'Minari' star Yuh-Jung Youn thanks 'snobbish' British people during BAFTA acceptance speech

• Yuh-Jung Youn picked up best supporting actress at the BAFTAs.
• She thanked "snobbish" British people during her acceptance speech.
• Later she said the remark came from personal experience.

"Minari" star Yuh-Jung Youn picked up the best supporting actress gong at the BAFTAs Sunday, and during her speech, she said the win was personally significant to her because British people are typically "snobbish."

The 73-year-old South Korean actor beat out Maria Bakalova ("Borat Subsequent Moviefilm"), Dominique Fishback ("Judas and the Black Messiah"), Niamh Algar ("Calm With Horses"), Kosar Ali ("Rocks"), and Ashley Madekwe ("County Lines") to win the award.

Appearing virtually, Youn began her acceptance speech by introducing herself. She said: "I'm Korean actress Yuh-Jung Youn" and then paid tribute to Prince Phillip who died Friday, aged 99, before thanking BAFTA voters for the award.

She said: "Thank you so much for this award. Every award is meaningful, but this one, especially being recognized by British people, known as very snobbish people, and they approve of me as a good actor, so I'm very, very privileged and happy. Thank you so much."

After the awards ceremony, Youn was asked about her acceptance speech at the virtual BAFTA press conference where she said the snobbish remark came from personal experience.

She said: "Yes it comes from personal experience. I've visited Britain a lot of times and I had a fellowship in a Cambridge college ten years ago as an actor. Somehow it felt very snobbish, but not in a bad way. You have a long history and then you have your pride. As an Asian woman, I felt these people are very snobbish, that's my honest feeling."

Youn is a veteran of the South Korean film industry but she has found huge international acclaim with her performance as an eccentric grandmother in Lee Isaac Chung's "Minari." The film follows a young Asian-American family who settles in the American Mid-West.

Last month, Youn was honored at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and she is also nominated for an Academy Award. When asked about her chances at the Oscars, Yuh-Jung Youn said: "I don't know anything about Oscars or BAFTAs."

"In Korea, I've been in this business for such a long time. I'm very famous domestic-wise, not internationally. I don't know what's going on now, I don't know what's happening to me. So don't ask me!"