Youn Yuh-jung has an Oscar. As of this summer, she also has an Emmy nomination — and the gap between the two is now a single September evening.
Why Was Youn Yuh-jung Nominated for an Emmy in 2026?
Youn Yuh-jung is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, for playing Chairwoman Park in season 2 of Netflix's Beef. The Television Academy announced the nominations on July 8, 2026 , and the category page lists her verbatim as "Youn Yuh-jung as Chairwoman Park in 'Beef'" . It is the first Emmy nomination of her career.
Quick Answer: Youn Yuh-jung, 79, earned her first-ever Emmy nomination on July 8, 2026 — Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie — for playing Chairwoman Park in Netflix's Beef season 2. She is one of 28 first-time performer nominees at the 78th Emmys, which air September 14.
The Television Academy's own performer database records exactly "1 Nomination" for Youn: category Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie, program Beef, role Chairwoman Park, network Netflix, status nominee . That places her among the 28 first-time nominees the Academy counted across all performing categories this year — a group that also includes her Beef co-stars Carey Mulligan and Charles Melton . The announcement itself was delivered by Emmy winners Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller alongside Television Academy chair Cris Abrego .
The role is the reason. In Beef season 2 — an anthology reset with an entirely new ensemble — Youn plays the billionaire owner who acquires and chairs the exclusive Montecito country club around which the season's class conflict turns. Creator, showrunner and writer Lee Sung Jin has described that spine plainly in the Television Academy's emmy magazine:
"It's impossible to write something true today without acknowledging income inequality and the growing class divide," — Lee Sung Jin, creator and showrunner of Beef (source: Television Academy, emmy magazine).
Lee also flagged the casting itself as the season's draw, calling Youn Yuh-jung and Song Kang-ho "Korean legends, and this is the first time they've ever acted together, which is exciting" . Song plays Doctor Kim, Chairwoman Park's second husband, in an eight-episode A24-produced season that also stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton . Abrego framed the wider 2026 field as spanning work "from intimate character-driven comedies and satires to fantasy, thrillers, and costume dramas" — and a Korean actor's late-career turn as a country-club magnate sits squarely inside that range.
Chairwoman Park or Chairman Park? Getting Youn's Beef Role Right
The Television Academy's official nominee record lists Youn Yuh-jung's role as "Chairwoman Park" — not "Chairman Park." The 2026 category page for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie renders her entry verbatim as "Youn Yuh-jung as Chairwoman Park in 'Beef'" , and her Television Academy performer bio repeats the same role name in the Emmy database entry for the nomination . For awards coverage, ballot listings and any citation that needs to match the official record, "Chairwoman Park" is the form to use.
The confusion is understandable. A large share of Korean and English press coverage wrote the role as "Chairman Park," a direct carryover of the Korean honorific 박 회장, which is not gendered in the same way. Korea JoongAng Daily's nomination write-up is among the outlets that used the "Chairman Park" rendering . Neither is wrong as a translation of what characters call her on screen; only one matches the Academy's database.
A second, smaller naming split runs through coverage of her co-star. Song Kang-ho, the Parasite lead, plays Chairwoman Park's second husband and private doctor, described in the Television Academy's own emmy magazine feature on the season as Doctor Kim . Parts of the Korean English-language press rendered the character as "Dr. Park" instead — presumably attaching him to his wife's surname. Where the two conflict, the Academy-adjacent first-party feature is the stronger source.
Why the pairing drew so much Korean attention has less to do with naming than with casting history. Creator, showrunner and writer Lee Sung Jin has said of the two leads that they are "Korean legends, and this is the first time they've ever acted together, which is exciting" . Korean reports also credited Youn with personally helping to persuade Song to take the part, and the older-wife/younger-husband dynamic between a billionaire club owner and her live-in physician became one of the season's most discussed threads in domestic coverage . That relationship is also the engine of her Emmy-nominated scenes, which makes getting the character's name right more than a copy-desk detail.
How Beef Season 2's 16 Nominations Stack Up Against 2026's Field
Beef season 2 finished the 78th Emmy nominations round as one of the most-nominated programs of the year, with 16 nominations as widely reported — though the Television Academy's own show page for Beef tallies 18 for 2026 . Either figure places the anthology in the upper tier of a field led by HBO Max's The Pitt, whose second season drew 25 nominations, and the fifth and final season of Hacks, which took 24 .
The Hacks figure carries its own footnote: the Academy notes the season "set a record for the most comedy nominations in a single year; the previous high was 23, held by The Studio in 2025 and The Bear in 2024" . Below those two, Widow's Bay drew 19 and Pluribus 18, with Beef's 16 and DTF St. Louis' 13 rounding out the leaders.
| Program | 2026 nominations | Note |
|---|---|---|
| The Pitt (season 2) | 25 | Led all programs |
| Hacks (season 5) | 24 | Comedy single-year record (prev. 23) |
| Widow's Bay | 19 | — |
| Pluribus | 18 | — |
| Beef (season 2) | 16 reported / 18 per Academy show page | Youn Yuh-jung's category included |
| DTF St. Louis | 13 | Two supporting-actress nominees |
The discrepancy is worth naming rather than smoothing over. Korean and English outlets alike ran with 16, while the Academy's enumerated list on its Beef page runs longer — the safest phrasing for anyone citing the number is "16 as widely reported; the Television Academy's own tally shows 18" .
