'Beef' Season 2 deepens Korean narrative, casts A-listers Youn Yuh-jung, Song Kang-ho

▲ Lee Sung-jin, creator and showrunner of "Beef," is seen in this undated photo provided by Netflix. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This still from "Beef" Season 2, provided by Netflix, features Chairwoman Park (Youn Yuh-jung) (R), the billionaire chairwoman of a country club, and Dr. Kim (Song Kang-ho), her private doctor and second husband. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ Charles Melton (C), who plays Austin, the young man in the couple at the center of the story, is seen in this still from "Beef" Season 2, provided by Netflix. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ A still from "Beef" Season 2, provided by Netflix (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This still from "Beef" Season 2, provided by Netflix, features Dr. Kim (Song Kang-ho), Chairwoman Park's private doctor and second husband. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Netflix series-press conference

'Beef' Season 2 deepens Korean narrative, casts A-listers Youn Yuh-jung, Song Kang-ho

By Woo Jae-yeon

SEOUL, April 7 (Yonhap) -- Netflix's "Beef" is returning for a second season, this time delving deeper into the Korean American experience with a stronger Korean storyline, its creator said.

"I knew Korea would be a big part of the season long before I wrote a single word," Lee Sung-jin, the Emmy-winning anthology series' creator and showrunner, said at an online press conference on Tuesday.

"I am excited for people to see the Korean side of the show. This season we covered so much of the Korean American experience," he said.

The second installment follows a young couple who witnesses a fight between their boss and his wife, setting off a chain of favors and coercion within the elitist world of a country club and its Korean billionaire owner.

Lee shared his experience of working with Korean stars, including BTS' front man RM, and associating with "an upper echelon world I've never seen before," such as chaebol tycoons, following the success of the first season. This experience, he said, led him to set the new season against a larger Korean backdrop.

"Once I had that in my head, I thought, shoot for the moon -- go for the two greatest actors alive: Youn Yuh-jung and Song Kang-ho." Youn plays Chairwoman Park, the billionaire chairwoman of a country club, and Song portrays Dr. Kim, her private doctor and second husband.

He recounted Song's initial hesitation. The actor "respectfully declined" the casting offer, saying he "wasn't sure the part fit him and didn't know how to play it." Then Youn stepped in, calling Song directly, saying, "You're Song Kang-ho. You're the greatest actor alive. You know how to play any character. You'll figure it out. You have to do this show."

The director called the scene featuring Youn and Song together "the highlight of my career," noting it was "the first scene those two have ever done together in Korean film history."

"In the middle of the shoot, Bong Joon-ho showed up on set as a surprise, came up to the monitor, elbowed me and joked, 'Are you sure you want to frame it like that?'" Lee said. "That was the best moment of my career. I will remember it forever."

Charles Melton, who plays Austin, the young man in the couple at the center of the story, described his character an earnest man, "navigating the disintegration of his honeymoon phase, what it means to be Korean American when he's in proximity to Koreans, and a conviction and identity he slowly realizes is a mask." Austin's identity, according to the director, is caught in a tug-of-war, pulled by the upper echelon of Korean society and the chaebol world.

Born to a Korean immigrant mother and having lived in Korean for six years as a child, Melton said he and Lee had in-depth conversations about the Korean American experience.

He complimented the director for "bridging Korean cinema to the West, and not just talking about identity, but the construct of humanity within the structures of capitalism."

The first season, released in April 2023, starring Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, won eight awards at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, and three, including best limited or anthology series, at the 81st Golden Globe Awards.

The second installment is "the natural, spiritual sibling to Season 1," Lee said, adding the new one will "take big swings and risks while retaining what is special about the show" and it will "be a bridge between West and East."

"Beef" Season 2 is set to premiere on April 16.

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