Steven Yeun on Jan. 7 poses for photos after winning the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Limited Series for his performance in the Netflix drama "Beef" at the Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Hyelin

Korean American actor Steven Yeun has won the Golden Globe for best actor for his performance in the Netflix drama "Beef," the first person of Korean descent to do so. 

He received the honor for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Miniseries or Television Film on Jan. 7 at the Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

Yeun beat out for the prize Matt Bomer of "Fellow Travelers," Sam Claflin of "Daisy Jones & The Six," Jon Hamm of "Fargo," Woody Harrelson of "White House Plumbers" and David Oyelowo of "Lawmen: Bass Reeves."

"Beef" also won all three categories it was nominated for including Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film. Its female lead Ali Wong earned Best Performance by an Actress, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television.

The 10-part drama, which debuted in April last year, ranked among Netflix's 10 most-watched series for five straight weeks.

Korean American Lee Sung Jin wrote, produced and directed "Beef," which also featured many actors of Korean origin.

Yeun is most famous for appearing in the hit post-apocalyptic TV series "The Walking Dead" from 2010-17. He has also acted in films by Korean directors including "Okja" by Bong Joon-ho (2017) and "Burning" (2018) by Lee Chang-dong. 

In 2021, Yeun was also nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his role in "Minari" directed by another director of Korean descent, Lee Isaac Chung.

kimhyelin211@korea.kr