[Interview] Youn Yuh-jung "Winning an Academy Award Doesn't Change Me, I Am Who I Am"

Apple TV Plus 'Pachinko' Premieres on the 25th
"Impact of Korean-American Children, Understanding Immigrant Hardships"

Photo by Apple

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] "Does K-content revolve around Youn Yuh-jung? I don't think so. I'm not that foolish." ... "Nothing has changed since I won the Academy Award. I still live in the same house. I will live and die as myself."

Her candid wit remained unchanged. Youn Yuh-jung leads the atmosphere with her frank answers anytime, anywhere. She shudders at hypocrisy and pretense while maintaining dignity as an actress. Like her uninhibited acting, she is charming. Although she received an award on a big stage, she remained the same.

Youn Yuh-jung participated in a video interview with domestic reporters in Los Angeles (LA) on the 18th ahead of the release of the Apple TV Plus series "Pachinko." Since it is a new work released one year after winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, questions about changes after the award were asked. She waved her hand, saying, "When I first did 'Pachinko,' no one was interested in me. Even after winning the award, nothing has changed."

She was straightforward. There was no empty resolve to humbly say it was thanks to someone or to be grandly modest.

"Maybe if I had won the Academy Award in my 30s or 40s, I would have been floating around. Of course, I was happy at the moment of receiving the award. But that award does not change me. I will live and die as myself. I met Steven Yeun yesterday, and I told him, 'You really did well not to win,' and 'You did well just to be nominated at that age.' I was lucky. Director Bong Joon-ho knocked on the Academy door, and 'Minari' was able to go up after many twists and turns, partly because of the pandemic."

Photo by Apple

"Pachinko" is based on the New York Times bestseller of the same name by author Min Jin Lee and unfolds the hopes and dreams of a Korean immigrant family over four generations in a chronicle. Starting with forbidden love, the story moves between Korea, Japan, and the United States, depicting war and peace, love and separation, victory and judgment, recovery, and human resilience. Produced in Korean, Japanese, and English, it will be released on Apple TV Plus on the 25th.

Youn Yuh-jung plays the role of Sunja, a strong woman who does not yield to adversity, showcasing her seasoned acting. She was also asked about the accent of her character, who is from Yeongdo, Busan, but has lived in Japan for over 50 years. She said, "In the past, I ruined my acting because of the dialect in the movie 'Keys to the Heart.' I asked writer Lee Woo-jung, and she said that if you are not born locally, you can't do it well. You can only give the points; you can't act like a local. This time, I told the dialect coach to just capture the nuance. Since Sunja moved to Japan at 16 and lived there for over 60 years, I thought the accent wouldn't be strange."

When asked how she understood the story set around the Japanese colonial period, she mentioned her mother. Youn Yuh-jung said, "My mother was born in 1924 and lived through that era. I was born in 1947, after liberation, so I don't know much about that time. I learned a lot while doing 'Pachinko.' We had the Korean War right after independence, but 'Zainichi' were neither Korean residents in Japan nor accepted by our divided country. I was worried if 'Zainichi' was a derogatory term, so I asked, and they said they feel pride."

Actor Jin Ha, who plays Sunja's grandson Solomon, said, "I was happy to work with a master like Youn Yuh-jung. I tried to watch as much of her acting as possible. Opportunities to see such great acting up close are rare. I was lucky to work with her."

Then Youn Yuh-jung wittily responded, "You keep calling me a master, but acting cannot be mastered. I'm just an old actress. Don't call me a master," bringing laughter.

Youn Yuh-jung appeared in "Pachinko," which deals with the life of Korean immigrants, following "Minari." She said she now understands why she appeared in similar projects consecutively.

She said, "I lived in a small town in Florida for nine years. My friends were all Americans and helped me a lot. I didn't feel any racial discrimination, probably because I wasn't working. But my son felt it a lot. Watching my son, who grew up as a Korean-American, and Jin Ha, I felt like an 'international orphan.' In Korea, since they can't speak Korean, people think they are Americans, and in America, they look different."

"Director Lee Isaac Chung, who brought the 'Minari' script, also wanted to help in that regard. They are all in the same situation as my son. You can't buy people's hearts with money. I didn't have to do that. I bought my own plane ticket and went."

Then Youn Yuh-jung said, "'Pachinko' is a work that covers 80 years of one family's history, and it is different from the original novel. I was satisfied after reading the script," adding, "As Director Bong Joon-ho said, 'If you overcome a one-inch barrier, you can share many stories.'"

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