Meet The Legendary Actress, Youn Yuh-jung
Youn Yuh-Jung was born in South Korea, June 19, 1947. She is a reputable actress that has been around in film and television industry for nearly 50 years. Youn is best known for starring in Woman of Fire (화녀) (1971), The Housemaid (하녀)(2010), The Taste of Money (돈의 맛) (2012) and The Bacchus Lady (죽여주는 여자) (2016).
Want to more about her? Don’t close the tab and keep scrolling because this article will provide everything you need to know about Youn Yuh-jung!
Youn Yuh-jung’s Profile
Name: Yoon Yuh Jung (Yun Yeo Jeong) / 윤여정 (尹汝貞)
Profession: Actress
Birthdate: 1947-Jun-19 (age 71)
Birthplace: Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
Blood type: B
Star sign: Gemini
Family: Two sons
Youn Yuh-jung’s Career And Family
- She majored in Korean Language and Literature at Hanyang University.
- When she was still a freshman, she passed the open auditions held by TBC in 1966 and dropped out of college, to make her acting debut with the television drama Mister Gong in 1967.
- Youn rocketed to fame in 1971 with two memorable portrayals of femme fatale. Her first film, which is titled Woman of Fire became a critical and commercial hit, for which she won Best Actress at the Sitges Film Festival.
- Then she starred in MBC period drama series Jang Hui-bin where she played the titular infamous royal concubine.
- What makes the audience like Youn’s acting is because she was not afraid to play risque, provocative characters. This shown in The Insect Woman (충녀) (1972) and Be a Wicked Woman (천사여 악녀가 되라) (1990). 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 (새엄마) (1972).
- At the peak of her career, Youn retired after she married singer Jo Young-nam in 1975, then immigrated to the United States.
- In 1984, she returned to Korea and permanently resumed her acting career.
- However, their marriage did not last and they got divorced in 1987.
Take a look at the full list of her films and dramas here!
Youn Yuh-jung’s Filmography
| Year | English title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Woman of Fire | Myeong-ja | |
| 1972 | The Insect Woman | Myeong-ja | |
| 1973 | Love and Hatred | ||
| Tto Sun Yi, a College Girl | |||
| 1978 | The Day and Night of a Korean-American | ||
| 1985 | Mother | Mrs. Hong | |
| 1990 | Be a Wicked Woman | ||
| 1995 | An Experience to Die For | Choi Yeo-jung | |
| 2003 | A Good Lawyer’s Wife | Hong Byeong-han | |
| 2004 | Springtime | Hyun-woo’s mother | |
| 2005 | The President’s Last Bang | Yoon-hee’s mother/Epilogue narration | |
| 2006 | Maundy Thursday | Sister Monica | |
| 2007 | The Old Garden | Hyun-woo’s mother | |
| Hwang Jin-yi | Old woman | ||
| 2008 | A Tale of Legendary Libido | Old woman | |
| 2009 | Actresses | Herself | Also screenwriter |
| 2010 | Ha Ha Ha | Moon-kyeong’s mother | |
| The Housemaid | Byeong-sik | ||
| 2011 | Hindsight | Madame Kang | |
| List | Short film | ||
| 2012 | The Taste of Money | Baek Geum-ok | |
| In Another Country | Park Sook | ||
| 2013 | Behind the Camera | Herself | |
| Boomerang Family | Mom | ||
| 2014 | Hill of Freedom | Gu-ok | |
| 2015 | Salut d’Amour | Im Geum-nim | |
| Intimate Enemies | Yeo-jung | Cameo | |
| Right Now, Wrong Then | Kang Deok-soo | ||
| 2016 | Canola | Gye-choon | |
| The Bacchus Lady | So-young | ||
| 2018 | Keys to the Heart | In-sook | |
| 2019 | Beasts That Cling to the Straw |
Television series
| Year | Title | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Mister Gong | TBC | |
| 1970 | MBC | ||
| River of Love and Sorrow | MBC | ||
| Maria Park | MBC | ||
| 1971 | Jang Hui-bin | Hui-bin Jang | MBC |
| 1972 | Rainbow | President Han’s daughter | MBC |
| Daewongun | Empress Myeongseong | MBC | |
| Stepmother | Eun-hye | MBC | |
| 1976 | Girl’s High School Days | MBC | |
| 1984 | MBC Bestseller Theater “고깔” | MBC | |
| 1985 | Mom’s Room | MBC | |
| 1986 | First Love | MBC | |
| 1987 | Love and Ambition | Song Hye-joo | MBC |
