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Shim Eun-kyung making theater debut in Korean adaptation of Chekhov's 'Uncle Vanya'

Published: 19 Feb. 2026, 14:15 Updated: 19 Feb. 2026, 16:44

LEE JIAN
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Actors Cho Seung-ha, left, and Shim Eun-kyung have been cast as leads in the National Theater Company of Korea's upcoming production ″Vanya Ajae,″ an adaptation of Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya." [NATIONAL THEATER COMPANY OF KOREA]

Shim Eun-kyung, the box-office sweetheart best known as the bumbling teenager in the comedy film “Sunny” (2011), is set to make her local theater debut through the Korean adaptation of Anton Chekhov's “Uncle Vanya,” according to a cast list released by the National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK) on Thursday.

Titled “Vanya Ajae” ( ajae is a derogatory slang for middle-aged men), the play retains the general plot and themes of the original, in which Vanya and his niece Sonya manage the estate for a self-centered retired professor, whose arrival with his young wife Yelena ignites intense personal, romantic and existential crises among the inhabitants.

But instead of a rural Russian estate, NTCK’s version, directed by Cho Kwang-hwa, alters the setting to a small village outside of Seoul, critiquing the division and isolation of modern Korean society. It runs from May 22 to 31 at the National Theater of Korea in Jung District, central Seoul.

Shim is set to play the niece, named Seo Eun-hee in the Korean adaptation, a slightly naive and overly self-conscious young woman who has been rejected by her crush.

The 31-year old debuted as a child actor in the 2003 hit K-drama “Dae Jang Geum.” She took on her first lead role on “Sunny” and further established herself as a formidable talent in the comedic hit “Miss Granny,” playing a 70-year-old woman who wakes up one day in her 20-year-old self.

Also starring in Japanese movies, Shim won Best Actress at the Kinema Junpo Award in January for her role in Sho Miyake's drama film “Two Seasons, Two Strangers” (2025).

“Vanya Ajae”'s titular lead, Park I-bo, is slated to be played by Cho Seong-ha. Cho debuted through Korea’s production of the musical “Cats” in 1990 and won the Best Supporting Actor award at the representative Korean film awards, the Grand Bell, for the 2010 thriller-action “The Yellow Sea.”

His character in “Vanya Ajae” devotes his entire life to the care of his dead sister’s husband, only to realize that the professor is an incompetent intellectual, which causes I-bo to become overcome with a sense of helplessness.

Seoul is actually set to see two “Uncle Vanya” productions in May. LG Arts Center in Gangseo District, western Seoul, is staging the more traditional version of the play and has cast Lee Seo-jin as Vanya and Go Ah-sung as the niece Sonya. That production is set to run from May 7 to 31.

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]