Youn Yuh Jung has won the Oscars Awards as the first Korean performer. She won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the Academy Awards Ceremony. At the age of 74, she remained fierce even at the moment she received the award. She caught the eyes with her typical outspoken and witty speech. The actress also showed how honest and experienced she was at the press conference with Korean reporters.
When a reporter said, “I’m personally a huge fan of yours, it’s an honor to meet you,” Youn Yuh Jung made the crowd laugh as she replied, “What honor? I’m there when you turn the TV on.” Seeing Korean correspondents raising their hands to ask questions, she said, “Don’t raise your hands. I’m not the president or something.” And upon being asked lengthy questions, she changed the atmosphere up by telling them, “Ask me one question at a time. I can’t remember all the questions because I’m old.” Her cheerful reply to questions while drinking the wine on the table was sensational.
On the question for her future plans, she responded, “How would I know? I’m not a shaman. There are no plans for the future. Youn Yuh Jung doesn’t suddenly become Kim Yuh Jung just because she won an Oscars. I will carry on like usual. I’ve always wished to die after working until I can memorize my lines.”
When asked whether she considers this the best moment in her life, she said, “I don’t know about this being the best moment. And I don’t think the Academy Awards is by no means all. It has become a harder challenge for Asians. I am not a big fan of the word ‘best.’ They talk about how good it is to be ‘the best.’ Can’t we all be the ‘most middle’?”
At the Awards Ceremony, Youn Yuh Jung made a clever comment to Brad Pitt, the presenter. She asked, “Where were you while we were filming?” It is because Brad Pitt is the founder of Plan B, a co-producer of Minari. The actress said that Americans have only been asking her about Brad Pitt, adding, “It’s the same here in America and Korea. I asked him to spend a little more money on his next movie. He said that he would. But he didn’t say that he would spend much more. He sneaked out of it.”
At the event, Youn Yuh Jung expressed her gratitude for the late director Kim Ki Young and Lee Isaac Chung. “I met director Kim Ki Young when I was young, and director Isaac Chung when I aged. I was able to give Isaac Chung things that I wasn’t able to give director Kim Ki Young.”
Her praise for director Lee Isaac Chung is outstanding. “Despite being younger than my sons and me, he is very calm. The director goes mad when trying to control dozens of people. But he calmly controls them. He doesn’t humiliate nor belittle anyone. Isaac Chung is the first director I haven’t talked badly about. I saw hope in him. He’s a very sophisticated Korean who received education from the U.S. It was nice to see such composure. He must have been angry, too, at some point. I told him how I respect him,” Youn Yuh Jung said. “I’m tipsy at the moment,” she added with a smile, making the room laugh once again.
Youn Yuh Jung has become a hot topic with the YouTube video of her interview. Younger generations have been cheering on for her words, as they are from an actress who lived her life frankly and candidly.
She is an amazingly witty and candid person, who is proud of her heritage. I have been a great fan of her work since I first saw ‘Never Twice’ and ‘Youn’s Kitchen’. Congratulations to an amazing actress and person.