Career in KBS Shin applied to
KBS during the 27th KBS Open Recruitment and joined as a staff member in KBS Entertainment. He said, "For jobs that require creativity like PD, there are advantages (as a chemical engineer)." Shin began his career as an
assistant director in the network's variety department. His first work was
The World is Now. In 2002, he was assistant director to
Lee Myung-han in the show
Declaration of Freedom Today is Saturday. The program revolved around male entertainers and female college students who would meet and find a mate at a mountain lodge. It was during this program that Shin collaborated with fellow assistant director
Na Yeong-seok and
Lee Woo-jung, who served as the main writer. Together, they gained recognition as a group known as the Yeouido Research Institute, later also known as Lee Myung-han's division. In 2002, when Lee Myung-han was in charge of directing
Super TV Sunday is Fun, his juniors took on the responsibility of directing each segment of the show. Shin directed
Kung Kung Ta, while Na Young-seok directed ''Let's Go! Dream Team – Season 1''. In 2004, Shin took on the role of assistant director for the quiz show
Star Golden Bell. Concurrently, he was also assigned as assistant director for the KBS daily sitcom
Old Miss Diary, which was directed by Kim Seok-yun. The sitcom aired from November 22, 2004 to November 4, 2005. From 2009 to 2011, Shin held the position of the main director for the variety show
Qualifications of Men. During this time, he was honored with the Korea PD Award for Best Entertainment Work as well as the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award in the Broadcasting and Video Grand Prix at the Korea Contents Awards. Additionally, he received recognition at the 17th Korea Entertainment and Arts Awards, where he was awarded the Best Entertainment Program and the 47th ABU Award in the Entertainment category. In 2011, Shin submitted his resignation letter to KBS and transferred to
CJ E&M.
Career in CJ E&M After his move, Shin focused on exploring new possibilities in reality programming, drawing from his experience at KBS. In November 2011, news speculated that Shin's comeback would be a reality program. However,
tvN director Song Chang-eui suggested Shin try directing a drama with a drama writer. Shin declined the offer due to concerns that his role would be diminished if a drama writer took over, reducing him to a "Jjiksae" (an insignificant figure). He expressed his willingness to take on the project only if he could have the opportunity to create a fresh version and test it out. Eventually, Song Chang-eui agreed to his condition, and Shin formed a production team including writer Lee Woo-jung and other entertaintment writers. In April 2012, tvN revealed that Shin was directing a drama titled
Reply 1997, scheduled to air in June. Lee Myung-han served as executive producers, with Lee Woo-jung as the scriptwriter. This project was significant for Shin, as it marked his first work at CJ E&M after transferring from KBS in July of the previous year. After a month-long delay, the first self-produced drama by tvN,
Reply 1997, was broadcast on July 24, 2012.
Reply 1997 revolves around six friends from
Busan. The story timeline shifts between their past as high school in 1997 and their present reunion in 2012, where a couple gets engaged. The show explores the growing popularity of fan culture in the 1990s with K-pop groups like
H.O.T. and
Sechs Kies.
Reply 1997 depicts the
IMF crisis and the political situation of that time. Being a cable drama, it had the freedom to present a detailed and realistic portrayal of the era, while also having an exciting romantic storyline.
Reply 1997 initially attracted viewers in their 30s, but gained popularity among a wider age range, including people in their 50s. The drama's storytelling approach with memory, nostalgia, and retro elements appealed to different generations. Additionally, the success of
Reply 1997 sparked a revival of 1990s popular culture and a retro craze. In April 2013, tvN announced the second installment of the
Reply series:
Reply 1994. Despite having the same writer, director, and producer as
Reply 1997, is not a prequel. It maintains the concept of a coming-of-age drama with 1990s nostalgia but introduces a new plot and characters. Initially, Lee Woo-jung and Shin planned to set the first
Reply series in 1994, the year they were college freshmen. However, after casting
Eun Ji-won from Sechs Kies, they changed the year to 1997. This decision was influenced by the peak popularity of H.O.T. and Sechs Kies fandoms in 1997, which created a contrast to the struggling Korean economy during the IMF crisis.
Reply 1994 depicts the lives of college students hailing from various provinces who share a boarding house in Seoul. The drama features an ensemble cast, including
Go Ara,
Jung Woo,
Yoo Yeon-seok,
Kim Sung-kyun,
Son Ho-jun,
Baro,
Min Do-hee,
Sung Dong-il, and
Lee Il-hwa. The drama reached a record-breaking viewership rating of 14.3%. Lee Woo-jung and Shin, gained a lot of attention because of this success. In October 2015, Lee Myung-han, director of tvN, announced a lineup of dramas to celebrate tvN's 10th anniversary, which began in November with the third installment of the
Reply series called
Reply 1988. The drama features an ensemble cast, including
Lee Hye-ri,
Ryu Jun-yeol,
Go Kyung-pyo,
Park Bo-gum, and
Lee Dong-hwi. Set in 1988, the story revolves around five friends and their families who live in the same neighborhood called
Ssangmun-dong in Northern Seoul. The drama aired every Friday and Saturday from November 6, 2015 to January 16, 2016, totaling 20 episodes. Its final episode achieved an 18.8% nationwide audience share, making it the sixth
highest rated drama in Korean cable television history and highest rated television drama at the time of airing.
Reply series was successful in terms of viewership and popularity, despite the challenging Korean climate for seasonal dramas. In May 2016, Shin and Lee Woo-jung started planning for black comedy drama
Prison Playbook. A junior writer from the
Reply series, Jeong Bo-hoon, wrote the script, while Lee Woo-jung served as a creator. The drama depicts the story of superstar baseball player Kim Je-hyeok, who became a criminal overnight and thrown into prison, and the lives of the people living in prison with him. The series became one of the highest-rated series in Korean cable television history. Following the success of
Prison Playbook, Shin again collaborated with Lee Woo-jung in creating the television series
Hospital Playlist. It is the second installment of the
Wise Life series, following
Prison Playbook. They also reunited with two actors from their past dramas,
Jung Kyung-ho from
Prison Playbook, and
Yoo Yeon-seok from
Reply 1994. The series also features
Jo Jung-suk,
Kim Dae-myung, and
Jeon Mi-do. These doctors, who are in their forties, work at the Yulje Medical Centre, and their friendship was established during their time in medical school. The first season of the show was broadcast on tvN every Thursday from March 12 to May 28, 2020. Following their television airing, each episode was made available on
Netflix in
South Korea,
Asia-Pacific,
Latin America and in the English-speaking countries. By the end of the first season, it had achieved the status of being the ninth highest-rated Korean drama in cable television history at the time. The second season was aired from June 17 to September 16, 2021. According to Nielsen Korea, the first episode garnered 10.007% viewership, setting a network record for the highest premiere ratings. Shin gave a lecture on the subject of "the production process and behind-the-scenes of broadcasting programs" at the SAC Youth Broadcasting Writer Camp held at the Sakarirang Hall in the main building of Seoul National University of Arts. As of January 2023, Shin joined CJ E&M subsidiary Eggs is Coming. == Personal life ==