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58-539: She gained international recognition for her role in Minari (2020). Her critically acclaimed portrayal of Soon-ja in the film made her the first Korean actress to win a Screen Actors Guild Award , an Independent Spirit Award , a British Academy Film Award , and an Academy Award , as well as the first to be nominated for a Critics' Choice Movie Award , all in the Best Supporting Actress category. By

116-725: A Cast in a Motion Picture , and earned six nominations at the 74th British Academy Film Awards , including Best Film Not in the English Language . It has since been cited as one of the best films of the 2020s and the 21st century. In 1983, the South Korean immigrant Yi family moves from California to a plot of land in Arkansas , where the father, Jacob, believes the soil is fertile and hopes to grow Korean produce to sell to vendors in Dallas . One of his first decisions

174-538: A Korean crew for the scenes set in Seoul, and a Japanese crew for the shooting in Japan, the film starred Lee Jung-jae as the protagonist (he was also the lead actor of An Affair ). Although not a commercial hit, the film played at several festivals, drawing notice among academics for its portrayal of the interplay between Japanese, Chinese and Korean cultures and receiving widely divergent critical assessments. Then in

232-543: A candy-colored palette and mildly racy content. Though praised for the diversity of its characters and their preferences, it grossed US$ 3.8 million , which for Korean films of average budget is considered a disappointing performance. E's next project Homecoming was selected by the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) in 2007. He described it as a "long look through the past" in order to understand his own father more deeply, including

290-478: A charming, sparingly used score, Minari is so engaging that it's easy to forget how radical it is." Reviewing the film for the Associated Press , Lindsey Bahr gave the film 4/4 stars, reporting, "One of the great triumphs of Minari is its presentation of authentic childhood. These kids are not saints or stand-ins or mouthpieces. They are their own persons." Robbie Collin of The Telegraph rated

348-781: A comeback after taking a long break was an unusual feat for a Korean middle-aged actress. Although most actresses her age played clichéd self-sacrificing mothers or coarse ajummas , Youn's acting range led to her being cast in more complex, stylish, and independent roles. In A Good Lawyer's Wife (2003), she drew critical acclaim for her nonchalant acting as a mother-in-law who neglected her husband dying of liver cancer and enjoyed extramarital affairs. Her frank and confident persona again manifested itself in E J-yong 's mockumentary Actresses (2009). Youn continued playing supporting roles in film and television, such as in The Housemaid (2010). She reunited with director Im Sang-soo for

406-425: A deal to sell vegetables to a Korean grocer. But Jacob also indirectly admits to Monica that his crops' success is more important to him than their family's stability and, after an emotional argument over whether they can support each other only during good times, the two agree to separate. During their absence, Soon-ja accidentally sets fire to the barn containing the produce. On arriving home, Jacob rushes in to save

464-502: A director to guide them on set, blurring the line between fiction and reality. E said it was "difficult to decide how to classify the film in terms of genre. The feature film seems to be a documentary about the production process of a short film, but it also has dramatic elements similar to a reality show ." In 2014, E directed and co-wrote My Brilliant Life , a film adaptation of Kim Aeran 's novel My Palpitating Life . He cast Kang Dong-won and Song Hye-kyo as young parents of

522-728: A family with three daughters. Her father died when she was young. The family fled the city during the first and fourth retreat of the Korean War . She attended Changsin Elementary School and later Ewha Girls' High School in Seoul, South Korea. She graduated from high school in 1966. Afterwards, she enrolled at Hanyang University , with a major in Korean Language and Literature. When she passed open acting auditions held by TBC in 1966, she dropped out of college. After dropping out of college, Youn made her acting debut in

580-491: A fashion magazine shoot on Christmas Eve, the film depicted the celebrity and humanity of actresses, with the cast all using their real-life names and telling candid stories. It became the third of E's creations to be invited to the Berlin International Film Festival 's Panorama section. E, along with fellow directors Kang Hyeong-cheol and Jang Hoon were commissioned by the producers of

638-733: A five film retrospective of her career. In September 2021, she was selected as one of the 100 most "Influential People in the World" in 2021 by the American weekly magazine TIME . She was named in the 'Titan' category. Youn received the Order of Cultural Merit . In December 2022, Youn's contract with Hook Entertainment ended, and she decided not to renew after 5 years. Later, in January 2023, Youn signed with Creative Artists Agency . In December 1973, she followed her fiancé, singer Jo Young-nam , to

