Shim Eun-kyung off to study abroad in the States
by javabeans
One of Korea’s brightest up-and-coming actors, 15-year-old Shim Eun-kyung, has announced her plans to move to the U.S. to study in Pittsburgh come the new school year in September.
She says that the decision was made last year. She had intended on going earlier, but after receiving the script for the upcoming drama Bad Guy, she decided to act in that first. Shim explained, “I chose a place where there aren’t a lot of Korean people and decided on a high school in Pittsburgh. Studying is a goal, but I also chose this because I’ve also grown tired mentally and physically after having acted since a young age.”
She added that she would decide after graduating from high school whether to continue on to college or whether to return to the industry and make an acting comeback.
Shim in Hwang Jini, Legend, Merchant Kim Man-deok
Shim Eun-kyung made her debut at age 9 in MBC’s 2004 drama The Woman Who Wants To Marry (playing the childhood version of Myung Se-bin’s character), and has since gone on to make a splash in numerous dramas like historical series Hwang Jini (as young Ha Ji-won), Legend (as young Lee Jia), and most recently Merchant Kim Man-deok (as young Lee Mi-yeon). She has also had roles in a number of modern projects, like MBC’s sitcom Tae-hee, Hye-gyo, Ji-hyun and horror movies Possessed and Hansel and Gretel.
I’m a little sad at the news because Shim is one of the most promising young actors around, and her departure is the industry’s loss. Were she to stay in Korea she could probably have a career like Moon Geun-young (and she was the most likely to take on Moon’s mantle of Korea’s next Little Sister). But it sounds like she’s got a sound head on her shoulders and I respect her decision to get away from the industry, which no doubt puts a tremendous amount of pressure and attention on its young stars (hence her desire to pick a spot with few Koreans, where she can be relatively anonymous).
Shim has a few more upcoming projects that will release before she leaves Korea: the movie Quiz King starring Kim Su-ro and Han Jae-seok; movie Happy Killers with Kim Dong-wook; and SBS’s Bad Guy.
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1 soysauce
March 30, 2010 at 1:30 PM
Good for her. I hope she achieves success in the States, and make a huge acting comeback.
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2 Cyoon
March 30, 2010 at 1:34 PM
Good for her! She can study, improve her English (so that she can actually speak it properly in dramas), and get a break from acting. Clever idea!
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3 Sonam
March 30, 2010 at 1:47 PM
Good for her! She can always come back to acting after school.
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4 ellen
March 30, 2010 at 1:50 PM
I really admired her performance when I first saw her int Hwan Jini the drama series. I enjoyed all the roles she acted in. She has a stage presence...a natural talent. I will certainly miss her. I wish her all the best & I hope that when she comes back to entertain us with her superb talent she would be a strong mature person to withstand the pressures of the show biz industry.
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5 Linnee
March 30, 2010 at 1:51 PM
I don't know her, but I think she made a great decision.
It's kind of like with Natalie Portman, and how she decides to go study and get an education even though numerous of producers want her. And now, she's famous.
I hope Eun-kyung will make a great comeback in the future. :D
If she's a great actor, she has nothing to fear. xD
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6 Lisa
March 30, 2010 at 2:16 PM
She's gonna be so bored in school! There were a few transfer students from Korea in my high school and they thought it was funny how easy our school was. :P And we always made the list of top 100 public schools in the country so...yeah.
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7 samsooki
March 30, 2010 at 2:18 PM
Rare... she is a rare talent.
You miss those who touched you, and then you await their return.
I guess we wait.
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8 grace, the one from Jersey, USA
March 30, 2010 at 2:19 PM
Wasn't she pretty much the star of "My Dad Loves Trouble?"
That's the only drama that I've seen her in, but she's very talented.
Pittsburgh?
I betcha' her high school is connected to the Carnagie-Mellon University
College of Fine Arts, one of the best in the US, for the performing arts.
I hope that she doesn't meet ~ a herd ~ of crazy Korean TV drama fans.
On second thought, I hope she does. :)
WISHING ALL THE BEST OF GOOD LUCK TO HER iN THE FUTURE!
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9 etsy
March 30, 2010 at 2:19 PM
Wow. It's impressive that she's only 15, yet she's so clear about what she wants at the moment and how to get there.
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10 fionnula
March 30, 2010 at 2:21 PM
This is probably one of the most mature things I have ever heard a child actor/actress say. Most of the forget that they are just kids and try and ride the success until they end up burning out. Look to Macauley Culkin - prime example.
