‘Congratulations Youn Yuh-jung’ heard all around

With Youn Yuh-jung making history by becoming the first Korean to win an Academy Award for acting, social media was flooded with posts congratulating the feat by the 73-year-old veteran actor.

Actors Lee Seo-jin, Choi Woo-sik, Park Seo-joon and Jung Yu-mi who appeared with her on recent tvN entertainment show “Youn’s Stay” all congratulated the veteran actor.

“As I’ve said many times, I thought Youn would win this award and despite her saying that I was counting my chickens before they were hatched, I congratulated her in person the last time we met,” said Lee on Monday. “After she returns in good health, I will wait for us to get drunk over the white wine that she enjoys and the beer that she models for.”

“Congratulations to Youn Yuh-jung for winning the Oscars. I am especially happy and proud that you are the first Korean actor to win. I hope you always remain healthy and appear in many more works,” said Jung through her agency.

Actor Lee Seung-gi, who appeared in tvN’s “Noona Over Flowers” with Youn also said, “I thought of the Academy as an awards ceremony for foreign actors, but seeing a Korean actor, none other than Youn Yuh-jung who I am close to, receive the award on stage made me happy.”

As numerous Korean actors including Kim Hye-soo, Jeon Do-yeon and Lee Byung-hun expressed their joy at Youn’s achievement, President Moon Jae-in also congratulated Youn.

“I show my respect for the acting career of Youn Yuh-jung, who was able to touch the hearts of those in different cultures through her constant enthusiasm,” said Moon through a Facebook post on Monday.

The Asian American community also relished Youn’s accomplishment.

Korean Canadian actor Sandra Oh tweeted “Congratulations Youn Yuh-Jung!! Best Supporting Actress!! @MinariMovie” while Korean American actor Daniel Dae Kim tweeted, “Another exceptional performance recognized in a night of firsts for Asian women. Congratulations, Yuh Jung Youn!”

Meanwhile, Korea’s celebratory mood was a stark contrast to China where director Chloe Zhao winning the best director award was censored for her 2013 comment that China was a place “where there are lies everywhere.”

By Lim Jang-won (ljw@heraldcorp.com)