K-netizens Start to Criticize Shin Hyun Bin’s Acting in Hospital Playlist 2 as Coming to the Surface with Increased Screentime

Well this is an interesting development and one I haven’t been keeping abreast of since I’m so far behind on the Hospital Playlist watch. Lol, I’m still on the first season. K-actress Shin Hyun Bin went from one member of the supporting doctor ensemble to increased screen time in the second season after she started dating one of the Main Five leads played by Yoo Yeon Seok. She’s been getting steady positive praise from netizens since her breakout in the first season and is currently getting cast in multiple dramas including joining Go Hyun Jung in her drama return this fall in Person Who Looks Like You, being Song Joong Ki‘s leading lady in his next drama The Chaebol’s Youngest Son, and as the female lead in the early 2022 TVing streaming horror mystery drama Strange. In this Thursday’s new episode of HP2, Shin Hyun Bin had a very intense scene where she had to break down and loud cry and K-netizens are majority opinion that she is showing that she’s not a very good actress. She was fine in season 1 with more limited screen time and also a cool, no emotion type character. But since HP2 started, there has been a growing critique of her acting including saying her dialogue clearly. For the breakdown scene, viewers found it so awkwardly acted they though PD Shin would have yelled cut to end it early. I hope this critique ends up being more drama/performance specific and she overcomes it in future roles, or at least if there is any validity then work on getting past it because I think she’s one of the more promising actresses of her age group.


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K-netizens Start to Criticize Shin Hyun Bin’s Acting in Hospital Playlist 2 as Coming to the Surface with Increased Screentime — 63 Comments

  1. Pingback: K-netizens Start to Criticize Shin Hyun Bin’s Acting in Hospital Playlist 2 as Coming to the Surface with Increased Screentime - Kpopnchill - All About K-pop News

  2. She’s actually one of my favorites on Hospital Playlist. I think there’s room for growth, but there’s something about her I just like. I thought her breakdown scene was fine, but maybe I wasn’t pay close enough attention.

    • I actually thought her cry, which veered more on raw and guttural, seems to align with the character. Her character has always been one to be awkward in new situations and expression. But yeah, it was not a cry of the typical female characters.

      • Me too. When I first watched that scene, I was actually taken aback by her crying facial expression. Purely because it was not the usual kdrama female “pretty” crying. But I do think it was SHB’s or even PDnim’s intention to portray the breakdown in a raw and visceral way. Perhaps it could have still be improved as with any acting scenes. I thought she did pretty well in the scenes she had with her brother and also in the staircase well.

      • Actually i dont care much about pretyy crying. I’ve seen plenty actresses did the ugly crying, bawling their eyes out, and I can still feel their sadness and despair. But for SHB, her crying scene somehow felt.. forced. Plus the editing for the scene was a bit jarring and it certainly didnt help audience feel connected to her. And i cant help but notice that her scene (the one where she explains the abuse that happened in her family) used multiple angles. Like, different camera angles after every lines (and pause). I can’t immerse myself to understand her situation and it makes it a bit hard to connect with her character. Again, maybe it’s just me.

  3. I thought she did fine in all her scenes. Not a very natural actress but I have no problem watching her. The only thing I would complain is she and YYS do not have much onscreen chemistry. I just find their couple scenes somewhat awkward.

  4. I think I’ve mentioned it before, she’s received consistent criticisms weekly (not an exaggeration) from the netizens for her acting. I’ve not watched HP2 because I’ve seen the cuts and it looked boring so I can’t say for sure. If I were to offer my opinion I thought she’s pretty bad in the limited scenes I saw. What I’m curious about is the timing of this post. People complained about her weekly and this is the only post which received traffic, there are over 800 comments the last I checked. Either she was terrible in that scene or someone’s trying to swap her out.

    Also, I don’t think as an 86-er there’s any point pushing her. The 80+ liners are going strong, and there’s someone of the exact same visual style in Shin Hye-sun in her age range. Even Kang Hanna is a better option if they lack actresses in this age group.

    • Swap her out of what? Hospital playlist? Her upcoming dramas?

      I think she looks like Yoona (the SNSD girl). Is that who you have in mind?

      What I want to know how is how she is filming so many dramas concurrently. Is she going to clone herself or have astral projection abilities?