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696-550: A job and movies were the only thing I was interested in. I couldn't imagine wearing a suit and working in a bank." E entered the Korean Academy of Film Arts in 1990 and studied filmmaking. He first became known for his 19-minute short film , Homo Videocus (1990) which he co-directed with Daniel H. Byun (Byun Hyuk), and which won the Prix Recherche (Research Prize) and Prix de la Jeunesse (Youth Jury Prize) at

754-604: A modern woman of the new generation, notably in Stepmother (1972) written by Kim Soo-hyun . At the peak of her career, Youn retired after she married singer Jo Young-nam in 1974, then immigrated to the United States . In 1984, she returned to Korea and permanently resumed her acting career. She and Jo divorced in 1987 and struggled to resume her acting career due to the stigma of divorce in South Korea. Making

812-702: A more American film than #Minari this year. It's a story about an immigrant family, IN America, pursuing the American dream. We really need to change these antiquated rules that characterize American as only English-speaking." Author Viet Thanh Nguyen wrote that the "decision speaks powerfully to the issue of what makes something—a language or a person or a culture—foreign". Many other filmmakers, actors, and authors, including Daniel Dae Kim , Simu Liu , Harry Shum Jr. , Franklin Leonard , Phil Lord , Nia DaCosta , Celeste Ng , Min Jin Lee , and Phillipa Soo , criticized

870-525: A movie via mobile devices and the Internet without being on set. The result was Behind the Camera , in which E took the mockumentary genre a surreal step further than Actresses by including himself in the cast. As E makes an unprecedented attempt to direct the film from Los Angeles via Skype , chaotic and unpredictable circumstances arise behind the scenes as the cast and crew become frustrated without

928-483: A nearby hatchery and argue frequently while David and his sister, Anne, eavesdrop. To watch the children during the day, Monica's mother, Soon-ja, travels from South Korea to live with them. Forced to share a room with her, David avoids her because she does not fit his idea of a grandmother. Still, Soon-ja attempts to bond with the children and adjust to life in the United States. The well Jacob dug runs dry. He

986-661: A popular sensation in Japan in 2004. Staying true to the spirit of the original novel while giving it an entirely new aesthetic , E kept a familiar story interesting with unexpected juxtapositions (for example, a mix of classical European and Korean music in the soundtrack), visual elegance, and efficient storytelling. The film won several awards at the 2004 Verona Film Festival and Shanghai International Film Festival , including Best Director for E. E cast Jo Hyun-jae and Lee So-yeon (who played supporting roles in Untold Scandal ) in his short titled Joy of Love , which

1044-443: A spot to dig a new well, signifying their intention to stay. Jacob and David head to the creek to harvest the successfully grown minari, with Jacob noting that Soon-ja picked a good spot to plant it. Chung had initially hoped to make an adaptation of My Ántonia by Willa Cather but found out that Cather did not want film adaptations of her works to be made. He was inspired to make a film about his childhood instead. Chung wrote

1102-645: A wide release on February 12, 2021. However, the theatrical release was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic . It came out in select theaters and virtual cinemas for one week on December 11, 2020. It opened theatrically on February 12, along with virtual cinema screenings through A24's website. It was released on video-on-demand on February 26, 2021. Minari was screened at the 28th Busan International Film Festival as part of "Korean American Special Exhibition: Korean Diaspora" on October 5, 2023. As of 27 May 2021 , Minari had grossed $ 3.1 million in

1160-463: A woman who starts an affair with her sister's fiance. It won great acclaim both from audiences and critics for E's minimalist, sophisticated sense of directing. The film, which resurrected the career of actress Lee Mi-sook , was presented at the third Pusan International Film Festival , and went on to become the seventh highest-grossing Korean film of the year. An Affair won the Grand Prize at

1218-432: Is a 2020 American drama film written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung . It stars Steven Yeun , Han Ye-ri , Alan Kim , Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh-jung , and Will Patton . A semi-autobiographical take on Chung's upbringing, its plot follows a family of South Korean immigrants who move to rural Arkansas during the 1980s. Minari had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020, winning both

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1276-529: Is also known for her matriarch roles in the South Korean family drama series Men of the Bath House (1995), Be Strong, Geum-soon! (2005), Daughters-in-Law (2007), My Husband Got a Family (2012), and Dear My Friends (2016). In 2022, she appeared in the period drama Pachinko on Apple TV+ . Youn Yuh-jung was born on June 19, 1947, in Kaesong , southern Korea . She is the eldest daughter of

