Cover Shin Hye-sun brings layered intensity to her role as the elusive Sarah Kim in ‘The Art of Sarah’ (Photo: IMDB)
Shin Hye-sun brings layered intensity to her role as the elusive Sarah Kim in ‘The Art of Sarah’ (Photo: IMDB)
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From a body-swapping queen to a woman with a fractured mind, these roles reveal exactly why Shin Hye-sun was always destined to play Sarah Kim in ‘The Art of Sarah’
For many viewers, The Art of Sarah has become an introduction to the quietly formidable talent of Shin Hye-sun. The Netflix mystery thriller, which has ranked in the streamer’s top ten most popular shows across Asia—including Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Japan—throughout February and early March, has brought renewed attention to an actress who has spent nearly a decade perfecting the art of portraying women who are never quite who they appear to be.
What is ‘The Art of Sarah’?
In The Art of Sarah, Shin Hye-sun plays Sarah Kim, a woman who has fabricated an elaborate identity as the regional director of Boudoir, a fictitious ultra-exclusive European luxury brand, only for a body to surface in a Seoul sewer bearing her name. What follows is less a murder mystery than a profound unravelling of identity, class and the terrifying malleability of truth in the digital age. Whether delivering razor-sharp wit, explosive physical comedy or a chilling, unreadable stare, she commands every scene.
These are Shin Hye-sun’s roles that built the actress behind Sarah Kim.
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‘Dear Hyeri’ (2024): a fractured mind in two bodies
Above Shin Hye-sun plays a woman living with two distinct identities in the drama ‘Dear Hyeri’
Her most demanding role before The Art of Sarah, Dear Hyeri casts Shin Hye-sun as Joo Eun-ho, a woman with dissociative identity disorder whose alternate self is Joo Hye-ri. The shift between the two—achieved through micro-changes in gaze, posture and vocal cadence—is extraordinary. Viral clips of her transformation scenes circulated widely, proving she can become an entirely different person without a single word of dialogue.
‘See You in My 19th Life’ (2023): 18 lives, one love
Above Shin Hye-sun plays a woman who recalls every past life in ‘See You in My 19th Life’
As Ban Ji-eum, a woman who retains the memories of her 18 previous lives, Shin Hye-sun balances supernatural whimsy with real existential sorrow. Playing opposite Ahn Bo-hyun, she portrays someone who is biologically young yet carries centuries of love and grief. Her unapologetic pursuit of the male lead was a bold subversion of traditional K-drama gender dynamics that audiences across Asia found completely irresistible.
‘Mr Queen’ (2020–2021): a modern man in a queen’s body
Above Shin Hye-sun plays a brash modern-day chef trapped in a Joseon queen’s body in ‘Mr Queen’
This is the series that made the world take notice. Shin Hye-sun plays Jang Bong-hwan, a brash modern male chef whose soul is transplanted into the body of Queen Cheorin in Joseon. Her physical comedy—flailing in royal robes, an iconic rain dance—generates huge laughs, while subtle emotional layers keep it grounded. Opposite Kim Jung-hyun, it remains a career-defining, fan-favourite performance that strikingly contrasts her controlled turn in The Art of Sarah.
‘Welcome to Samdal-ri’ (2023–2024): a photographer’s fall from grace
Above Shin Hye-sun shines as a disgraced Seoul photographer rebuilding her life in ‘Welcome to Samdal-ri’
As Cho Eun-hye—known back home as Cho Sam-dal—a ruthless Seoul fashion photographer whose career implodes in scandal, Shin Hye-sun delivers warmth and vinegar in equal measure. Forced back to her Jeju Island roots, her slow rebuild alongside childhood sweetheart Cho Yong-pil (Ji Chang-wook) generated some of K-drama’s most-shared moments across social media throughout 2023.
‘Angel’s Last Mission: Love’ (2019): an ice queen learning to feel
Above Shin Hye-sun plays a guarded blind ballerina in the fantasy drama ‘Angel’s Last Mission: Love’
As Lee Yeon-seo, a world-class prima ballerina left blind by a stage accident, Shin Hye-sun weaponises coldness before dismantling it entirely. The role demanded genuine physical dedication to credibly portray a dancer, alongside the challenge of playing a woman who weaponises her blindness to keep the world at arm’s length. Her gradual, hard-won surrender to vulnerability is one of the most emotionally cathartic arcs of her career.
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‘Still 17’ (2018): a teenager waking up 13 years later
Above Shin Hye-sun plays a teen prodigy who wakes from a coma 13 years later in ‘Still 17’
Also known as Thirty But Seventeen, this drama stars Shin Hye-sun as Woo Seo-ri, a violin prodigy who falls into a coma at 17 and awakens in an adult body over a decade later—emotionally still a teenager. Her portrayal of youthful innocence inside an adult world is remarkably unaffected. Opposite Yang Se-jong, the warmth and emotional precision she brings here is a direct blueprint for her restrained work in The Art of Sarah.
‘Stranger’ (2017): the junior prosecutor who started it all
Above Shin Hye-sun plays a fierce junior prosecutor in the acclaimed thriller ‘Stranger’ (Photo: IMDB)
Shin Hye-sun plays a fierce junior prosecutor in the acclaimed thriller ‘Stranger’ (Photo: IMDB)
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Also known as Secret Forest, Stranger sees Shin Hye-sun play Young Eun-soo, a determined junior prosecutor fighting to clear her father’s name. The high-stakes role established her credibility in tightly plotted thrillers—and forged her first on-screen dynamic with Lee Joon-hyuk. Their charged chemistry here makes their 2026 reunion as suspect and detective in The Art of Sarah a deeply satisfying, full-circle moment for every long-time fan.
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After more than a decade in lifestyle media, Clifford has mastered the art of writing seriously about things that are fun—and writing fun things about people who take themselves very seriously. At Tatler Asia, he helped steer its flagship lists, Tatler’s Most Influential and Asia’s Most Stylish. And today, he leads T-Labs, Tatler Asia’s content innovation hub, where he continues the noble pursuit of lifestyle storytelling, spinning stories on wealth, entertainment, necessary style, Hallyu, Hollywood, beauty and more for audiences across Asia.
