Portraying fractured identities and fabricated lives, thriller extends Shin’s career
“The Art of Sarah” has emerged as one of the more intriguing anomalies in the recent K-drama landscape.
The mystery thriller has drawn strong viewership not only for its tautly constructed whodunit and high-caliber performances, but also for its fashion and beauty aesthetics, with Shin Hae-sun standing at the center of the cultural conversation.
Korean online platforms have been flooded with posts dissecting the dresses, accessories and cosmetics worn by con artist Sarah Kim, the shape-shifting protagonist played by Shin. The buzz has reached such a pitch that the show’s makeup artist ultimately released an unusually detailed breakdown of the cosmetics used — a rare move in the world of Korean drama.
“I’m not sure if I’ll ever get the chance to try such a wide range of makeup and hairstyles again,” Shin said with a laugh during an interview in Seoul on Friday.
Asked about the fervor surrounding the show’s styling, she framed the attention as a meaningful payoff for the crew behind the scenes.
“The styling team came up with so many ideas and put an incredible amount of thought into each look,” she said. “In a way, the reaction felt like a reward for them. They truly gave it everything they had.”
Beyond its surface appeal, the show’s meticulous approach to fashion and beauty serves a narrative function.
“The meaning behind the changing makeup and the range of looks lies in the subtle differences between each persona,” Shin said. “Those details help viewers distinguish them visually, but they also allow the character’s story to be expressed through appearance. As an actor, that was a huge help in shaping my performance.”
While the series has been praised for its trendsetting aesthetics, it is Shin’s performance and the mystery surrounding Sarah Kim’s true identity that anchors the drama. For Shin, who carries much of the series, accepting the role was far from an easy decision.
“This was a project that made me think, ‘I really should challenge myself with this,’” she said. “Usually, when you first read a script, you can quickly grasp a character’s tendencies, personality, tone and emotional logic. But with ‘The Art of Sarah,’ none of that was clear. Because of that, it was difficult to form a concrete plan for how to portray her. Still, the story was so intriguing that I ultimately decided to take it on.”
To navigate a character who constantly evades definition, Shin settled on a single metaphor — a swan.
“The image Sarah gave me was that of a swan,” she said. “Graceful and elegant on the surface, but frantically paddling beneath the water.”
Even by the end of the series, Sarah remains an enigma.
“I don’t know her real name,” she said. “It probably never appears in the series, it's not even in the script, and I wasn’t curious about it at all. I think that’s because it isn’t important. I liked the ending for that reason. If her real name had been revealed, it would have taken something away from the impact.”
“The Art of Sarah” adds to a growing body of work in which Shin has portrayed women with fractured or carefully constructed identities. She previously played a traumatized anchor suffering from dissociative identity disorder in "Dear Hyeri," and an influencer leading a fabricated life in the movie thriller “Following.”
Asked whether she feels drawn to such roles, Shin admitted she rarely recognizes patterns in her career until others point them out.
“Looking back, it might simply be my personal taste,” she said. “I tend to choose projects that make me think, ‘This would be fun to act in.’ I’ve wanted to build experience through roles that offered room to experiment — characters that weren’t conventional or easy. Especially after moving into leading roles, I felt a strong desire to challenge myself. I think that’s naturally shaped the path my career has taken.”
yoonseo.3348@heraldcorp.com