Youn's supporting-actress nod sits inside a broad slate. Beyond her category, Beef season 2 is nominated for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series — with creator Lee Sung Jin, Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Cailee Spaeny, Charles Melton and Jake Schreier among the credited executive producers — plus two directing nominations (Jake Schreier for "It Will Stay This Way And You Will Obey" and Lee Sung Jin for "Oh, The Comfort, The Inexpressible Comfort") and a writing nomination for Lee Sung Jin ("All The Things We're Never Going To Have") .
The acting field around her is unusually deep for a single season: Oscar Isaac for lead actor as Josh, Carey Mulligan for lead actress as Lindsay, and Charles Melton for supporting actor as Austin . The craft categories fill out the rest — casting (Jeanie Bacharach), picture editing (Laura Zempel and Lauren Connelly), cinematography (James Laxton), and the sound mixing, sound editing and contemporary costumes teams . Three of those performers — Youn, Mulligan and Melton — are among the 28 first-time nominees across all performing categories this year .
Who Youn Yuh-jung Is Up Against for Supporting Actress
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie is a six-nominee field at the 78th Emmy Awards, and Youn Yuh-jung is one of six names on it . The Television Academy lists the category verbatim as Linda Cardellini as Carol Love-Smernitch in DTF St. Louis, Dakota Fanning as Jenny Kaminski in All Her Fault, Laurie Metcalf as Augusta Gein in Monster: The Ed Gein Story, Joy Sunday as Detective Jodie Plumb in DTF St. Louis, Youn Yuh-jung as Chairwoman Park in Beef, and Constance Zimmer as Ann Marie Messina in Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette .
- Linda Cardellini — Carol Love-Smernitch, DTF St. Louis
- Dakota Fanning — Jenny Kaminski, All Her Fault
- Laurie Metcalf — Augusta Gein, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
- Joy Sunday — Detective Jodie Plumb, DTF St. Louis
- Youn Yuh-jung — Chairwoman Park, Beef (Netflix)
- Constance Zimmer — Ann Marie Messina, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette
Two of the six come from the same title. Cardellini and Sunday are both nominated out of DTF St. Louis, which means a single series holds a third of the category . That kind of double-placement matters in a preferential-ballot race, because voters who favor one show can end up splitting their support between two performances from it — a dynamic that can work either for or against the remaining four nominees.
Youn's position in the field is distinct for a different reason. Of the six, she is the one carrying a first-time Emmy nomination: the Television Academy's own bio page records exactly "1 Nomination" against her name, with the category, program Beef, role Chairwoman Park, network Netflix and status nominee . She sits inside the group of 28 first-time nominees the Academy counted across all performing categories this year, alongside her Beef castmates Carey Mulligan and Charles Melton .
One practical note for anyone tracking the result: as of the Television Academy nominees page, no winner is indicated in this category — the award had not yet been presented . The Academy's master nominees-and-winners index is the place the outcome will surface first .
Where and When to Watch: Beef Season 2 and the Emmy Ceremony
Beef season 2 is streaming on Netflix, and the Emmy result arrives on two dates: the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 5 and 6, 2026, and the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards live on NBC on September 14, 2026 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT from the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE, hosted by Mariska Hargitay . Both figures come from the Television Academy's own newsroom post announcing the nominations Television Academy, 2026-07.
The season itself is an eight-episode anthology run produced by A24, with Lee Sung Jin credited as creator, showrunner and writer, and Jake Schreier and Lee Sung Jin both nominated in directing this year . Lee described the casting of Youn Yuh-jung opposite Song Kang-ho as a first — "Korean legends, and this is the first time they've ever acted together, which is exciting" — in the Academy's own emmy magazine interview . All eight episodes dropped at once on Netflix on April 16, 2026, per widely reported coverage; that release date is not confirmed on a first-party Netflix page, so treat it as secondary .
Here is the practical calendar for anyone tracking Youn's category:
- July 8, 2026 — nominations announced by Liza Colón-Zayas, Jeff Hiller and Television Academy chair Cris Abrego .
- September 5–6, 2026 — Creative Arts Emmy Awards, covering the craft categories in Beef's tally such as casting, picture editing, cinematography, sound and costumes .
- September 14, 2026, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT — 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, live on NBC from the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE .
One caveat worth stating plainly: some secondary coverage has reported that Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie was shifted off the main telecast to the September 6 Creative Arts ceremony. That placement does not appear on any readable first-party Television Academy page, so it should not be assumed. Viewers who want certainty should check the category page and the Academy's nominees-and-winners index close to the date, since that is where the result posts first .
