On April 25, 2021, in Los Angeles, the Korean actress Yuh-Jung Yoon was awarded the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 93rd Academy Awards. She starred in the movie Minari. She played a Korean grandmother named Soonja. Her acting has captivated movie fans all around the world. It was the first time for an Asian actress to win an Academy Award since 1957. She has raised her profile beyond Korea by winning several awards: an Oscar as well as a BAFTA and a SAG. In this article, the life of actress Yuh-Jung Yoon and her work will be discussed.

Following the release of the movie Minari, Yuh-Jung Yoon has undoubtedly become aworld-lass actress. In fact, she has been acting for over 50 years. She made her debut in 1967, and she starred in the famous Korean drama Queen Jang. She quickly became a star. She appeared in the film Women of Fire by legendary director Ki-Young Kim. However, she stopped acting and emigrated from Korea to America after her marriage. Unfortunately, her marriage was unhappy, so she returned to Korea in 1987 to make a living as an actress. She said that she started acting again so that she could raise her children. There were lots of obstacles to overcome at that time due to Korean society’s negative view of divorced women. Nevertheless, she appeared in numerous movies, dramas, and entertainment shows and, ultimately, became a legendary actress.

Throughout her career, she has played various characters in numerous films and dramas. Normally, the roles that old actresses play are limited to grandmother-type characters. However, she never limits her roles. Sometimes, she acts as a rich woman addicted to sex and money or as a prostitute.

The movie Minari is about the life of a Korean immigrant family. Yuh-Jung Yoon plays the role of Soonja, who is from Korea. Even though Soonja barely speaks English, she loves her grandchildren. The relationship between her and her grandson David is strongly emphasized. David is a kid suffering from a heart condition, and he does not like his grandmother because she is not like other grandmothers. Soonja cannot cook well, swears too much, and always likes to watch professional wrestling on TV. However, her love toward her grandchildren is strong and she is dedicated to them throughout the movie. In fact, this movie is a semi-autobiographical take on the director Lee Isaac Chung. Like in the movie, he is a Korean-American who was raised by his grandmother. The movie Minari is a well-made movie about immigrants, and Yuh-Jung Yoon plays the role of a friendly Korean grandmother perfectly.

The movie Woman of Fire was her first film. It is a classic work by director Ki-Young Kim. Yuh-Jung Yoon plays the role of a maid Myeongja. The impressive feature of this movie is that the female character leads the story. In the 1970s, Korean society was gender discriminative. There is also discriminative dialogue in the movie: “The only way for women to succeed is through marriage to rich people.” Despite her young age, as the main female character, Yuh-Jung Yoon performed well in the movie. Her character, Myeongja, is raped by her employer and becomes pregnant. But she is forced to terminate the pregnancy, so she decides to take revenge. When I saw the movie, Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’ came to mind. Though Woman of Fire was released 50 years ago, the story is convincing and the choice of music is appropriate, too. Also, Yuh-Jung Yoon won numerous awards for her portrayal of the character. When she won an Oscar, she expressed her gratitude to Ki-Young Kim, mentioning that Women of Fire was a movie that allowed her to best express herself. She said that Ki-Young Kim constantly talked to her about her character, which helped improve her acting. Later, she appeared in another movie by Ki-Young Kim. He played an important role in her acting career.

Over the years, she has become a great actress, never settling for the same easy roles. For example, in the movie Bacchus Lady, her character is a prostitute called Soyoung who spends time with old men. When the movie was released, it was shocking that an actress over 60 years of age played the role of a prostitute. However, her performance was praised by critics. Even though the main character in this movie is a prostitute, the movie criticizes Korean social problems. The main character Soyoung is a poor old prostitute. She lives with Tina, a transgender and the homeowner; Dohoon, a disabled man; and Minho, a man of mixed Korean and Filipino descent. All of these people belong to minorities and are discriminated against in Korean society. Furthermore, this film shows the problems of poverty among the elderly. The main character Soyoung does a favor for old men who want to die because they are poor and sick with no family to care for them. In reality, according to an OECD survey, the Republic of Korea ranks first among OECD countries concerning the relative rate of poverty at 43 percent. It is not hard to see homeless senior citizens around us. Actress Yuh-Jung Yoon performed the role perfectly, showing how miserable the life of a poor old woman is.

She has also appeared in a Korean independent film, Lucky Chan-sil, in 2020. She is acquainted with the director and decided to appear in the movie without receiving a fee. She plays a friendly old lady who is the homeowner of the main character, Chan-sil. This low-budget film became the most notable independent film in Korea, winning an award.

Besides movies and dramas, Yuh-Jung Yoon also appears in entertainment shows. She usually appears in programs produced by Young-Suk Na. Since 2013, she has appeared in programs such as Youn’s Kitchen and Youn Stay. Youn’s Kitchen is an entertainment program in which Korean actors manage a Korean restaurant overseas. This program was filmed in Indonesia and Spain. It achieved tremendous success and she, as the main chef in charge of the restaurant, cooked for foreign visitors. Her English ability was very impressive. Despite her age of over 60, she had no problem communicating with foreigners. She also took the main role in the program Youn Stay, in which foreigners are provided with Korean traditional cuisine and accommodation.

Through the movie Minari, Yuh-Jung Yoon has achieved astonishing success because of her passion for acting. She always mentions that the driving force behind her acting was desperation. She started her career to make a living and that makes her act better. Even though she has become a legendary actress, she never forgets her original intention and continuously challenges herself.

 

 

 
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