    • I agree. Both Kang Hanna and Shin Hye Sun are much better actresses in that age range. Aside from the below average acting, I also find her beauty pretty average. It’s interesting that some commenters say she is not a cookie-cutter type of beauty and compare her with Yoona when both are considered Korean standard, conventional beauty. Both kind of plain in my opinion.

  5. I noticed that too, she had a hard time crying. Could it because she didnt have a proper training since she’s not a theater/ acting major? Anyway, i hope she overcomes it because i really like her.

    • Don’t get your hopes up with Korea’s theater/acting training. Son Na-eun was also an acting major… And she is more bland than water.

  6. I guess all those commentators who expressed misgivings about her acting when her Chaebol casting was announced weren’t wrong.

    Personally, I find her pretty bland whether it be acting or presence, and IDK if that’s worse than being outright terrible.

      • At this point. I cast my vote for Suzy. Suzy cries prettily at least. This one can’t squeeze out even a tear and didn’t even make the effort to use eye drops.

      • @Ophelia – I stopped watching HP2 (no time) but I liked her in HP1 (both acting and with US chemistry) so in this case….I’ll actually take the chance on the devil I know to have been at least watchable (SHB).

        In any case people here always make a huge deal out of the stumbles or career missteps of not-idol-famous actresses, so I’m not sure

      • (Sorry, comment got cut off)

        Honestly, I still think we’d do better hoping for SHB to find her (inconsistent) acting mojo for The Chaebol’s Youngest Son than hoping for someone else to magic it up after a decade of so far nonexistence.

        (Fingers crossed she does find it and TCYS isn’t one of those dramas I sit through thinking it’s a waste of a role)

    • Gurlllllll, i have been saying this from start. No suzy fan here but ppl were hailing her as if she is some major development from Suzy ?? She is pretty bad actress and an average looker. And what’s worse than bad acting ? Bland screen presence, at least suzy has screen presence. Watch her being eaten alive by Song Joong ki.

      • @anima – Well at the time of casting, SJK was coming off a really great pairing with his last FL, and going from JYB to Suzy was a big downgrade acting-wise. HP2 hadn’t aired yet so there was none of this negative backlash against SHB.

        Everyone’s comments are now making me scared for Chaebol. I was anticipating it to be the kdrama HBO Succession. Given the main leads are SJK and Lee Sung Min, maybe SHB won’t be central? Maybe the screenwriter is observing the backlash and will cut down her scenes? Maybe I should just stick to watching Succession ?

      • tbh the chaebol heir drama seems like he is doing it for some personal reasons ? He took so long to confirm it and the makers just wouldn’t be off his back despite him choosing vincenzo to do 1st before chaebol heir. Not sure why he would want to explore the same genre after coming off from something as refreshing as vincenzo. And there’s always the danger of comparison if it has similar elements. IMO he should now focus more on movies and explore genres he hasn’t tried. Something like designated survivor/even like namgoong min role from Stove league. Oh well we can only wait and watch

  7. I was a big fan of HP season 1 and a big fan of Wintergarden couple. But HP2 seemed off even for me. The chemistry I found in WIntergarden in season 1 is gone and I was loving Gueoyl s character but again in season 2 I could not watch scenes with Gyeo-ul.
    I don’t know if it’s the actress acting inability or is the director that I should question .
    I do miss in this season the moments of the 5 friends together and the patient stories from season
    1 .
    I was expecting to see a different approach of Gyeo-ul in the latest episode ( don’t want to spoil it ) but again is it the actress or the directions she is given ?
    YYS is my boy and he has chemistry with everyone but in this season I can not feel any connection with Jeongwon and Gyeoyl .

    • Count me in. I was crazy about them in S1 but barely feel the excitement to their scenes in S2. It’s a shame cause their love story is actually really beautiful.

      She’s not bad like REALLY bad. But i have to agree she still needs to improve. Her acting is too by the book type. Like she tries to bring the tremble, moves certain muscle to create micro expression, but the raw emotion is not there. As a fan i wish she’ll use this criticism to be better in her next projects.

      By the way, this is my sentiment to any wailing in drama. Does pain need to be expressed in wailing? Because most people around me cry without creating any noise even when they’re in the deepest pain. Well i guess drama is not drama without a drama.

