Very Stressful Being The First Korean Actress Nominated For Oscars: Youn Yuh-Jung

Minari star Youn Yuh-Jung is making history as the first South Korean actor nominated for Best Supporting Actress, for the Oscars however, she says being in the spotlight, is “very stressful”.

In Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari, the 73-year-old veteran star plays a grandmother Soonja who moves in with her daughter's family in Arkansas. The story revolves around South Korean immigrants searching for their American dream in the rural United States during the 1980s.

As Deadline reported, as a nominee in the Best Supporting Actress category, the 73-year-old actor said that she is happy to be nominated for an Oscar but it comes with a burden. She went on to claim that she never even dreamed about being nominated for an Oscar. "People will be very happy for me if I get the win, but it’s very stressful,” she added.

Who is Youn Yuh-Jung?

Yuh-Jung made her American film debut exactly 50 years after her first movie, Kim Ki-young's psychosexual thriller Woman of Fire, came out in 1971. If she wins, Yuh-jung could make history as the first Asian person to win a Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards ceremony, which is slated to be held on April 25.

She recently won the Supporting Actress award at the 74th British Academy for Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards held at the Royal Albert Hall earlier this month. Accepting the award remotely, she said every award is meaningful, but BAFTA is very special. "So I’m very, very privileged and happy,” she added. Yuh-Jung even called the British out as “very snobbish people” during the acceptance speech. She has also won the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which strengthens her chances at the Oscars later this month.

“I don’t know how to describe my feelings. I’ve been recognized by westerners 😱.”—Youn Yuh-jung



omg I love her 😭

pic.twitter.com/1HnNZoXtMu

— bora (@modooborahae) April 5, 2021

Talking about her Academy Award-nominated film Minari, Yuh-jung further said, "It's not like I'm representing the country by going to the Olympics, but I feel like I'm competing for my country. It's stressful."

At the Oscars, she’s nominated in the same category with Maria Bakalova for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Glenn Close for Hillbilly Elegy, Olivia Colman for The Father, and Amanda Seyfried for Mank.

Feature Image Credits: Entertainment Weekly