Youn Yuh-jung (born June , ) is a South Korean actress. In a film and
television career spanning nearly years, Youn is best known for
starring in Woman of Fire (), The Housemaid (), The Taste of Money ()
and The Bacchus Lady ().Youn Yuh-jung was a freshman at Hanyang
University majoring in Korean Language and Literature, when she passed
the open auditions held by TBC in . She dropped out of college, and
made her acting debut in the television drama Mister Gong in . Youn
shot to stardom in 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 period drama series Jang
Hui-bin where she played the titular infamous royal concubine. Kim was
considered Korea's first style-conscious, experimental director, and
Youn didn't balk in playing risque, provocative characters that
explore the grotesque in the female psyche in further collaborations
with him such as The Insect Woman () and Be a Wicked Woman ().
Audiences found Youn's fast way of speaking and atypical appearance
refreshing and she frequently took roles in TV dramas depicting a
modern woman of the new generation, notably in Stepmother () written
by Kim Soo-hyun.At the peak of her career, Youn retired after she
married singer Jo Young-nam in , then immigrated to the United States.
In , she returned to Korea and permanently resumed her acting career.
She and Jo divorced in .Making such a stellar comeback after taking a
long break was an unusual feat for a Korean middle-aged actress.
Though 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 (),
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 (). Youn continued playing
supporting roles in film and television, notably her award-winning
scene-stealing turn in The Housemaid (). She reunited with director Im
Sang-soo for the fourth time in The Taste of Money (), 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."
television career spanning nearly years, Youn is best known for
starring in Woman of Fire (), The Housemaid (), The Taste of Money ()
and The Bacchus Lady ().Youn Yuh-jung was a freshman at Hanyang
University majoring in Korean Language and Literature, when she passed
the open auditions held by TBC in . She dropped out of college, and
made her acting debut in the television drama Mister Gong in . Youn
shot to stardom in 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 period drama series Jang
Hui-bin where she played the titular infamous royal concubine. Kim was
considered Korea's first style-conscious, experimental director, and
Youn didn't balk in playing risque, provocative characters that
explore the grotesque in the female psyche in further collaborations
with him such as The Insect Woman () and Be a Wicked Woman ().
Audiences found Youn's fast way of speaking and atypical appearance
refreshing and she frequently took roles in TV dramas depicting a
modern woman of the new generation, notably in Stepmother () written
by Kim Soo-hyun.At the peak of her career, Youn retired after she
married singer Jo Young-nam in , then immigrated to the United States.
In , she returned to Korea and permanently resumed her acting career.
She and Jo divorced in .Making such a stellar comeback after taking a
long break was an unusual feat for a Korean middle-aged actress.
Though 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 (),
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 (). Youn continued playing
supporting roles in film and television, notably her award-winning
scene-stealing turn in The Housemaid (). She reunited with director Im
Sang-soo for the fourth time in The Taste of Money (), 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."
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