Korean descent takes center stage at U.S. Golden Globe Awards

Korean-American actor Steven Yeun won Best Male Actor in a Limited Series for the Netflix drama 'Beef' at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on Jan. 7, 2024./Yonhap News

A drama by a Korean director featuring Korean actors, which tapped into the universal sentiments of modern life through a Korean lens, made history at the U.S. Golden Globe Awards.

The Netflix drama ‘Angry People’ (originally titled ‘Beef’) was nominated for three awards at the 81st Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles on Jan. 7, including best actress and actor in a limited series for their performances, and swept all three categories. Beef is a serialized revenge drama about two men and a woman who become entangled in a road rage incident in a large supermarket parking lot. The 10-episode series was released on Netflix in April last year.

South Korean actor Steven Yeon, 41, known for his role in ‘Minari,’ and Chinese-Vietnamese actress Ali Wong, 42, both clinched top acting honors, marking a historic moment for Asian representation in the awards. The New York Times, along with other local media, heralded this achievement as a moment of “making Golden Globe history.”

Korean-American actor Steven Yeun, director Lee Sung-jin, and Chinese-Vietnamese actor Ali Wong (L-R) of the Netflix drama 'Beef' won Best Actor and Actress in a Limited Series at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 7, 2024./EPA, Yonhap News

In the original title, ‘Beef,’ the word signifies complaint or dissatisfaction. Steven Yeun stars Danny, a repairman driving a 20-year-old truck, and Ali Wong portrays Amy, a successful businesswoman in a Benz SUV. The two subvert the stereotype of Asian immigrants, often portrayed as meek and docile in movies and TV shows, by offering a three-dimensional view of the lives of Asian immigrants who are outwardly compliant but internally suppress their anger to uphold the image of a ‘good son’ or ‘good wife’. The story of two men and a woman who vent their frustrations on each other, spiraling toward destruction, has been lauded for touching upon the heightened feelings of isolation and anger experienced by many during the pandemic.

The drama features distinctly Korean references, such as seolleongtang, ramen, KakaoTalk, massage chairs, and LG products. Danny video-calls his parents via KakaoTalk, facing his mother’s ire when he hesitates to “meet a nice Korean girl at the Korean church.” The characters are seen enjoying ramen with egg, ordering seolleongtang, and drinking beer with the side dish, kkakdugi, cubed radish kimchi, showcasing their pride in their heritage with a home filled with LG appliances.

This is the brainchild of Korean-American director Lee Sung-jin, born in South Korea and moved to the U.S. at nine months old, but returned to South Korea for grades three through five of elementary school. He eventually came back to the U.S. and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics. Although his English name is Sonny, he officially uses his Korean name, Lee Sung-jin, in all credits. While he initially felt self-conscious about Americans struggling to pronounce his Korean name, this sentiment shifted positively following the Oscar win for the Korean film ‘Parasite’.

During an interview last August, he said, “When Americans say Bong Joon-ho’s name, they pronounce it correctly without making mistakes. I realize that if I made a good movie, Americans wouldn’t laugh at my Korean name,” adding, “The idea for the sequel to Beef is already ready but it’s up to Netflix to decide whether to produce it.”