Oscar-winning Korean actor Youn Yuh-jung opened up about her remarkable six-decade career during an In Conversation event at the Singapore International Film Festival, sharing candid insights about her unconventional start in the industry, her formative relationship with director Kim Ki-young, and the challenges she overcame to achieve international recognition.
The 78-year-old actor, recipient of the festival’s Screen Icon Award, participated in a wide-ranging discussion with local actors Rebecca Lim and Janice Koh that touched on everything from her 1971 debut film “Woman of Fire” to her recent Hollywood projects, including the Oscar-winning “Minari.”
Youn revealed that her entry into acting was entirely accidental, stemming from a failed university entrance exam in the 1960s. Needing to earn money while attending a less prestigious college, she took a part-time job at a television station, which led to an unexpected audition.
“I didn’t plan to be actress,” Youn said. “I went to the station for a tour, and they asked me to audition. I said no, I cannot read this line in front of camera. But I did it, and I got accepted as talent.”
Unlike today’s system-driven Korean entertainment industry, Youn had no formal training. “I didn’t have any theatrical background or film school experience,” she acknowledged. “That’s why I felt guilty about my job, because all of them from theatrical background, they had training, but I didn’t have any training.”
This lack of formal education became a driving force in her approach to roles. “Every role I get, I studied my lines. I memorized thoroughly. I practiced so many ways because I realized I didn’t have gifted talent. That’s why I needed to practice. Nobody thinks I’m putting that much hard work. They think I’m just doing naturally or something. No, I work so hard,” Youn explained.
Her breakthrough came with “Woman of Fire,” directed by Kim Ki-young, when she was in her early 20s. The controversial role, where she played a country girl who turns femme fatale, was a departure from the typical melodramas of 1970s Korean cinema, where actresses were expected to fit conventional beauty standards.
“Back in my time, in Korean standard, if you want to be actress, you got to be most beautiful person,” Youn said. “I’m not pretty by Korean standards. I’m not beautiful. So most of them [films] at the time, there’s the melodrama — the poor girl falls with a rich boy, and then the family against her, blah, blah, same old story. But this script was very different.”
Despite winning best actress at the Blue Dragon Awards and Best New Actress at the Grand Bell Awards for her debut, Youn faced harsh criticism. “When you hear about yourself judging by somebody else, it’s not pleasant feeling,” she said. One critic told her that with her voice, she would never make it as an actress. “He saw me blooming, blooming, and he said, ‘You are the first one I made the wrong criticism.’ He always said he was right. But he passed away.”
Youn credited Kim Ki-young as a major influence on her career, recalling their unusual working relationship. The director insisted on meeting with her regularly before filming began, which she initially found uncomfortable. “I was thinking maybe he’s plotting or something,” she recalled. “The first day of shooting, he said, ‘Miss Youn, when I met you during the meeting, I told you about something, and you had very weird smile and very strange smile. I want that smile.’ That’s why he was watching me. He was observing me.”
Kim’s advice about choosing roles stayed with her throughout her career. “He always called me Miss Youn. He said, ‘The main role is not important. Don’t do it, because you have a big responsibility. If you are doing the main role, if you fail there, it’s all your responsibility. So it’s very dangerous. But safe way is just being a supporting actress. That is very safe way, and then you get the money too.’”
Youn’s path to “Minari” was equally unconventional. Director Lee Isaac Chung sent her the script through a friend, but she stopped reading at page 40 due to the difficulty of reading in English. “I called her and asked, ‘Is it based on his real life story?’ And she said it is. So I said, okay, I’ll do it. You cannot be genuine more than his real life story. You don’t need any writer. So this must be genuine.”
The production presented numerous challenges. When the producer asked her to fly economy class from Seoul to Tulsa, Oklahoma, Youn negotiated for business class — and ended up paying for it herself. “I spent a lot of money for that film,” she said. She also hired her own professional translator friend to improve the Korean dialogue, covering the ticket and payment personally.
“I sacrificed my time and my money,” Youn explained. “I don’t know why I did that, because I want to make it nice one properly. Because the translation is very important.”
Despite the hardships, the collaboration proved fruitful. “That’s why I think we become good friends, Isaac,” she said. “If he comes to Korea, he always visits me. If I go to the States, I always visit him. And he became a huge director now, working for the ‘Oceans 11’ [the prequel] now. I’m so proud of him, I’m very happy as a Korean.”
When asked about the international recognition following “Minari” — including becoming the first Korean actor to win an Oscar, SAG Award, and BAFTA — Youn remained grounded. “When you become famous, people lift you up with no reasons, and then they tear you down with no reasons,” she said. “Out of kindness, out of malice. So I experienced enough. I’m myself.”
At 78, Youn has adopted what she calls a “luxury” approach to her career. “The true luxury is just do what I like to do,” she explained. “I can choose my time, or I can choose the director, I can choose the scenario. That’s my luxury.”
This selective approach came after years of working intensively to support her two sons as a single mother. “I worked so hard for my two boys. They were in the States boarding school, so I had to pay a lot,” she said. “After they graduated everything, I promised myself, okay, I’ll be free. I’m going to work whatever I want. If I like the director, I will do it, or if the writer has good writing, then I will do it.”
Regarding the evolution of the Korean entertainment industry, Youn noted significant changes from her early days. “My time, we just step by step,” she said. “If I get paid this much for this time and if I get paid little bit more for next time. But nowadays, it’s all changed. They have some kind of factory, because I’m old school, so I don’t agree with them 100%.”
However, she noted that opportunities for senior actors remain limited. “The roles got very limited because of the production cost. They just cut down, make it very small family. So it’s not many roles for us,” she said. “But now, in my age, I understand everything is because of capitalism.”
When asked about advice for young Asian actors, Youn demurred. “Usually when you’re young, we don’t listen to elderly persons,” she said. “In Korea, they usually say, ‘Is there any message for the younger generation?’ So I usually say, I’m not the Pope, I don’t have any message.”
On whether she might write a memoir, Youn was firm. “I told one guy, a movie reporter who was fighting with depression, ‘You are the one who could write about my lifetime story. But after I passed away, you can write about me, but not before.’ I don’t like to share my private life.”
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