1334-685: Is forced to pay for county water, and they eventually lose water in the home. He runs into additional difficulties when the vendor in Dallas cancels an order for their produce at the last minute. He perseveres despite Monica's desire to return to California, straining their marriage. Soon-ja takes David to plant minari seeds by the creek. She tells him how resilient and useful the plant is and predicts plentiful growth. David finally begins to warm to her after she teaches him hwatu , bandages his wounds, and soothes his fears over his heart condition. Soon-ja also encourages him to do more physical activity, saying he

1392-504: Is stronger than his parents think. Soon-ja then suffers a stroke overnight. She survives but is left with impaired movement and speech. Monica considers moving back to California with Soon-ja, with David going with them if his health does not improve. The family leaves Soon-ja at home while they head to Oklahoma City for David's heart appointment and to meet a vendor for Jacob's produce. They learn that David's condition has dramatically improved, and he will not need surgery, and Jacob makes

1450-456: Is to decline the services of a water diviner ; he digs a well in a spot he chooses himself. He enlists the help of Paul, an eccentric Korean War veteran. Jacob is optimistic, but his wife, Monica, is disappointed with the mobile home and the distance from urban amenities, especially a hospital for their son David, who has a heart condition. They monitor David's heart murmurs and frequently tell him not to run. The couple work sexing chicks at

1508-567: The 93rd Academy Awards : Best Picture , Best Director , Best Original Score , Best Original Screenplay , Best Actor (Yeun), and Best Supporting Actress (Youn), with Youn winning for her performance, making her the first Korean to win an Academy Award for acting. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film , was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by

1566-711: The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival , and the Best Short Narrative award at the 1992 San Francisco International Film Festival . E went on to make other short films such as My Mother's Summer and Time in the Mirror . In 1994 his documentary project, The Story of a City , was stopped in mid-production due to problems with the production company. Finally breaking his long silence in 1998, he presented his feature film debut An Affair , about

1624-414: The Korean War ("a world colonized and liberated, a war, a country divided, the loss of his hometown, and a family separated"), and the death of E's mother. In 2009, E gathered an ensemble cast of six of Korea's top female thespians ( Youn Yuh-jung , Lee Mi-sook , Go Hyun-jung , Choi Ji-woo , Kim Min-hee , Kim Ok-bin ) for his low-budget, semi- improvisational mockumentary Actresses . Set during

1682-574: The Samsung Galaxy Note in 2012 to make three short films for their PPL -frequent-film project Cine Note . The team also included Lee Seung-chul for the music, and noted webtoon artists Sohn Je-ho and Lee Gwang-soo who created the film's animated content. But while shooting his Cine Note short How to Fall in Love in 10 Minutes , E simultaneously decided to expand the idea into an experimental feature about remote directing, i.e. making

1740-429: The U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award. It began a one-week virtual release on December 11, 2020, and was released theatrically and via virtual cinema on February 12, 2021, by A24 . The film received critical acclaim, with praise for Chung's direction and screenplay, Yeun's and Youn's performances, and the score. Many named it one of the best films of 2020. It earned six nominations at

1798-801: The 1999 Fukuoka Asian Film Festival, as well as the Asian Cinema Kaleidoscope Prize at the Newport Beach Film Festival , and the Critics Prize and Best Artistic, Technical, or Creative Contribution at the Verona Film Festival . E's second feature, Asako in Ruby Shoes in 2000, is one of the first instances of a Korean-Japanese co-production that utilized cast and crew members in both countries on more or less equal terms. Using

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1856-449: The 21st Century." In 2023, it ranked ninth on Collider ' s list of "The 20 Best Drama Movies of the 2020s So Far". Marie Claire also included it on its list of "The 100 Best Movies of All Time." In 2024, the website Looper ranked it number 34 on its list of "51 Best PG-13 Movies of All Time", writing, "Everyone has got a story to tell and the quietly powerful filmmaking of Minari conveys this truth magnificently. That's not

1914-595: The U.S. as well as $ 2.2 million in South Korea and $ 1 million in Australia and New Zealand, then $ 56,000 in its fifth weekend. The weekend following its six Oscar nomination, the film made $ 306,000 from 786 theaters. On Rotten Tomatoes , 98% of 318 reviews were positive, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Led by arresting performances from Steven Yeun and Yeri Han, Minari offers an intimate and heart-wrenching portrait of family and assimilation in 1980s America." Metacritic assigned

