[People人] Approaching the Oscars with Smoke That Smells Like Korea

Movie 'Minari' Wins 20 Awards in the US for Actress Youn Yuh-jung
Critics Enthralled by Her Lovable Grandmother Role
Top Predicted Nominee for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards

Actress Youn Yuh-jung (74) portrayed Soon-ja in the film Minari. She is a grandmother who crosses over to Arkansas, USA, upon the invitation of her daughter Monica (Han Ye-ri). As soon as she arrives at her daughter's house, she takes out chili powder, anchovies, and herbal medicine one by one. A sense of local sentiment begins to permeate the American household.

"Oh, chili powder... Goodness! You can't find this here. I drove eight hours all the way to Dallas, but it wasn't great. Oh, did you bring anchovies too?"

"Hey, are you crying again? Crying because of anchovies?"

"Ah, Mom has seen how we live. I'm sorry, Mom."

"Why? Because it's a house on wheels? That's funny, kid."

The grandchildren find their simple and warm-hearted grandmother displeasing. When she offers them boiled chestnuts chewed into small pieces, they recoil in horror. They also dislike staying in the same room with her.

"It smells like Korea."

"You've never even been to Korea."

"Grandma smells like Korea."

Soon-ja's affectionate face and clear Korean language have captivated Hollywood in the United States. The local entertainment media Variety named Youn a strong contender for Best Supporting Actress in its Oscar prediction article on the 28th of last month. They explained, "She plays a lovable grandmother in Minari and is sweeping critics' awards."

Youn has won 20 Best Supporting Actress awards at various American award ceremonies, both big and small. These include awards from the National Society of Film Critics, the North Texas Film Critics Association, the New York Online Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and the Boston Society of Film Critics. She surpassed formidable actresses such as Amanda Seyfried from Mank, Maria Bakalova from Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Olivia Colman from The Father, and Ellen Burstyn from Pieces of a Woman.

Variety explained that if Youn wins at the Academy Awards, she will become the second Asian actor to receive the Best Supporting Actress award since Japanese actress Miyoshi Umeki in 1957 for Sayonara. She would be the fourth Asian nominee. The other Asian actors previously nominated are Umeki, Shohreh Aghdashloo (Iranian) in 2003 for House of Sand and Fog, and Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi in 2007 for Babel.

International acclaim is not unfamiliar to Youn. She won Best Actress at the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival in Spain for her film debut Woman of Fire (1971). She has walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival three times for The Housemaid (2010), The Taste of Money (2012), and In Another Country (2011). Since starting with the role of Eonnyeo in the 1995 drama Your Voice, she has showcased diverse elderly roles, expanding the scope of Korean cinema.

Recently, she has often portrayed grandmothers who seem like they would lovingly blow on and feed you doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew). Representative examples include Gye-chun in Love, Lies (2016), Joo In-sook in Keys to the Heart (2017), and Soon-ja in Beasts Clawing at Straws (2018). Each character carries sorrow and shows pure love.

This universality is transformed into dissonance in Minari. It instantly lightens the cold atmosphere created by the conflict between son-in-law Jacob (Steven Yeun) and his daughter, while also intensifying tensions arising from cultural differences. The minari plant in the film symbolizes tenacious vitality. Soon-ja plants and nurtures minari by the stream, revealing the film's thematic consciousness.

In a recent interview with director Bong Joon-ho, Youn revealed, "Before I even finished reading the script, I was moved by its vivid realism and decided to appear." She added, "After filming, we gathered at the lodging to cook and eat together, and revised the lines for the next day's shoot. Everyone worked with one heart, and the ensemble was outstanding."

The Academy Awards will be held on April 25 in Los Angeles, USA. Youn is currently filming the Apple TV+ drama Pachinko in Canada. If she joins the Oscar race immediately after filming, her chances of winning could increase. This is partly due to her unique charm, expressed through straightforward speech and witty jokes off-screen.

Last year at the Sundance Film Festival, she impressed the audience with confident English. When Minari director Lee Isaac Chung introduced her as a "legendary actress," she waved her hand and joked, "That means I'm old," causing the audience to burst into laughter. When other actors gave serious remarks, she lightened the mood by saying, "I'm not serious." Her subsequent remarks were a perfect rehearsal for the Oscars.

"I have acted in Korea for a very long time. Honestly, I didn't want to do Minari because I knew it was an independent film. I anticipated that the whole process would be difficult. (...) Minari is an unforgettable experience for me. As an older actress, I didn't want to work hard anymore. Because I'm old. But director Isaac gave me the opportunity. So I am grateful. I am happy to meet you all and enjoy the film together."