Shin Goo

Shin Goo (born Shin Soon-ki, ; August 13, 1936) is a South Korean film, theater, and television actor.

Shin Goo was born on August 13, 1936.

Shin Goo's parents were both illiterate, with his father selling vegetables in Wangshimi Central Market and his mother working as a housekeeper.

Due to their financial struggles, Shin's sister was unable to attend school.

Shin himself attended Dongmyeong Elementary School, located on the outskirts of Seoul, and later went on to graduate from Gyonggi Middle School and Gyeonggi High School.

Shin was admitted to the Department of Korean Literature at Sungkyunkwan University, but his initial goal was to attend the Department of Commerce at Seoul National University.

However, after failing the entrance exam twice, he became discouraged and decided to enlist to the army.

After completing his military service, Shin decided that He want to be an announcer.

He attended an audio-visual education center next to Taegeukdang in Myeong-dong.

One day, he happened to come across a small advertisement in the corner of a newspaper seeking first-term students for the Namsan Drama Center Actor Academy.

Shin began his career on stage in 1962, in the play "Cow", and has appeared in numerous works of Korean theatre, film and television.

According to Shin, winning the Dong-A Theatre Award became a driving force for him to keep pursuing his acting career.

He won the Best Actor award at the 3rd Dong-A Theatre Award for his roles in "I Want to Become Human" as the chairman of the People's Committee and in "Porgy and Bess" as Crown.

He also won the Best Actor award at the 6th Dong-A Theatre Award for his portrayal of Stanley in "A Streetcar Named Desire," and later, at the 8th Dong-A Theatre Award, he won the Best Actor award for his performance as Harry in Luv.

In the autumn of 1962, Shin enrolled in the newly established Namsan Drama Center Actor Academy, which was founded by Dongrang Yoo Chi-jin (1905-1974) and is now known as the Department of Theater and Film of Seoul Institute of the Arts.

Shin's class of 1962 was the first to graduate from the academy, and his Shin's classmate included Jeon Moo-song, Lee Ho-jae, Ban Hyo-jeong (who did not graduate), and playwright Yoon Dae-seong.

He debut onstage in 1962 in Yoo Chi-jin's play "So," with the role of a grumpy father.

Instead of his real name, Shin Soon-ki, Shin acted under the stage name Shin-gu.

His stage name was given to him by playwright Yoo Chi-jin when he was a first-year student at the Namsan Drama Center's Theater Academy.

Shin said, "'It seems that he gave me a long term gu (久) to tell me not to think about anything else and to be an actor for a long time. I feel joy when I stand on stage as a 'completely different me'.'"After his time at the Drama Center, Shin worked in various theater companies such as Dongrang Repertory, Experiment, Freedom, Square, and affiliated theater companies.

However, his decision to pursue acting was not supported by his family.

It was only after winning three awards for male acting at the prestigious Dong-A Theater Awards that Shin began to gain recognition as an actor.

In 1966, he won the 3rd Dong-A Theater Award for Best Male Actor for his roles as the chairman of the People's Committee in "I Will Become a Human" and as crown in Porgy and Bess.

Actor Park In-hwan recommended Shin to apply for the 6th Seoul Central Broadcasting System (currently KBS) Talent Recruitment in 1969.

Shin passed the audition, but was only given minor roles in historical dramas, such as holding a knife or guarding a door.

Following this, playwright Yoo Chi-jin suggested that Shin study dance in the East-West Cultural Center in Hawaii for a year.

During his stay, he learned the Hwanghae-do mask dance from Kim Jin-ok and Professor Lee Doo-hyun of Seoul National University, and performed it.

One of Shin's fellow students from his time in Hawaii later became a human cultural asset.

This was Shin's first time traveling abroad, and the experience of encountering different cultures had a profound impact on him.

Upon returning from Hawaii, Shin continued to work in theater and won the 6th Dong-A Theater Award for Best Male Actor in 1969 for his portrayal of Stanley in Tennessee Williams's play A Streetcar Named Desire.

In an interview with Kyunghyang Shin-mun, Shin expressed that this performance was his most memorable work.

Afterward, Shin began to prepare to become a member of National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK).

In 1971, while he was getting ready to join the company, he happened to meet Lim Hak-song, a KBS drama producer, at a bar the day before.

Shin decided to branch out to television to make ends meet, to provide for his old Mother.

Even after winning two acting awards, Shin never stopped and went on to receive his third best male actor award at the 8th Dong-A Theater Awards in 1971 for his role as Harry in the play "Luv."

Subsequently, Shin made his screen debut in 1972 with the drama "Heosaengjeon" and went on to appear in numerous works, including dramas such as "Water Pattern," "Hope," "Country," "Land," "A Day About Us," and "King and Rain."

"It would be great if I could only do theater for the rest of my life, but I acted on TV, radio, and movies as a way to make ends meet. Even when I go there, there is always regret at the bottom of my heart."Shin devoted himself to acting, juggling his work between the theater stage and television.

In 2010 Shin, was awarded the 2011 Bogwan Order of Cultural Merit (South Korea) by the government.

In 2022, Shin received Special Award from Lee Hae-rang Theater Award, one of the major theater awards in Korea.

In a 2013 interview with Kyunghyang Shinmun, Shin Gu explained, "I saw the advertisement and thought, 'This is it,' which is why I decided to pursue acting."