The U.S. magazine Variety included actors Youn Yuh-jung (left) and Jung Ho-yeon on its list of influential women in the global entertainment industry. (Yonhap News)

By Lee Jihae

Actors Youn Yuh-jung and Jung Ho-yeon have been named influential women in global entertainment by a major U.S. entertainment weekly.

Variety on March 2 released its list of "women that have made an impact in global entertainment" that included actors Youn of the indie film "Minari" and Jung of the hit K-drama "Squid Game."

The list's 80 members this year included six Koreans: Youn, Jung, Kim Joo-ryoung of "Squid Game"; Kim Ji-yeon, CEO of Siren Pictures, which produced "Squid Game"; Min Hee-jin, the head of K-pop management agency Hybe's newest indie label Ador; and Kim Min-young, Netflix vice president of content for Asia Pacific excluding India.

"Youn Yuh-jung has been turning in outstanding performances for over four decades, but it took until 2021 for the U.S. to notice," Variety said, referring to the year when "Minari" was released.

Soon-ja, her character in the film, "proved irresistible to audiences," the magazine added.

Variety mentioned how Youn last year won the Oscar and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards for her performance, adding, "The film ("Minari") has proved to be something of a new start for the actor."

Calling Jung, Kim Joo-ryoung and Kim Ji-yeon the "women of Squid Game," the magazine said, "It's hard to overstate the gargantuan success of 'Squid Game' and its actors."

Variety said the model-turned-actor Jung gained 23 million Instagram followers in just a few months, and on Feb. 27 won the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series.

The list was announced to mark International Women's Day on March 8. Last year, the K-pop girl group BLACKPINK and Kim Eun-hee, screenwriter of the hit Netflix zombie series "Kingdom," made the cut. 

jihlee08@korea.kr