      • @Beez – Pain doesn’t need to be expressed in wailing. I think wailing is actually a “cheap” shortcut to acting out pain. One of the most powerful crying scenes I’ve seen in a kdrama was in Be Melo, when the documentarian (Jeon Yeo Bin) broke down. Now THAT was guttural and raw crying.

        SHB’s crying was sooo awkward to watch. She was emoting like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube.

  8. It’s hard to make the difference between her character, the PD’s choices and her acting… But at the end, her character is boring. The way she talks, her reactions, etc.

  9. Pingback: K-netizens Start to Criticize Shin Hyun Bin’s Acting in Hospital Playlist 2 as Coming to the Surface with Increased Screentime – SanIsidro

  10. She had a crying scene & delivered well on HP1 ep 11-12 during confession time… Actor followed only what PD will instruct if HP2 ep 10 is lacking PD will cut it already but it was accepted so she delivered what the scene called for. Winter Garden couple had perfect chemistry & hoping they will have a follow up team up already as the main lead after HP series completed.

  11. This is making me nervous about Chaebol’s youngest son. But she seems to be working on many projects at the same time, perhaps it affects her ability to fully immersed in one role?

    • Most actors that are breaking out work on multiple projects at the same time. Her role in HP2 still isn’t that big or complex the character itself is a little dull not her fault. Her drama Person Like You wrapped up filming recently but her role is big and important but not central same with the Chaebol drama. Monstrous is where she will have a bigger more central role so it’ll be easier to evaluate her then.

    • Her acting is kinda inconsistent. Sometimes she is very bland sometimes not bad and sometimes pretty good. I’m way more impressed with Kwak Sun Young’s acting (Ik Sun) but there is definitely a room for improvement for Shin Hyun Bin.

  12. Alright folks, I went to catch up on HP2 given my curiousity. I thought people were being hyperbolic, but WOW, she really was THAT BAD! She was worse than some of the “trendy” stars people like to dunk on here. I was cringing throughout her scenes. I can’t believe the PD let her pass. She cannot emote well, at all.

    Oh dear. I hope she doesn’t tank her upcoming dramas because her acting is not it.

  13. To be fair, antifans on another website have taking to calling her “Maggot” because they are disappointed in the romantic relationship written for her. This is more than a bit much. I suppose those with an excess of hatred in their heart will be prone to confuse the character, as written in a script, with the actor speaking the lines.

  14. She is acting as a believable female character that hasn’t had much opportunity to be open about her feelings.

    Maybe not the typical feminine type that Korean viewers are used to. Nor the openly anti- feminine type.

    She is just a studious doctor. And her crying was actually good. Crying like someone who hasn’t /didn’t allow herself to be weak ever. After all she was holding everything it together. Definitely not the quiet crying. Or the makjang wailing.

    I’ve witnessed crying in the context of people in crisis in my line of work. And her crying scene sounded more genuine than the eye drops induced- see the conjunctiva colour of those actors- and the ONE tear brimming scenes in multiple Kdramas. And the loud wailing scenes I’ve also seen in other dramas.

    SHS didn’t wail. By the way I am not a fan of hers per se. Haven’t seen her previous works. And also not a Wintergarden shipper in S1.

    Just saying she is fine in S2. However it is true that this couple is very matter of fact in S2. I see medical couples at work weekly. They talk and behave in the hospital scenes- lol- like this drama couple. Privately- who knows.

    • She was terrible. 3 emoting scenes. Managed to squeeze out zero tears. Zero. I was shocked genuinely at how bad she was. So bad that I went on yt to try to find her other “crying” scenes… to see if she was only bad this one epm

  15. As an old kdrama fan, I have Warrior Baek Dong Soo trauma. I remember how everyone joked about her terrible acting, and how people wanted her to d*e and the male lead to end up with the SFL lol I guess she didn’t have time to go to acting school in 10 years, as I watched HP1 and her lack of acting talent was still glaring. She stands out a lot especially because she’s surrounded by many outstanding veteran actors wit natural charisma. It’s a shame that the only confirmed and stable couple in the story has such lacking chemistry.

  16. @kitai I can’t comment on her acting but I don’t think she looks anything like Shin Hye Sun or Kang Hanna. I think she is much prettier than both those ladies. SHB has a more sophisticated, delicate look. KH is pretty but has a very cookiecutter face with no memorable features. SHS just looks like an average person.