1972-520: The United States and Canada, and $ 12.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide of $ 15.5 million. IndieWire reported the film likely made $ 150–200,000 from about 245 theaters. It ended making $ 193,000 on its first weekend. It made an estimated $ 63,000 in its second weekend and $ 53,000 in its third, for a running total of $ 251,000. The same weekend, the film placed fifth on Apple TV 's PVOD rental charts, sixth on FandangoNow , and eighth on Google Play . It made $ 68,000 in its fourth weekend in

2030-486: The United States. She worked at a supermarket for $ 2.75 an hour to raise her two sons in St. Petersburg , Florida. She returned to Korea in 1984 and divorced her husband three years afterwards. Youn has two sons, both of whom are Korean Americans . Her sister Youn Yeo-soon is a former executive at LG Group . Minari (film) Minari ( Korean :  미나리 ; lit.   water celery ; [minaɾi] )

2088-500: The actors; Han and Youn assisted in the translation efforts. In early 2019, Christina Oh and Plan B Entertainment signed on as producers of the film. Oh later brought on A24 to distribute it. In July 2019, it was announced that Steven Yeun , Han Ye-ri , Youn Yuh-jung , Will Patton , and Scott Haze had joined the film's cast. Han initially felt she could not participate because she needed to film Nokdu Flower and suggested Chun Woo-hee as an alternate, as she felt it

2146-505: The challenges of drawing on his family's experiences: "It was very difficult in the sense that I know that my parents are private people. And I didn't even tell them that I was making this film until I was in the editing room with it after I had shot it, because I was just so scared about what they would say." Chung wrote the script in English. Some dialogue was translated into colloquial Korean by Hong Yeo-ul, in consultation with Chung and

2204-438: The crops, followed by Monica. The fire grows out of control, and they save each other, leaving the barn to burn. Distraught and confused, Soon-ja wanders off while Anne and David call for her to return. David runs to her and blocks her path, before she takes his hand, and her grandchildren lead her back home. That night, the exhausted family sleeps together on the floor. Some time later, the water diviner guides Jacob and Monica to

2262-410: The decision on similar grounds. E J-yong E J-yong ( Korean :  이재용 ; born September 5, 1966) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter . His feature films include An Affair (1998), Untold Scandal (2003), Dasepo Naughty Girls (2006), and Actresses (2009). E J-yong (his preferred stylized, phonetic spelling; more conventionally romanized as Lee Jae-yong)

2320-485: The end of the story. Han used her own mother's life as inspiration for her portrayal of Monica. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020. It screened at several other festivals, including Deauville , Valladolid , Hamptons , Heartland , and Montclair . Initially, the film was set for a limited release on December 11, 2020, before slowly expanding to

2378-457: The fall of 2003, E presented his costume drama Untold Scandal , based on the French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses but set in 18th-century Korea . An unexpected smash hit, it set a new record for the biggest opening weekend for a Korean film and went on to sell over three million tickets. The film also marked the first major film role of TV actor Bae Yong-joon , who would go on to become

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2436-624: The film 4/5, writing, "Lee Isaac Chung's tender story is a finely observed portrait of family relations and rural American values". Benjamin Lee at The Guardian also rated the film 4/5, writing, "The autobiographical story of a Korean American family trying to sustain a farm in rural Arkansas has deservedly become the festival's most universally loved film". Minari appeared on 68 critics' year-end top-ten lists, including first place on five year-end lists and second place on nine. In 2021, Forbes included it on its list of "The Top 150 Greatest Films of

2494-510: The film a weighted average score 89 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". A. O. Scott of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, writing: " Minari is modest, specific and thrifty, like the lives it surveys. There's nothing small about it, though, because it operates at the true scale of life." Nicholas Barber at the BBC rated the film 5/5, writing, "Sensitively written and acted, beautifully shot, and with

2552-491: The film as production took place. Youn previously lived in the U.S. and drew on that experience in her performance. Chung told her not to play Soon-ja like Chung's grandmother, a direction Youn welcomed. Chung also took Youn's suggestions, including one where her character takes back money her daughter had just put into a church collection plate, even though Chung's religious background made him hesitant about that idea. According to Youn, Chung intended for Soon-ja to be alive at

2610-479: The film won for Best Foreign Language Film . The determination that the film would be eligible for this category rather than Best Motion Picture – Drama , based on the Globes' rule that any film with over 50% of its dialogue not in English would be considered a foreign-language film, invited controversy. Lulu Wang , whose film The Farewell was subject to the same rule the previous year, wrote: "I have not seen

