Shin Min-a's 'The Remarried Empress' Dress Reportedly Cost 18 Million Won

Actress Shin Min-a's costumes in the Disney+ series "The Remarried Empress" turned out to be anything but cheap. One of her dresses reportedly cost about 18 million won, around 13,200 dollars, even though some viewers had mocked the show's wardrobe as low-budget.

The criticism started soon after the series premiered. Then reports showed that the outfits were high-end designer pieces, priced from several million to tens of millions of won. The gap between how the costumes looked on screen and what they actually cost has become a hot topic online.

"The Remarried Empress" premiered on Disney+ on Nov. 3. The romance fantasy follows Navier (played by Shin Min-a), empress of the Eastern Empire. After Emperor Sovieshu (Ju Ji-hoon) tells her he wants a divorce, she moves to remarry Heinley (Lee Jong-suk), a prince of the Western Kingdom. Lee Se-young plays Rashta, a runaway slave.

The cast drew attention, but the costumes and visuals did not land as well. Some online users said the royal outfits looked cheap.

"It feels cheap, like something a school drama club would wear," one wrote. Another said it looked like "Surprise," a Korean TV program known for reenacting stories.

In reality, the dresses came from designer labels. A pale mint dress Shin wears in the series is from Lebanese designer brand Georges Hobeika. It reportedly costs about 18 million won (13,200 dollars). The design features silver details and green embroidery, paired with a bolero.

Other pieces also carried big price tags. A light blue dress Shin wears with a tiara is from British brand Jenny Packham and is priced in the 6 million won (4,400 dollars) range. A black beaded dress from the same brand reportedly sits in the 5 million won (3,700 dollars) range. Together, those three dresses add up to about 29 million won, an estimate of 21,300 dollars.

The red dress and the white off-the-shoulder dress Shin wears in the official poster were made by Choi Jae-hoon Dress, a South Korean wedding dress brand. Those looks got a better response from viewers.

Shin has said she had some worries about trying something new with the project. She spoke at the show's press conference, held on Nov. 3 at the Conrad Seoul hotel in Seoul's Yeongdeungpo district.

"I read the script before the original work," she said. "It was such a new format that I was curious how it would turn out. I was worried, but I was also really excited."

"The script itself was thrilling," she added. "I was excited that I could show a side of me I hadn't shown before through the empress character. I felt I had to show how Navier's feelings change, step by step, so that a lot of people would root for her. I carried that pressure and focused on my acting."

The costumes were a key part of building the character. "The world we created is very clear," Shin said. "I had to wear dresses and change my hairstyle every time to show the empress's grace on the outside."

Once the prices came out, online reactions split. Many viewers pointed to the filming and color work rather than the clothes themselves.

"I kept wondering why the dresses all looked so tacky, but they're expensive," one wrote. "The dresses are pretty, but the lighting or filter seems off," another said. A third added, "A lot of people said the fabric looks cheap. Maybe it's the lighting?"

Not everyone was convinced. "I still can't shake the 'Surprise' feeling," one user wrote.

Shin had already talked about the challenge of the wardrobe. In October, she joined an audience talk for the series at the Busan International Film Festival.

"Wearing so many dresses was really hard," she said at the time. "It must have been hard for Lee Se-young, too. The clothes weren't something I was used to, but I filmed while thinking, 'When else will I get to wear clothes like this?'"

The debate shows that a designer label does not guarantee how a costume reads on screen. For a period fantasy built on royal style, lighting and image quality can shape a viewer's verdict as much as the dress itself.