    • @Sunny – Shin Hye Sun can ACT though. Shin Hyun Bin looks like Yoona, and whoever is styling her in HP is doing her no favors. She looks really plain.

      • @peanut gallety – Oh I totally agree about Shin Hye Sun. She is a very good actress. I’m just responding to kitai’s comment above as she said Shin Hyun Bin and Shin Hye Sun have the exact same visual style and I don’t see it at all. Your Yoona visual comparison is more accurate.
        I assume SHB is supposed to look plain for the character she is playing so I won’t knock her for that.

    • I am not a fan of her stair scene especially it being too soon after Jeon Mi Do’s did a fantastic version of a sinilar scene with her mom just an episode prior. I think the drama should have edited that scene out and juat let her conversation with her brother explain her dilemma. Then her ‘ugly cry’ wouldnt have looked so forced. I dont think she has a lot of range as well and I sincerely hope she uses the criticisms to challenge herself for her next projects. Also I just hope people wont be so unkind with their comments. Shes doing a good job with her bland character in HP — as long as she doesnt try any other emotion. She doesnt (and no one does) deserve the hateful comments shes getting imo.

  17. I love warrior baek dong soo, but because of her, I stay away from rewatching that drama and also far away from any drama she’s featured in, I mean I was scarred.
    so, colour me surprised when I saw HP1 and discovered she’s a lot okay than before but now watching HP2, I guess I’m with those who feels something is off, I’m just getting scared about how she’s gonna fare with SJK.

  18. I think she is very naturalistic in her acting and that is not everyone’s cup of tea. I have adored her since Warrior Baek Dong Soo and she can act. She is just understated vs over blown. I think she will be great with Song Joong Ki and look forward to that pairing!

  19. She has no emotional depth in her acting, nobody’s surprised by this. The way Knetz complain about her on every forum these days I don’t doubt that all her upcoming projects would flop. Hopefully the ensemble cast can save Monstrous. As for Chaebol, Sjk needs to start reviewing new projects because that drama is pretty much over thanks to the pairing.

  20. I think it is just me that don’t go crazy with Winter Garden couple since Season 1? Maybe a matter of preference? It differ with Ik Sun-Jun Hwan. I ship them from the first time they appeared together playing that bird trick. Still don’t watch HP2 to comment about her acting. In last Season she appear decent in my eyes but I’m more to Min Ha character than her.

    • Song Jong Ki is nothing special. He is just a good actor. I’ve seen better actors like Hyun Bin and Yoo Yeon Seok. I think Shin Hyun Bin will do great in their up coming drama.

  21. Well, I don’t know about her future projects coz she may get better there, at present, she is actually not a good actress, more like a hard working student who memorized the whole book but miss the essence.

    In HP s1, she was ok for her part, not outstanding. There’re too many good actors in HP, her screen time was limited, so it was nice to enjoy her company on screen with or without love line. But as an audience if you stick to a show for another season, It’s normal you want the character or actors be the better version from the past.I think that’s the reason everyone moderately criticizing her acting.

    About SJK drama, that’s the two man game!She’ll have a good part but that’s it.
    Hope she starts to enjoy acting and give a better performance in future.

    • Bingooo!! that’s what i feel about her acting, text book. It feels like she memorizes lines and act ?? Gyeol was actually better because the character itself was bland, awkward and lame type that didn’t have personality and her acting fits right through. The reason ppl why ppl are more vocal about her acting now in S2 than in S1 is because here she’s given a backdrop/victim of domestic abuse etc and she is massively failing in delivery. I wouldn’t be surprised if she is panned in her upcoming dramas cause she doesn’t have the charm. Kang Hanna deserves the hype and the chaebol heir drama and she’ll do lot better.

  22. Season 2 is pretty weak compared to season 1 and all the stories of the doctors are realllllly slow and drawn out. I don’t blame the actors or actress – they don’t have much to work with this season. I am struggling to finish it but I want to see how it ends lol.

