Youn Yuh-jun: the Queen of South Korean cinema
In the Western world, it’s somewhat unlikely that most people will have heard of the actor Youn Yuh-jung, lest they possess a particular interest in the cinema of Korea. It’s probable, however, that Westerners became aware of Youn’s work following her performance in Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari, for which she became the first Korean actor to win the Academy Award for ‘Best Supporting Actress’.
However, Youn’s history extends far back beyond her most notable introduction to the Western world. Even as long ago as the late 1960s, the Kaesong, North Korea-born actor was a young rising star. Youn was born just two years before the Korean started, and though her father died when she was young, she fled with her mother and sisters to Seoul.
After making her acting debut in the television drama Mister Gom in 1967, Youn announced herself as a significant piece of South Korean cinema’s history with her debut film role in Kim Ki-Young’s 1971 movie Woman of Fire, a remake of the classic Korean masterpiece The Housemaid, also directed by Kim. Youn won several awards for her efforts as a rural pregnant woman in Woman of Fire, and the film invariably changed her life.
Kim’s film was heavy stuff, even for the notorious world of Korean cinema and featured moments of rape, abortion and suicide while influencing the key Korean directors of the future like Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook. Youn had teamed up with Kim again for 1972’s Insect Woman, and again her performance drew widespread admiration.
There was something about Youn that served as a refreshing antidote to the kind of over-perfected, sterilised actresses to be coming out of Korea in the 1970s, an air of authenticity. In an interview with The Guardian, Youn put this down to her “strange looks” and noted, “I’m not the Korean beauty standard. To be an actress you had to be pretty, very pretty. They didn’t care about acting. So to them, I’m very strange-looking, and in a good way. Very modern. Not obedient to anybody.”
In that light, Youn began to represent Korean women who sought to break free from the harsh and unachievable beauty standards of the country. However, after moving to the United States with her husband, Youn retired from acting before returning in the late 1980s after their divorce. Korean cinema was once again blessed with the iconic actor’s presence, particularly in the 21st century when Youn collaborated with Im Sang-soo on A Good Lawyer’s Wife, The Taste of Money and The Housemaid remake, and Chang on Canola.
From her early work in femme fatale roles, Youn started offering a different kind of femininity as a matriarch. Before long, Youn was announced to the wider world as one of the best South Korean actors of all time with her effort in Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari, in which she plays a difficult grandmother who traverses a new life in rural America in the 1980s.
Youn’s performance was well-praised and led to a remarkable Academy Award win. However, for anyone who had known Youn from her early days as an actor, they had already known that Youn possessed greatness at her fingertips and that it was just a matter of time before she would be recognised on the international scene. Though it took until her 70s to get that recognition, it’s fair to say that Youn had always deserved the acclaim.
Having given so many varied and intense performances throughout her career, Youn is a true legend of South Korean cinema. Today, she has carved out a legacy that will continue to burn with excellence, with her many efforts inspiring future generations of actors and directors for years to come.