[3] An injury prompted Shin to reconsider another career and he transferred to Anyang Arts High School.

Thinking he would have a better chance if he gained more acting experience and honed his craft on the stage, Shin switched gears and joined the theater company Hakchon.

[5] While doing the musical Dracula, Shin was cast in his first substantial onscreen role, in the risqué cable drama Hyena (2006).

He also appeared on season 1 of the MBC dating reality show We Got Married as a "fake couple" with female comedian Kim Shin-young.

In 2007, Shin was picked from 400 auditionees for the lead role Solomon in Dancing Shadows, a musical adaptation of the realist play Forest Fire by celebrated Korean playwright Cha Beom-seok.

[8] As Shin starred in one hit musical after another, he continued to impress critics with his acting performances, his strong and powerful baritone vocals and his delicate and clear alto notes.

Shin Jae-rok is a former professional basketball player who had short stints with Anyang KT&G Kites and Changwon LG Sakers before retiring.