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, In 2011, she successfully transitioned to a lead actress role in 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. the film shattered the commonly-held belief that women-centric pictures can't be blockbusters. By appealing to a wide range of age groups,
Sunny's box office total reached more than 7 million admissions by the end of its long run. Director
Kang Hyeong-cheol described Shim as someone "who is already complete as an actress." 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 took criticism 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 (where she also made 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
Psychokinesis. In 2019, Shim made her Japanese film debut in
The Journalist and received positive notices for her performance as a Japanese reporter who looks into a government corruption scandal centered on the Abe administration. She won the Best Actress award at the
Mainichi Film Awards, 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 to sit on the jury bench of the 35th
Tokyo International Film Festival. In May 2023, Shim Eun-kyung signs an exclusive contract with PanPare Inc. ==Personal life==