2012–2016: Career beginnings and minor roles Shin debuted as an actress through the TV drama
School 2013, an installment of the long-running
School series, after successfully passing the audition to cast in a schoolgirl role. She played a minor character with the same name as hers. Shin began to land bigger roles in 2015 with
Oh My Ghost and
She Was Pretty. Though both titles were romantic comedies, her characters varied significantly.
2016–2017: Breakthrough Her breakthrough came in 2016 with
Five Enough. Her role as a gullible, naively-romantic woman and her pairing with actor
Sung Hoon gained popularity among the viewers. The same year, she appeared in the fantasy-romance drama
The Legend of the Blue Sea. In 2017, she starred in the mystery thriller film
A Day. Shin then played a key figure in an acclaimed
crime thriller series
Stranger. Soon after, she was cast in her first lead role in a television drama with
KBS2's drama
My Golden Life. The drama was a major hit in South Korea and surpassed 40% ratings, leading to an increased recognition for Shin. She received a lot of love offers by the advertising industry and producers of movies and dramas.
2018–2019: Artistic characters In 2018, Shin was cast as a lead in the
SBS drama special
The Hymn of Death alongside
Lee Jong-suk. She played the role of
Yun Sim-deok, Korea's first professional soprano singer. The same year, she starred alongside
Yang Se-jong in the
SBS romance comedy drama
Still 17, as an aspiring violinist whose life turned upside down due to an accident. In 2019, Shin starred in the
KBS2 fantasy romance drama ''
Angel's Last Mission: Love'' alongside
Kim Myung-soo, as a ballerina who has no interest in love.
2020–present: Film debut and rising popularity In 2020, she was cast to play her first lead role in the legal film
Innocence, as a lawyer who decides to defend her mother (
Bae Jong-ok) from prosecution. She received positive reviews for her performance in the film and was nominated in the
Best New Actress category at the
41st Blue Dragon Film Awards. and later in the
tvN hit drama
Mr. Queen in a dual lead role as both Kim So-yong (
Queen Cheorin) as well as Jang Bong-hwan, a male chef from 2020 whose soul travels back in time and gets trapped in Kim So-yong's body. Shin was nominated for
57th Baeksang Arts Awards in the category
Best Actress (TV) for her performance in
Mr. Queen In 2023, Shin played the lead role of Ban Ji-eum in
See You in My 19th Life as a woman who can remember all of her previous lives and wants to reconnect with a man from her previous 18th life. She also played the lead role in the drama
Welcome to Samdal-ri alongside
Ji Chang-wook. It follows the story of a photographer who returns to her hometown after suffering a fall from grace, rekindling an unfinished romance. In April 2025, Shin has signed an exclusive contract with the new management company Seesun. In 2026, Shin starred in the Netflix
mystery thriller television series
The Art of Sarah and portrayed several characters with different personalities. ==Public image==