Shim Eun Kyung is set to return to the small screen with a bold new villain role in the upcoming drama “Mad Concrete Dreams”!
“Mad Concrete Dreams” is a thriller drama that follows Ki Soo Jong (Ha Jung Woo), a struggling landlord who becomes entangled in crime to protect his family and property. While he achieves the coveted status of a landlord, mounting debts lead him to participate in a staged kidnapping. However, the plan spirals out of control as the fake kidnapping turns dangerously real.
Shim Eun Kyung stars as Yo Na, a cold and ruthless villain. Yo Na is a key executive at Real Capital, a company spearheading a redevelopment project, and she relentlessly pressures Ki Soo Jong, a heavily indebted landlord who secured his building by taking out loans to the absolute limit.
After building an impressive international filmography—including becoming the first Korean actor to win a Japan Academy Prize—Shim Eun Kyung is making her long-awaited return to Korean dramas for the first time in six years, taking on the production’s central antagonist. Ahead of the premiere, the actress shared why she chose the project and offered insight into how she crafted her complex character.
“I’ve finally fulfilled a long-held wish to play a villain,” Shim Eun Kyung said about joining the drama, as she described Yo Na as “a mysterious figure whose true intentions are impossible to read and whose actions are completely unpredictable.” She added, “Her background is unclear, and one day she suddenly appears before Soo Jong and his group, bringing misfortune with her. What fascinated me was how she differs from conventional villains—there’s something uniquely distinct about her.”
The actress also hinted at a side of herself audiences have never seen before. “Taking on a villain role allowed me to explore unfamiliar styles of acting,” she shared. “I especially challenged myself with action scenes and trained for several months before filming. I’ve never really shown action acting before, so I wanted to properly present it through this project.” She added, “If viewers strongly remember Yo Na as someone chilling yet pure, and in some ways even sincere, I would be incredibly happy.”
Shim Eun Kyung also revealed character details she personally helped design. “I wanted to visually express Yo Na’s duality — someone eerie yet childlike at the same time,” she explained, teasing viewers to pay close attention to the “right cuff of Yo Na’s shirt.” The fashion detail was inspired by “A Clockwork Orange,” serving as a stylistic reference for the character. She further shared that red shading around Yo Na’s eyes was added to create a worn and unsettling atmosphere.
Finally, Shim Eun Kyung highlighted what viewers should look forward to in the drama: “The story portrays the desires of various people surrounding a single building. It’s a work that keeps you watching to see just how far each character will go. The plot moves forward without giving you a moment to catch your breath, so I hope viewers stay with us until the very end.”
“Mad Concrete Dreams” premieres on March 14 at 9:10 p.m. KST.
In the meantime, watch Shim Eun Kyung in her cameo appearance in “Way Back Love”:
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