Youn Yuh-jung Called Song Kang-ho Herself to Convince Him to Join 'BEEF' Season 2

When Song Kang-ho first said no to BEEF Season 2, it was Youn Yuh-jung who picked up the phone.

Director Lee Sung-jin revealed at a video press conference on April 7 that the Oscar-winning actress personally called Song, her future on-screen husband, and talked him into taking the role. "Song Kang-ho initially declined," Lee said, "but Youn Yuh-jung heard about it and called him directly to say he could do it." It worked. The result is something that has never happened before in Korean film history: the two biggest names in Korean cinema sharing the screen together for the first time.

For Lee, it was a moment he won't soon forget. "We filmed the scene where the two of them appear together for the first time at the Amorepacific Building in Yongsan, Seoul," he said. "I dare say it is the highlight of my career."

The occasion apparently drew some distinguished company. Director Bong Joon-ho showed up unannounced on set during that shoot, and couldn't resist poking fun at Lee. "He kept nudging me while I was watching the monitor, saying, 'You're really going to frame it like that? Are you sure?'" Lee recalled with a laugh.

BEEF Season 2 arrives on Netflix three years after Season 1 swept the American awards circuit, winning eight Emmys, three Golden Globes, and four Critics Choice Awards. While Season 1 starred Steven Yeun and featured a largely Korean-American cast, Season 2 shifts toward Korea itself, both in setting and in story.

Youn Yuh-jung and Song Kang-ho play a billionaire Korean couple who own an exclusive country club, the social epicenter of the new season. Riverdale star Charles Melton, whose mother is Korean, plays Austin Davis, a former college football player who works part-time at the club. Part of the season was filmed on location in Korea.

Lee said the shift was intentional. "If Season 1 was about Korean-Americans, I wanted Season 2 to explore the identity tug-of-war of someone with actual Korean roots who is mixed-race," he explained. He also credited a surprising source of inspiration: after the success of Season 1, he directed a music video for BTS's RM. "Getting to move in those circles, K-pop idols, chaebol, I found that world fascinating, and I wanted to capture that very Korean quality."

Unlike most serialized dramas, Season 2 tells a completely new story with an entirely different cast. Lee describes it as "a sibling story" that carries the spirit of Season 1 forward. "It depicts how people survive in a 2026 world where capitalism runs rampant and society crushes the middle class," he said.

For Melton, working on the project carried personal weight. "Filming in Korea and getting to explore Korean elements feels like coming home to me," he said. He was equally effusive about his co-stars: "Song Kang-ho commands incredible presence without even saying a word. Youn Yuh-jung radiates a dignity that's impossible to put into words. They are the greatest actors. My Korean family was so happy knowing I was working with Korean legends."

Melton also had high praise for Lee, calling him "something like the artistic son of Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho", a lineage that, given the company on set, seems less like hyperbole than it might otherwise.

Both Lee and Melton said they felt proud of how far Korean culture has traveled globally, and expressed hope that BEEF Season 2 can be part of that story. "I feel tremendous pride when I think about what this small peninsula has achieved culturally," Lee said. "I just hope BEEF Season 2 can carry that forward, and that Korean audiences feel proud of this work."