Shin Jae-ha

Shin Jae-ha is a South Korean actor born on April 2, 1993. He became widely recognized through television dramas in which he has often played characters whose seemingly mild or vulnerable appearances conceal emotional complexity. One of his early notable roles came in SBS’s 2014–2015 drama *Pinocchio*, where he portrayed the younger version of Ki Jae-myung, a character played in adulthood by Yoon Kyun-sang. The series, starring Lee Jong-suk and Park Shin-hye, examined journalism, family tragedy, and public misinformation. He gained greater attention in the 2016 KBS drama special *Page Turner*. Shin played Seo Jin-mok, a gifted but troubled piano student competing with Yoo-seul, played by Kim So-hyun. The three-episode drama focused on pressure within elite music education, personal ambition, disability, and friendship. His performance as Jin-mok displayed a more antagonistic and emotionally volatile side than his earlier roles. In 2017, Shin appeared in SBS’s fantasy legal drama *While You Were Sleeping*, starring Lee Jong-suk, Bae Suzy, and Jung Hae-in. He played Jung Seung-won, the younger brother of prosecutor Jung Jae-chan. That same year, he was part of the ensemble cast of tvN’s acclaimed prison-set series *Prison Playbook*, playing Kim Min-chul, known as “Looney,” an inmate whose storyline involved drug addiction and recovery. The drama was directed by Shin Won-ho and was praised for combining comedy with humane depictions of prisoners and correctional officers. Shin later appeared in *Welcome to Waikiki 2* in 2019, playing Kang Seo-jin, an aspiring actor sharing a guesthouse with friends attempting to sustain the struggling Waikiki business. He also had a role in tvN’s 2021 dystopian courtroom drama *The Devil Judge*, set in a near-future Korea where trials are broadcast as entertainment. His most prominent recent role arrived in tvN’s 2023 hit drama *Crash Course in Romance*. Shin played Ji Dong-hui, the quiet assistant of celebrity mathematics instructor Choi Chi-yeol, portrayed by Jung Kyung-ho. Ji initially appears devoted and dependable, but is eventually revealed as the central antagonist connected to the “metal ball” attacks and a series of deaths surrounding students in the fiercely competitive private-education environment. The role earned Shin major public attention because of its sharp departure from his softer screen image. Shin Jae-ha completed mandatory military service during a hiatus from acting, enlisting in 2020 and being discharged in 2021. His return in *Crash Course in Romance* established him as an actor capable of shifting convincingly between sympathetic supporting characters and unsettling villains.