How Youn Yuh-jung’s Oscars acceptance speech stole the show: the first Korean to win an Academy Award, for Minari, won over the world with her grace and honesty

Youn Yuh-jung just made history. The Oscars 2021 were a crowning moment in the talented septuagenarian’s life, where she became the first Korean actor to win an Academy Award. And as well as striking a pleasant contrast with the event’s typical glitz and glamour, there’s the matter of her headline-making Oscar acceptance speech. Gender doesn’t matter. I don’t know how to divide like this: man, woman, black and white, yellow, brown, or gay or straight. I don’t want that kind of thing. We are just equal human beings. We have the same warm heart Youn Yuh-jung, accepting the Academy Award for best supporting actress The 73-year-old actress starred alongside Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri and Will Patton in Minari, a drama directed by Lee Isaac Chung and focused on a Korean-American family searching for their own American dream in the Ozarks in Arkansas. One of a historic six Asian talents to be nominated at this year’s Oscars, Youn’s nuanced portrayal of the grandma Soonja won her best supporting actress at the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday (April 25). And she accepted the honour with grace and gravity: Youn kicked off her Oscars speech by teasing Minari’s executive producer Brad Pitt, who was apparently not present for Minari’s film production. “Mr Brad Pitt, finally. Nice to meet you. Where were you while we were filming in Tulsa?” she quipped. “It’s [an] honour to meet you.” 7 things we learned about Angelina Jolie in 2021 The petite actress was star-struck when she actually met Pitt in person. “I saw him on the stage, and then he called my name, and I could tell he practised a lot – he didn’t mispronounce my name,” she said later during press interviews. “Then at that moment, when I got there, I just lost … what I [was] supposed to say.” Good-humoured Pitt returned to present Youn’s trophy a year after finally claiming his own first statuette in 2020, winning best supporting actor for his role in Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood after four earlier acting nominations failed to yield a prize. Who was best – and worst – dressed at the 2021 Oscars? Strangely enough, another journalist in the press room asked Youn what Pitt smelled like. “I didn’t smell him, I’m not [a] dog!” she replied. “I’ve been watching him [since] his first movie. He was young; he was a movie star for me. So I couldn’t believe that he was speaking to me when he announced my name. Maybe I just blacked out a couple of minutes, a couple of seconds or so!” The charismatic Youn appeared completely shocked by her win, asking journalists to limit their attention on her. “I kept asking my friends, ‘Am I saying [this] right? Do they understand what I’m trying to say?’ I’m still not myself. So don’t ask me too many questions, please!” she pleaded. Youn also acknowledged the four other actresses who were nominated in her category: Glenn Close, Amanda Seyfried, Olivia Colman and Maria Bakalova. “I don’t believe in competition. How can I win over Glenn Close?” she asked. “I’ve been watching so many of her performances. Five nominees – we are the winner for each different movie. We played different roles, so we cannot compete each other. Tonight I have just a little bit of luck, I think. Maybe I’m luckier than you. And also, maybe, [this] is American hospitality for the Korean actor.” 10 inspiring quotes from Alber Elbaz, the fashion visionary who died from Covid-19 Whether it’s American hospitality or not, Youn is thrilled to see relatable Asian stories on screen, and emphasises the importance of inclusion and diversity, be it with regards to race or gender. “I’m sure it’s about time. Just hearing different stories, I think it’s very nice to understand each other. And we should embrace each other. People are categorised like black, white, yellow, brown … that is not a nice way to just divide like that, you know? I think we should put our colours together, make it prettier, even rainbows have seven colours. Colours don’t matter,” she stressed. Lying, bullying, controlling? The 4 big Seo Ye-ji scandals explained She also applied the same philosophy to gender and sexuality. “Gender doesn’t matter,” she said. “I don’t know how to divide like this: man, woman, black and white, yellow, brown, or gay or straight. I don’t want that kind of thing. We are just equal human beings. We have the same warm heart … It’s an opportunity for us to share in the story together.” Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.