Youn Yuh-jung becomes first Korean to win acting Oscar

Youn Yuh-Jung, winner of the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for "Minari," poses in the press room at the Oscars in Los Angeles, Sunday (local time). Reuters-Yonhap

73-year-old receives best supporting actress Oscar for 'Minari'

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Youn Yuh-jung made history Sunday (local time) becoming the first Korean to win an acting Oscar for her nuanced portrayal of Soon-ja, the grandmother of a Korean immigrant family, in director Lee Isaac Chung's moving drama "Minari."

At the Academy Awards ceremony held at Union Station in Los Angeles, Youn took home the award for best supporting actress, beating out Maria Bakalova in "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm," Glenn Close in "Hillbilly Elegy," Amanda Seyfried in "Mank" and Olivia Colman in "The Father."

Youn is the second Asian woman to win an acting Oscar after Japanese-American Miyoshi Umeki who won the best supporting actress prize for her role in "Sayonara" (1957).

Onstage, the 73-year-old actress thanked members of the academy and the Minari crew who were there to cheer her on as she received the award.

"I don't believe in competition. We are the winners for different movies. We played different roles so we cannot compete with each other. Tonight, I'm here because I had a little bit of luck, I think, I'm luckier than you. Or maybe it's the American hospitality for the Korean actor? I'm not sure," Youn said in her acceptance speech.

"I'd like to thank my two boys who made me go out and work. Beloved sons, this is the result because mommy worked so hard. And I'd like to dedicate this award to my first director Kim Ki-young, who was a very genius director…. I think he would be very happy if he was still alive."

At a press conference held after the win, Youn addressed the message of inclusion and equality. "I think it's wrong to categorize people by their skin color. It's pointless to divide people by their race or gender or sexual orientation. Wouldn't it be nice to be all together regardless of that? After all, we are all the same human beings," she said.

Brad Pitt, right, poses with Youn Yuh-Jung, winner of the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for "Minari" in the press room for the Oscars, in Los Angeles, Sunday. AP-Yonhap

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"Minari" was also nominated in five other categories ― Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Original Score categories ― but failed to win awards in them.

The semi-autobiographical film by director Lee Isaac Chung, "Minari" is the story of a Korean immigrant family moving to rural Arkansas to start a farm in the 1980s. Youn plays grandmother Soon-ja, who joins them from Korea to help take care of her grandchildren.

The film has earned many accolades since it premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, with Youn lauded for her rare portrayal of an unconventional grandmother. She has won a total of 39 awards for her performance in "Minari," including best supporting actress prizes at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Golden Globes and British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards.

Film experts said Youn received well-deserved recognition for her role as Soon-ja that "fit her like a glove."

"Her comical yet touching interactions with young David (Alan Kim) ― whether watching American wrestling on TV or planting the titular seeds along a creek near their small trailer ― are the heart and soul of the film," said David Scott Diffrient, an associate professor of Film and Media Studies at Colorado State University.

"Other audiences around the world ― especially here in the United States ― will find her character at once familiar ― she reminded me of my grandmother before she passed away ― and distinctively Korean in her nearly tragic commitment to family and to building a better life for future generations," he added.

Youn Yuh-jung, left and Han Ye-ri arrive for the 93rd annual Academy Awards ceremony at Union Station in Los Angeles, Sunday (local time). EPA-Yonhap

Brian Hu, an assistant professor of Television, Film, and New Media at San Diego State University, explained that Youn's character was not a stereotypical immigrant grandmother, which is rare in American cinema, even amongst Asian American filmmakers.

"As she is in so many of her roles, Youn doesn't play characters for pity. Her presence is never easy to figure out, and Youn is able to explore unexpected and buried aspects of a character. Youn's skill in making such a character empathetic and fascinating forces Americans to want to imagine elderly immigrants beyond the limits usually set by Hollywood," professor Hu said.

But some film experts remained divided as to whether her accomplishment will bring real change to Hollywood.

"I am cautiously optimistic that Hollywood will open its doors to more creative artists like Lee Isaac Chung and other independent filmmakers who, years ago, would have struggled mightily to have their voices heard in a predominately white industry," professor Diffrient said.

Citing examples of previous Oscar winners of Asian descent who failed to prompt bigger change in Hollywood, professor Hu said he was skeptical of such change in the near future.

"While an Oscar win will bring much to celebrate, it won't open any new doors. We've seen how Oscar wins for actors ― like Miyoshi Umeki in 1957 or Haing S. Ngor in 1984 ― did not lead to substantially more Asian American representation in Hollywood, professor Hu said.

"If it does anything, it might inspire more Asian actors and filmmakers to pursue their dreams. We should also note that Minari is an independent film, with a relatively small budget. Its achievements are testament to the skill and conviction of the director and producers, rather than the will of Hollywood more generally."