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Park Shin Hye has become the very definition of Hallyu star, taking all of Asia by storm in recent years with hit after hit on the small screen. She was named top 40 most popular celebrities by Forbes Korea and has won numerous awards for her excellent acting skills. Her roles have also seen a gradual shift from the typical helpless porcelain heroines to confident, independent woman with brains and skills. In her 2016 comeback drama Doctors on air right now, she’s even mastered kickass martial arts, graduating her sassiness to a new level. I must say that I’m a fan of the current Park Shin Hye, but let’s take a look at this megastar’s humble beginnings and her over a decade long road to success.
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Stairways to Heaven (2004)
Park Shin Hye was lucky enough to take the role as the young heroine in one of the most famous Korean dramas of all time, Stairways to Heaven, which was a guaranteed success with the biggest names of the time: Kwon Sang Woo and Choi Ji Woo. Needless to say, she seized the opportunity and showcased great acting potentials via portraying innocent young love. She got herself noticed as a child actress and paved the path for her subsequent roles.
Tree of Heaven (2006)
This has to be one of the most memorable moments in Park Shin Hye’s career for me. Her small screen comeback four years later starring as the female lead next to Lee Wan not only left deep, deep impressions on me and but was also critically acclaimed. Filmed completely in Japan, the drama is a whimsical yet heartbreaking love story. I can’t remember how much I cried watching her masterfully convey the pain of a forbidden love, in perfectly convincing Japanese.
March 9, 2006You’re Beautiful (2009)
After Tree of Heaven, I’ve already become a Park Shin Hye fan and decided to watch her every drama. So needless to say how excited I was to see her act next to my other personal favorite at the time, Jang Geun Suk. Those were the years when short-haired girls pretending to be boys were a popular theme, so the drama’s plot itself was not revolutionary. But Park Shin Hye had amazing chemistry with all three male actors including Jung Yong Hwa and Lee Hong Gi, inducing multiple lead syndrome.
Heartstrings (2011)
Thanks to the success of You’re Beautiful in pan-Asia, Park Shin Hye was able to elevate her international popularity. So by the time Heartstrings rolled around two years later to satisfy our second lead syndrome of coupling her with Jung Yong Hwa, the drama was already a success in popularity and pre-sales before it even aired. Here, she began to venture outside of her usual obedient, timid, and goody two-shoes roles to take on a more jolly and outgoing persona.
August 19, 2011Miracle Cell No.7 (2013)
Park Shin Hye’s biggest big-screen success came in the year of 2013 in a heartwarming movie about how a mentally challenged father is wrongfully accused for a crime he did not commit and how his cellmates help smuggle his daughter into the cell to be with him. Park Shin Hye’s emotionally-charged, realistic acting as the lawyer defending the father earned her Best Supporting Actress award in the then third highest grossing Korean film of all time.
January 23, 2013Flower Boy Next Door (2013)
To me, this drama was a pivotal moment for her as an actor. She took on a very difficult to portray role of a shy, introverted hermit ghostwriter. Her acting was so in the zone that this odd character was thoroughly believable and weirdly addictive to watch out of curiosity to see her next strange actions and socially awkward demeanors. While the drama may not have been a massive commercial success, it was definitely a win for an actress expanding her horizon.
February 25, 2013The Heirs (2013)
As if 2013 hasn’t turned out great enough for her yet, Park Shin Hye wraps it up with another uber popular drama starring opposite global Hallyu icon Lee Min Ho. The Heirs was a huge commercial success internationally and helped elevate Park Shin Hye to be among the most popular Hallyu stars as named by Forbes Korea. Though to me, the drama and her character both lacked a bit of originality and color compared to some of her previous work.
Pinocchio (2015)
Pinocchio has to be my favorite work yet from Park Shin Hye. Not only was the drama brilliantly written and executed, every character had depth that was illustrated through a talented cast. Park Shin Hye’s righteous, brave, and outspoken character was especially refreshing to me considering her past roles, and her on-screen chemistry with Lee Jong Suk was so good it had everyone wishing they would date in real life.
January 15, 2015