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 with that of co-star
Won Bin, helped make his next film
Guns & Talks a huge commercial hit. 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. and
The Front Line, a harrowing tale of soldiers fighting over a small, heavily-contested hill which frequently 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 involved in 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 new levels of 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’s next turn was as a villainous 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-vin. In 2018, Shin starred in the romantic comedy
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 the 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, directed by
Shim Na-yeon, as an impulsive and eccentric police officer. His performance earned him the award for
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. ==Personal life==