[2021 Academy] Yoon Yeo-jeong "Rainbows Have Seven Colors... Discrimination Must Disappear"

At Online Press Conference, Urging to Break Down Various Walls of Discrimination
"We Are Equal People... We Must Understand and Embrace Each Other"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

"It is not good to classify or divide people by race. Like a rainbow, all colors should be combined to create something more beautiful." This is the wish of Youn Yuh-jung, the first Korean actor to win an Academy Award for acting.

On the 25th (local time), she won the Best Supporting Actress award for the film Minari at the 93rd Academy Awards held at Union Station and the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. This is the first time a Korean actor has received an Oscar trophy. She is the fourth Asian actor to win, following Miyoshi Umeki (Best Supporting Actress for Sayonara, 1957), Haing S. Ngor (Best Supporting Actor for The Killing Fields, 1984), and Ben Kingsley (Best Actor for Gandhi, 1982).

This award is even more meaningful because it was achieved through Korean-language acting. Among all lead and supporting roles, only five actors have won trophies for non-English performances: Sophia Loren for Two Women (Italian, 1961), Robert De Niro for The Godfather Part II (Italian, 1974), Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful (Italian, 1998), Benicio Del Toro for Traffic (Spanish, 2000), and Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose (French, 2008).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

After receiving the award, Youn Yuh-jung attended an online press conference hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and urged breaking down various walls of discrimination. Regarding the recent rise of Asian cinema and the expansion of diversity in Hollywood, she said, "A rainbow has seven colors," emphasizing that "having various colors is important." She added, "I do not want to divide people into male and female, white, black, or yellow races, or separate gay and non-gay people," and said, "We are equal people with warm hearts." She stressed, "It is necessary to understand each other. We must embrace one another."

Youn Yuh-jung received the trophy after her name was called by actor Brad Pitt, who produced Minari. She said, "Pitt did not mispronounce my difficult name," and "I could tell he practiced a lot to say my name correctly." When asked what genre she would like to work on with Pitt, she laughed and said, "I can't speak English well and I am too old, so I don't even dream about it. It's impossible, so I have no answer." She added, "Tonight, I was just luckier than the other nominees. I think it reflects America's warm welcome of Korean actors."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.