<figure id="attachment_456811" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-456811" style="width: 4200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="4a6f6de9"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/7fe117a4398db3d8665aef399ecd4d37.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-456811" class="wp-caption-text">Director Sho Miyake (left) and Korean actor Shim Eun-kyung in the film &#8220;Travels and Days</figcaption></figure>
<h2><span class="strongInContent"> Korean film &#8220;The Suspicious Girlfriend&#8221; was a big hit in &#8217;14.</span></h2>
<p> Korean actor Shim Eun-kyung (31) was named Best Actress in the 99th Kinema Junpo Best Ten, one of the most prestigious film awards in Japan, for her performance in &#8220;Tabi to Hibi&#8221; (Travels and Days), directed by Sho Miyake. This is the first time in history that a Korean actor has won this award.</p>
<p> The film also won the Best Japanese Film Award (No. 1 in the Japanese Film Ten Best Films). The awards will be announced on January 29, and the ceremony will be held on February 19 in Tokyo.</p>
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<p> Shim Eun-kyung said.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I am grateful for this wonderful award. I am sure that the world will be fascinated by the world view of director Miyake depicted in &#8220;Travels and Days&#8221;.</span></p>
<p> The film is a film about the journey of a man and his life.</p>
<p> In &#8220;Tabi to Hibi,&#8221; Miyake directed the film based on the manga by Yoshiharu Tsuge, &#8220;Saikkei of the Seashore&#8221; and &#8220;Ben-san of Honyara-do,&#8221; in which Shim delicately plays &#8220;Lee,&#8221; a screenwriter from Korea who visits a snowy hot spring resort in a slump and meets Benzo, the owner of the inn, played by Shinichi Tsutsumi, at a deserted inn.</p>
<p> Shim Eun-kyung was born in Seoul Special City and worked as a child actor in South Korea.&#8217; In 2002, she starred in the Korean film &#8220;Suspicious Girlfriend,&#8221; which was a big hit.</p>
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<p> The film depicts with humor and pathos the uproar caused by a nagging 70-year-old grandmother who, after having her picture taken at a mysterious photo studio, reverts to her 20-year-old self and takes on the name Oh Duri, after Audrey Hepburn, and she boldly and skillfully plays the main character, a young woman on the outside but a 70-year-old grandmother on the inside. Her skillful performance brought tears of laughter and emotion, and she won all the Best Actress awards at the Korean Film Awards. The film has since been remade in eight countries, including Japan, China, Vietnam, India, and Mexico, with Mikako Tabe (37) in the lead in the film &#8220;Ayashii kanojo&#8221; (&#8217;16).</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Why stick with Japanese films? ......"></div>
<h2><span class="strongInContent">Enthralled with Japanese movies</span></h2>
<p> In &#8217;17, she entered the Japanese market by signing a management contract with a Japanese entertainment agency. She won the 43rd Japan Academy Prize for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of a reporter who investigates the dark side of the regime in &#8220;Newspaper Reporter&#8221; (&#8217;19). It was the first time in history that a foreigner won this award. She also won the Best Actress Award at the 74th Mainichi Film Concours for her performance in the same film, establishing herself as an actor with acting skills that have conquered film awards in both Japan and South Korea.</p>
<p> Speaking of Shim Eun-kyung, I had the opportunity to interview her in October &#8217;22 when she served as a juror for the Competition section of the 35th Tokyo International Film Festival. There, she spoke passionately about her &#8220;love of Japanese films.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> I remember the first time I saw a Japanese film,&#8221; she said, &#8220;and just thinking about it makes me feel very emotional to be sitting here. I was in junior high school when I saw my first Japanese film.</span></p>
<p> He cited Shunji Iwai&#8217;s &#8220;All About Lily Chou-Chou&#8221; (&#8217;01) as the first film he saw.</p>
<p> The film, which was based on an Internet novel by Iwai, its innovative structure, and its sensational depiction of juvenile problems, attracted a great deal of attention.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> It was my first Japanese film, and I remember being very shocked. It was my first Japanese film, and I remember I was very shocked. I felt it was completely different from the films I had seen before, and it showed me that films with this kind of structure could also exist. It was a very important film in my life, and it enriched my sensitivity.</span></p>
<p> It is a very important film in my life, and one that has enriched my sensitivity,&#8221; she said. There is no doubt that Japanese films have broadened her acting range.</p>
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<p> Shim Eun-kyung has broadened her range from a top actress in Korea to a top actress in Japanese cinema. Her further success in the future will be closely watched.</p>


 Ryo Sakamoto (Writer, former head of the Culture and Society Department of Tokyo Sports Newspaper)

 Lee Jae Won/Afro

 Shim Eun-kyung won the Best Leading Actress Award at the Japan Academy Prize and the Mainichi Film Concours for Best Actress for her role as a reporter who investigates the dark side of the regime in the movie "Newspaper Reporter. Why is she so obsessed with Japanese films? ......

Shim Eun-kyung, the first Korean actor to win the &#8220;Kinema Junpo Best Ten&#8221; Best Actress Award, reveals the origin of her love for Japanese films.

Shim Eun-kyung, the first Korean actor to win the “Kinema Junpo Best Ten” Best Actress Award, reveals the origin of her love for Japanese films.

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