Hollywood New Release "The Wedding Banquet" Overseas Interview
A Film About a Gay Man's Sham Marriage
Actress Youn Yuhjung has revealed for the first time that her eldest son is in a same-sex marriage during an interview with foreign media ahead of the release of the Hollywood film "The Wedding Banquet."
On the 16th (local time), Youn Yuhjung gave interviews to international outlets and stated, "My eldest son came out as gay in 2000," thus making this revelation.
Actress Youn Yuhjung has revealed for the first time her eldest son's gender identity and same-sex marriage. Photo by AFP Yonhap News
"The Wedding Banquet," which was recently released in North America, is a remake of the 1993 film of the same name by Taiwanese director Ang Lee. The story follows a gay protagonist who enters into a sham marriage under pressure from his family to settle down. While the original film depicted a Taiwanese-American family, the remake was directed by Korean-American director Andrew Ahn and centers on a Korean-American family. Youn Yuhjung plays the grandmother of the gay Korean-American male protagonist in the film.
When asked by reporters if her empathy for the character in the film was due to her son, Youn Yuhjung replied, "My personal life is very closely related to this movie," and added, "Because my eldest son is gay, I was able to share the experiences I had with my son through this film."
She explained, "My eldest son came out as gay in 2000, and when same-sex marriage was legalized in New York, we held his wedding there. At the time, it was still a secret in Korea, so our entire family went to New York." Same-sex marriage was legalized in New York in 2011.
Youn Yuhjung added, "When we returned to Korea, I didn't know how (my eldest son and his husband) would be received. Maybe people would throw books at me," she joked. She also humorously mentioned that she now loves her son's same-sex spouse, her "son-in-law," even more than her son.
Youn Yuhjung also incorporated her personal experiences into the film. Regarding the scene where she says to her gay grandson, "Whoever you are, you are my grandson," she explained, "That line came from my own personal experience. After sharing my story with the director, it was included in the film. I hope those words can bring comfort to someone."
Youn Yuhjung married singer Cho Youngnam in the United States in 1975 and had two sons. After divorcing in 1987, she raised her children alone. In 2021, when she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the film "Minari," she expressed her affection by saying, "I received this award thanks to my sons nagging me to go out and work. Sons, this is the result of your mother working hard."
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