2668-662: The first Korean actress to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress , SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role , and BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role . She was also the first Asian actress to win an acting award in the motion pictures categories at the Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as the first Korean actress to win an Academy Award and first Asian actress to win an Academy Award since 1958 when Miyoshi Umeki won Best Supporting Actress for Sayonara . In April 2021, Film at Lincoln Center hosted

2726-554: The fourth time in The Taste of Money (2012), as a cruel chaebol heiress at the center of the drama that unfolds and touches upon the themes of corruption, greed and sex. Youn said "I don't mind being called an old actress, but I do worry about how to carry on my acting career without looking like an old fool." In 2013, she was cast as a loving mother to three loser children in Song Hae-sung 's Boomerang Family . Later in

2784-467: The late 1960s, Youn was a rising star in South Korea and won several awards for her role in Woman of Fire (1971). She retired from the spotlight for several years before returning to acting in the late 1980s. Besides Woman of Fire and Minari , Youn is known for her work in the South Korean films The Housemaid (2010), The Taste of Money (2012), The Bacchus Lady (2016), and Canola (2016). She

2842-431: The only place Chung's directorial vision impresses, though, as subtly detailed instances of filming things through the points-of-view of other characters — as well as the specific details of each central family member — reflect what a masterfully conceived project this is." Minari premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival , where it received the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award. It

2900-518: The screenplay for Minari in 2018 shortly before taking on an instructor position at the University of Utah Asia Campus in Songdo , South Korea. He cited Cather and Fyodor Dostoevsky as inspirations during the writing process, recalling the former's saying "that her life really began when she stopped admiring and started remembering". In an interview with The Los Angeles Times , Chung spoke about

2958-518: The television drama Mister Gom in 1967. Youn shot to stardom in 1971 with two memorable portrayals of femme fatales . Her first film, Kim Ki-young 's Woman of Fire , became a critical and commercial hit, for which she won Best Actress at the Sitges Film Festival . This was followed by the MBC historical drama Jang Hui-bin where she played the titular infamous royal concubine . Kim

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3016-541: The year, Youn appeared in her first reality show Sisters Over Flowers , a travel show shot in Croatia . After appearing on Sisters Over Flowers , Youn has stated that her public image became more positive. Youn starred in two leading roles in 2015: Kang Je-gyu 's Salut d'Amour about the romance between an elderly supermarket employee and a flower shop owner, and Canola about a Jeju Island female diver who reunites with her long-lost granddaughter. Salut d'Amour

3074-609: Was Youn's first collaboration with actor Park Geun-hyung since 1971. In 2020, she made her Hollywood debut in a supporting role as Soon-ja, a grandma of a Korean-American family in rural Arkansas , in the American film Minari , for which she received critical recognition from over forty American regional critics awards, including wins from the National Board of Review and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association . Youn went on to become

3132-654: Was born in Daejeon , South Chungcheong Province in 1966. He studied Turkish at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies . After graduating from university, he went backpacking around the world in the late 1980s and fell in love with cinema. E said, "I saw Who Framed Roger Rabbit in Germany, Au revoir les enfants in London, and Barry Lyndon and Pelle the Conqueror in Australia. After I came home, I had to choose

3190-457: Was considered Korea's first style-conscious, experimental director, and Youn did not balk in playing risque, provocative characters that explore the grotesque in the female psyche in collaborations with him such as The Insect Woman (1972) and Be a Wicked Woman (1990). Audiences found Youn's fast way of speaking and atypical appearance refreshing and she frequently took roles in TV dramas depicting

3248-550: Was important that a Korean-born woman portray Monica. Han said that, of the main characters, Monica "seemed to be the most Korean", due to her difficulties with living in the U.S., and she felt it was important an actress born in South Korea, natively speaking Korean, take the role. Principal photography began in July 2019 in Tulsa , Oklahoma. Filming lasted 25 days. In order to make a deadline for Sundance , editor Harry Yoon edited

3306-574: Was named one of the ten best films of 2020 by the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review , and received six Academy Award nominations. It also received three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, ten Critics' Choice Movie Awards nominations, and six Independent Spirit Award nominations. At the 78th Golden Globe Awards (given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association ),

3364-436: Was released online in late 2004. Given his demonstrated flair for scandalous topics and his new-generation attitude towards moral issues, for his next film E adapted the controversial webcomic Dasepo Girls , which revolved around a high school where the students are sex addicts, the teachers are perverts, and virtually nothing was forbidden. His 2006 film Dasepo Naughty Girls was a campy and playful musical comedy, with

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