Shin Ae Ra (born March 7, 1969) is an immensely popular South Korean actress who is currently appearing as Won Hye Hyo's mother in "Record of Youth." She made her acting debut in 1989 and has since played leading roles in television dramas such as Love in Your Arms and Bad Housewife.
She married actor Cha In Pyo in 1995, and the couple gained widespread approval and respect from the Korean public for being philanthropists.
They are active volunteers at orphanages and welfare centers, as well as generous donors to causes such as the fight against child abuse and school violence, rights for North Korean refugees, and humanitarian aid to underprivileged children (particularly in North Korea and Uganda), often working with the organization Compassion International and the Social Welfare Society.
Shin gave birth to a son, Cha Jeong Min, in 1998, but she and her husband made headlines when they adopted baby girls, Cha Ye Eun, in 2005, and Cha Ye-jin in 2008. Their case highlighted the issue of adoption in Korea. Despite the prevalence of overseas adoption, domestic adoption is rare and stigmatized due to culturally held beliefs stressing "pure" bloodlines.
Shin and Cha's case was even more notable since Korean couples with biological children of their own rarely adopt, and they were lauded for serving as positive role models.
In a television program on the 16th of October 2020, the 'Record of Youth' actress opened up about how her son suffered from tics in the past when the story of an 8-year-old girl with tic symptoms was revealed on Channel A. She immediately sympathized with the issue, having prior experience of the same with her own child.
In this episode, Jeong Hyung Don said that "There were more tics around than I thought," to which Shin Ae-ra said, "As far as I know, one or two out of ten have ticks," and "my son also had ticks."
Also, Shin Ae-ra confessed that there was a time when her son had tics so badly that they almost had to rush him to the hospital. However, fortunately, it disappeared over time.