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11 kaedejun
March 30, 2010 at 2:27 PM
I totally agree with #5 - she's only 15 and already making the decision to concentrate on her studies. Usually you'd hear about actors going to college as a break from acting, so to see her seriously pursue her studies in the states for high school is impressive.
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12 waruihime
March 30, 2010 at 2:57 PM
Yes, it's refreshing to hear a 15-year-old taking her education very seriously. I hope she's successful and comes away happy with her decision to attend an American school.
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13 유진
March 30, 2010 at 3:03 PM
wow she's only 15 and already chose education over fame...that's impressive. I honestly haven't seen her any dramas but i think she made a great decision...despite the industry's loss. I makes me sad to see so many stars, mainly the idols, who train so young and don't get the full education experience because of their schedules. Hopefully she'll come back and be even more successful :D
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14 Gems
March 30, 2010 at 3:06 PM
I respect her decision. Besides, immersing herself in an English speaking country will only improve her language skills and open more prospects for her in the future.
Loved her as young Sujini in Legend. In all honesty, I never got into MGY as Korea's Little Sister but with Shim Eun-Kyung, I could see myself being her devoted fan and unnie.
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15 okdubu
March 30, 2010 at 3:08 PM
kyaaaaaaa! no matter how few koreans there are in pittsburgh there will DEFINITELY be plenty that recognize her. so excited for her!! i hope it's an awesome experience that she can use to make a kick-ass comeback some day.
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16 phjfever
March 30, 2010 at 3:19 PM
she's the bad sister in women in the sun hehehe. good luck in ur studies!
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17 LadyIgraine
March 30, 2010 at 3:20 PM
I'm glad she decided to pursue her academics, and its brave of her to study half-way around the world. I'm sure when she gets back to Korea, she'll be a more mature and excellent actress after studying in Pittsburgh.
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18 paula253
March 30, 2010 at 3:53 PM
she has been gold in every role she's played. (@JJ thanks for the reminder about Women in the Sun ~~ never has a child been so wonderfully evil.) we will miss her and await her return, whether in korean or english-speaking drama. ^^
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19 krnkimbap
March 30, 2010 at 3:54 PM
I know I wasn't that mature when I was her age. My sister is in Pittsburgh! I wonder why of all places she picked Pittsburgh... Anyways, looks like she doesn't have just air in between her ears- which is a nice change from the other kids her age. :)
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20 Taohua
March 30, 2010 at 4:15 PM
She's wonderful to watch and is amazingly talented. But while it's Kdrama industry's loss, I understand and appreciate her decision to study abroad in the US. But I hope that maybe she will return to acting in the future after getting her education, because she will be missed.
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21 Ahjummoni
March 30, 2010 at 4:18 PM
Even school in America is a walk in the park compared with Korean high-schools...breaking the barriers of a new language and alphabet will be tough....but...if she would speak english very well there won't be problems with her to act in a Hollywood production
meetings with hoards of fans ...errrm after a few months they all will let her walk in peace...and non asian people without a proper trainig(lots of kdramas)we can hardly differentiate one asian between another (I have chinese workers in my town..and I can't tell the difference)
errrm I still hate that are many kstars without english official site but they have official fan cafe or site in korean(google translate doesn't help)...and if she comes back in kdramas...she will have many pluses just because can speak english very well
congratulations for pursuing the academic path(hope she will go to college too)
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22 Serendipity
March 30, 2010 at 4:24 PM
Wow. The drama trope of going to the US to study to get away from it all actually happening in real life! Good luck to her, & may her horizons be broadened in a good way.
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23 Rachael
March 30, 2010 at 5:18 PM
Considering she'll be avoiding places where there are many Koreans, it'll help keep herself as a normal student, while improving her English ten-fold. So many Koreans go to the school I'm at and cluster together, speaking Korean, and limiting their attempt at really learning the language. This will put her ahead of the game if she decides to come back to the industry, or get her along towards higher education later on. Either way, certainly a great desicion she made.
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24 okitokki
March 30, 2010 at 5:35 PM
Good for her. It's rare for someone at such a young age to not be blinded by fame and do put their education before all that. Whether or not she goes to college right after high school, I hope we hear good things about her in the future.
The only question I have is, isn't the school system in Korea different (just a guess, I don't actually know)? What grade would a 15 year old in korea be in as compared to the US, where she'd be in 9th or 10th grade?
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25 Annie
March 30, 2010 at 5:50 PM
It's nice to see an actor who emphasizes their education because there are plenty of teenage idols who drop out of school to pursue being an entertainer.
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