  23. In my opinion shin hyunbin appearance has fulfilled the quality of acting. Just the shooting, engle, the cut out of a complete story so that when we are sad, every one becomes hopeless. Other that long and manuscript reading… and unbalancef bridging scene… not only wintet Garden but also everything

    • I wish they edited out her scene in the stairs. It took too.long amd it wasmt good. The chat with her brother should have just been enough to explain her dilemma. If that stair scene wasnt there her ugly cry wouldnt have looked so forced (plus it didnt help that her scene on the phone with her mom was too soon from when Jeon Mi Do did her take on a similar scene so beautifully.just made SHB’s stair scene so awkward and forced).
      I like her emotionless character, so I think it wasnt smart that the drama is trying to force her to show normal human emotions when she was selling the other one so well. Hope they stop doing that in the next episodes. And hope she uses the criticisms from netizens to challenge herself for her next projects.
      Drama, please give us more of the 5 friends all together in the remaining episodes, please! Also I hope the drama tells us more about Seok Hyung and MinAh.

  24. I agree. She’s not as bad as she used to be (anyone who watched WBDS will know), but I think she’s got no range. She’s good enough in minor/supporting roles which don’t require too much dialogues, for examples Mistress and Beasts Clawing at Straws. So how well she will do in Chaebol’s Son and the other upcoming projects really depends on the characters she plays. A very limited actress imo.

  25. Thankfully Monstrous has a great ensemble cast to conceal her flaws so that drama should be fine. As for Chaebol, Sjk better start reviewing his next project because that drama is a guaranteed flop seeing the female lead.

  26. The crying scene was too cringy. I couldn’t rewatch at all, and prefer to skip all her scenes. She just doesn’t have screen presence, lacks charisma. IkSun is in less scenes compared to her, and was criticised for the character’s selfishness in S2. But no one could deny how fine she acted in all her scenes, no matter how short. That’s charisma which SHB lacks. You grab the viewers attention and make them want to see more of you. SHB just fails.. don’t know if it’s the character or her.. maybe the character itself is also a failure.

  27. PDShin is trying to rehabilitate Jang GU’s character making her symphatetic but the actress failed to do it. Im not even moved by her acting it was a waste of screen time. I felt she dont deserved Dr Ahn Jeong Won.

    • “I felt she dont deserved Dr. Ahn Jeong Won”…perhaps those words as were written above help to explain what the acting nonsense is all about.

  28. Oh my god, wth that writer and director cast her in big budget drama the youngest son of chaebol?It will be flop hard for sure since this drama airing in jtbc they doesn’t have rating hit drama after TWOTM and IC.Poor song joong ki he will carrying this drama with lee seung min. 26 billon won drama will be wasted just like the myth sisyphus.

  29. Her acting was always been criticize even when she won as new actress in baeksang.. but i really like in her in HP shes pretty even with less make up & messy hair. She has a geat diction & unique voice that easy to recoqnice. But from last epesode of hp her acting was bland & reserved although as the writer said during casting Jang Gyeol character is one of the hard to portry shes not bad or cutie style but reserved with less emotion

  30. I don’t know where are all this hate and criticism of SHB coming from. I LOVE HER ACTING. She is a very good actress in my opinion. I’ve watched her dramas and she is very versatile. She was picked to play Gyeol ul for a reason. I love the way she delivered her scenes. It was natural and realistic. Her worried face and emotions are right on with what she is dealing with right now in her life. Who are we to tell people how they would act, look, and cry when dealing with domestic violence. What people don’t understand is that each individual deal with family crisis in a very different way. Some cry. Some don’t want to talk about it. And, some shows no emotions at all. But eventually, they would break down. And as far as her relationship with Jeong Won, their chemistry is undeniable. They make a great couple. I am glad she plays Dr. Jang. I LOVE SHIN HYUN BIN AND APPRECIATE HER ACTING…..

    • I like Shin Hyun Bin and her acting too. Ive watched a few of her movies while waiting for HP2. I would say that I like how her eyes speaks it all… she doesnt have to shed a tear but still convey the emotions. In addition, I actually think it was realistically portrayed because when you are emotionally, mentally drained you breakdown but no tears comes out but that doesnt mean its no real. Breaking down is not all tears though it is portrayed as such. I know for a fact for myself, I am emotionally, mentally stressed…Sometimes I just breakdown without tears… Thats why there’s a saying “I dont have tears to cry anymore”.

      That being said, I commend Shin Hyun Bin for her acting and cant wait to see her in more dramas….

  31. I AM A NURSE. SO, I CAN RELATE WITH DR. JANG (SHB). I FIND SHIN HYUN BIN VERY BEAUTIFUL EVEN WITH THOSE MESSY HAIR AND NO MAKE UP.

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