Actor Youn Yuh-jung has earned 11 awards in the U.S. for her performance in the film "Minari."

By Lee Kyoung Mi and Yoon Sojung
Photos = Pan Cinema

Actor Youn Yuh-jung has won 11 critics awards in the U.S. for her role in "Minari," the story of a Korean family that immigrates to America in the 1980s.

The film's distribution company Pan Cinema on Jan. 12 said Youn won three trophies in one day for best supporting actress from the San Diego Film Critics Society, the Music City Film Critics Association and the DiscussingFilm Critic Awards.

This was in addition to the six awards from the following critics associations that she earned earlier that are considered to foreshadow an Oscar win: the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Boston Society of Film Critics, the North Carolina Film Critics, the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle, the Columbus Film Critics and the Greater Western New York Film Critics.

She also won for Best Supporting Actress from the Alliance of Women Film Journalists and the Sunset Film Circle.

Based on the real-life experiences of director Lee Isaac Chung, the movie sees Youn playing Soon-ja, a grandmother who joins her daughter's family in the U.S. from Korea.

The actor is considered a candidate for Best Supporting Actress in this year's Academy Awards.

Apart from Youn's acclaimed performance, "Minari" last year won the grand jury and audience awards from the Sundance Film Festival and Best Original Screenplay from the Capri Hollywood International Film Festival.

The movie will make its Korea premiere in this year's first half.

"Minari" is about a Korean family in the 1980s that immigrates to the U.S. and settles in Arkansas.