For international fans planning around the broadcast, 8 p.m. ET on Monday, September 14 falls on the morning of Tuesday, September 15 in Seoul and Tokyo, so Korean-time viewers should plan for a weekday-morning stream rather than a prime-time watch party. Youn's own Academy performer page, which currently records a single Emmy nomination, is the cleanest first-party place to confirm whether that line changes to a win .
What's at Stake: Youn's Oscar-to-Emmy Bid
A win in the supporting actress category would give Youn Yuh-jung both of the two highest acting honors in American film and television. She already holds the film half: Youn won Best Supporting Actress for Minari at the 93rd Academy Awards in April 2021, the first acting Oscar ever won by a Korean performer . Her Television Academy performer page currently logs exactly one Emmy nomination, filed under Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Beef . If that line changes to a win, she becomes a Korean performer holding both a competitive Oscar and a Primetime Emmy for acting.
The Korean precedent here is short. Lee Jung-jae took Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2022 for Squid Game, the first Primetime Emmy acting win by a Korean actor, and Youn's own Oscar came a year earlier. No Korean performer has yet paired the two. That framing, rather than any category-specific momentum, is what most Korean coverage of the July 8, 2026 nominations announcement led with .
The show she's attached to has a track record that cuts both ways. Beef season 1 won eight Emmys at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Lead Actor for Steven Yeun, Lead Actress for Ali Wong, plus writing, directing, picture editing and contemporary costumes . That sweep establishes the anthology as a voter favorite. It also means season 2 arrives with expectations already set, and Youn is one of five Beef performers competing in a year where The Pitt season 2 led the field with 25 nominations .
Worth keeping in proportion: Youn is one of 28 first-time nominees across the performing categories this year, alongside her Beef castmates Carey Mulligan and Charles Melton . A nomination at 79, in her first Emmy-eligible television role of this scale, is the concrete outcome so far. The rest is decided at the Peacock Theater on September 14 .
For fans tracking this: the single fact to check on ceremony night is whether the Academy's supporting actress page marks a winner beside "Youn Yuh-jung as Chairwoman Park in 'Beef'" . That one line settles the Oscar-and-Emmy question.
Frequently asked questions
Has Youn Yuh-jung won an Emmy before?
No. The nomination for Beef season 2 is her first Emmy recognition of any kind — the Television Academy's performer database records exactly one nomination and no wins under her name . She does already hold an acting Oscar: Best Supporting Actress for Minari in 2021, the first won by a Korean performer . A win on September 14 would be her first television award from the Academy.
When are the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards?
The Television Academy has the 78th Emmys scheduled for live broadcast on NBC from the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE on September 14, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, hosted by Mariska Hargitay . The Creative Arts Emmy Awards run separately on September 5 and 6 . Some secondary coverage has placed the supporting actress category at the September 6 Creative Arts ceremony rather than the main telecast; that placement is not stated on any first-party Academy page, so treat it as unconfirmed.
Is Youn Yuh-jung's Beef character named 'Chairwoman Park' or 'Chairman Park'?
The Television Academy's official records use Chairwoman Park. Both the 2026 nominees page and Youn's performer bio list the role verbatim as "Youn Yuh-jung as Chairwoman Park in 'Beef'" . A portion of Korean and English press coverage rendered it as "Chairman Park," reflecting the Korean 박 회장, which carries no gender marker . For awards-tracking purposes, the Academy's spelling is the one that appears on the ballot.
Who else from Beef Season 2 is nominated at the 2026 Emmys?
Alongside Youn, the season drew nods for Oscar Isaac (lead actor, as Josh), Carey Mulligan (lead actress, as Lindsay) and Charles Melton (supporting actor, as Austin), plus Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, directing for Jake Schreier and Lee Sung Jin, and writing for Lee Sung Jin . Craft categories include casting, picture editing, cinematography, sound mixing, sound editing and contemporary costumes. Press coverage reported 16 nominations; the Television Academy's own show page enumerates 18 .
Who is Youn Yuh-jung competing against for Supporting Actress?
The Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie field has six nominees: Linda Cardellini (Carol Love-Smernitch, DTF St. Louis), Dakota Fanning (Jenny Kaminski, All Her Fault), Laurie Metcalf (Augusta Gein, Monster: The Ed Gein Story), Joy Sunday (Detective Jodie Plumb, DTF St. Louis), Youn Yuh-jung (Chairwoman Park, Beef) and Constance Zimmer (Ann Marie Messina, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette) . No winner was marked on the Academy's category page as of retrieval.
Is Youn Yuh-jung a first-time Emmy nominee?
Yes. The Television Academy counted 28 first-time nominees across all performing categories at the 78th Emmys, a group that includes Youn Yuh-jung, Carey Mulligan and Charles Melton — all three from Beef season 2 . Nominations were announced on July 8, 2026, by Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller with Academy chair Cris Abrego . Youn was 79 at the time of the announcement.
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This article was written using information collected and analyzed by NAMANE's in-house K-pop research AI engine. We use AI technology to bring you faster, broader coverage, and in the process some details may occasionally differ from the latest facts. For important information such as dates, venues, and prices, please double-check with official sources.
