Yang Min-a (Korean: 양민아; born April 5, 1984), better known by the stage name Shin Min-a (신민아), is a South Korean actress who began her career as a model before debuting as an actress in 2000. She is known for her leading roles in television dramas A Love to Kill (2005), My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho (2010), Arang and the Magistrate (2012), Oh My Venus (2015), Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021), Our Blues (2022), and No Gain No Love (2024).

== Career ==

=== 1998–2002: Beginnings as a model and acting debut === 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'."

=== 2003–2011: Rising popularity and breakthrough === 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.

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).

=== 2012–2021: Leading roles and international success === 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.

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.

=== 2022–present: Continued success ===