| 1988 | Sand Castle | Kim Jin-ae | MBC |
| People from Wonmi-dong | MBC | ||
| 1989 | Fetters of Love | KBS2 | |
| MBC | |||
| Sleepless Tree | Dance school teacher | MBC | |
| 1990 | KBS2 | ||
| Betrayal of the Rose | Ok-sun | MBC | |
| 1991 | What Is Love | Han Shim-ae | MBC |
| Another Happiness | MBC | ||
| 1992 | Bun-rye’s Story | Bun-rye’s mother | SBS |
| Gwanchon Essay | SBS | ||
| Women’s Room | MBC | ||
| 1993 | How’s Your Husband? | Song Eun-nyeo | SBS |
| To Live | Pung-gae’s mother | SBS | |
| 1994 | Farewell | Lee Shin-ae | SBS |
| 1995 | Men of the Bath House | Noh Hye-young | KBS2 |
| Your Voice | Eon-nyeon-yi | SBS | |
| MBC Best Theater “Hospice Ajumma” | Jung-sook | MBC | |
| 1996 | Temptation | KBS2 | |
| Ganyiyeok | Gangneung restaurant owner | MBC | |
| Open Your Heart | Choi Soon-joo | MBC | |
| 1997 | The Reason I Live | Bar madam Son | MBC |
| Woman Next Door | SBS | ||
| MBC Best Theater – Bok-soon’s Boomerang | Actuary Bok-soon | MBC | |
| 1998 | Firstborn | Choi Sook-ja | MBC |
| Love Is All I Know | MBC | ||
| Hong Gil-dong | In-ok’s mother | SBS | |
| Lie | Yoon Young-hee | KBS2 | |
| Crush | KBS2 | ||
| 1999 | KAIST | Professor of Mechanical Engineering | SBS |
| Did We Really Love? | Choi Hye-ja | MBC | |
| Who Are You | Jung Shin-ae | SBS | |
| Hur Jun | Sung In-chul’s wife | MBC | |
| 2000 | Tough Guy’s Love | Kim Bok-nyeo | KBS2 |
| I Want to Keep Seeing You | Lee Ok-bun | SBS | |
| 2001 | Stock Flower | Ahn Jung-hee | KBS2 |
| Blue Mist | Mi-soon | KBS2 | |
| Hotelier | Yoon Bong-sook | MBC | |
| Soon-ja | Go Chang-daek | SBS | |
| MBC Best Theater “Walking With II” | Geum-nyeo | MBC | |
| This Is Love | Lee Jung-ja | KBS1 | |
| I Like Dong-seo | Choi Jong-sook | KBS2 | |
| 2002 | Ruler of Your Own World | Jung Yoo-soon | MBC |
| Affection | Ms. Uhm | SBS | |
| Who’s My Love? | In-ae | KBS2 | |
| 2003 | Dal-joong’s Cinderella | Pal-soon | KBS1 |
| Pearl Necklace | Yoon Hae-myung | KBS2 | |
| One Million Roses | Choi Geum-ja | MBC | |
| Rose Fence | Mrs. Heo | KBS2 | |
| On the Prairie | Kim Jeom-hee | KBS2 | |
| 2004 | Ireland | Shi-yeon’s mother | MBC |
| War of the Roses | Heo Young-shim | MBC | |
| Drama City– Our Ham | Grandma | KBS2 | |
| 2005 | Becoming a Popular Song | Oh Sook-young | KBS2 |
| Be Strong, Geum-soon! | Geum-soon’s grandmother | MBC | |
| A Farewell to Sorrow | Lee Young-shim | KBS2 | |
| Love and Sympathy | Hee-soo’s mother | SBS | |
| 2006 | Love Truly | Goo Hyang-sook | MBC |
| Pure in Heart | Yoon Myung-hye | KBS2 | |
| What’s Up Fox? | Jo Soon-nam | MBC | |
| 2007 | The Person I Love | Yoon Min-ja | SBS |
| The Golden Age of Daughters-in-Law | Seo Mi-soon | KBS2 | |
| 2008 | Chunja’s Happy Events | Yang Boon-hee | MBC |
| Worlds Within | Oh Min-sook | KBS2 | |
| 2009 | The Road Home | Nam Soon-jung | KBS1 |
| Heading to the Ground | Ae-ja | MBC | |
| 2010 | Golden Fish | Jo Yoon-hee | MBC |
| Home Sweet Home | Sung Eun-sook | MBC | |
| 2011 | Can You Hear My Heart? | Hwang Soon-geum | MBC |
| 2012 | My Husband Got a Family | Uhm Chung-ae | KBS2 |
| The King 2 Hearts | Bang Young-sun | MBC | |
| 2013 | The Queen’s Classroom | Yong Hyun-ja | MBC |
| 2014 | Wonderful Days | Jang So-shim | KBS2 |
| 2015 | The Producers | Herself (cameo, episodes 1-2) | KBS2 |
| 2015-2017 | Sense8 | Min-jung | Netflix |
| 2016 | Dear My Friends | Oh Choong-nam | tvN |
Have you watched her films or dramas? What is your favorite? Tell us what you think about it!
Youn Yuh-Jung, A Rising Variety Star
Aside from her countless appearance on film and TV series, Youn also starred in some variety shows. Take a look at the full list below!
| Year | Title | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Sisters Over Flowers | Cast member | tvN |
| 2017 | Youn’s Kitchen | ||
| 2018 | Youn’s Kitchen – Season 2 | ||
| All The Butlers | Fourth Master | SBS |
Have you seen these shows? Let us know which is your favorite on the comment section below!
