‘Beef’ Season 2 Cast Reflects on Hollywood’s Long-Awaited Embrace of Korean Culture

The second season of Netflix’s darkly comic anthology series Beef has already ignited heated debates about its twisted final moments, the symbolic infestation of ants, and scenes so grotesque they’ve left viewers reeling. Yet behind the buzz, a quieter but equally powerful conversation is unfolding: the series’ unabashed celebration of Korean identity.

Creator Lee Sung Jin has woven Korean language, customs, and aesthetics deeper into the show’s fabric than ever before. From references to the energy drink Bacchus and BTS to the finale shot at Amorepacific’s Seoul headquarters, the series functions as a love letter to a culture that mainstream Hollywood is only now beginning to embrace authentically.

The Korean Heart of ‘Beef’

The show’s “Koreanness” isn’t superficial. In Season 2, lengthy exchanges in Korean, nuanced depictions of K-beauty rituals, and a predominantly Korean-descended cast create a texture that feels lived-in rather than borrowed. Lee Sung Jin, a Korean American writer who broke into the industry in 2008 on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, says it took nearly two decades to feel comfortable injecting his heritage into his work.

“As a writer of color, you’re trying to copy and mimic, because the last thing you want to do is be yourself,” Lee told HuffPost. “Beef really was the first time that I was able to be 100% myself and put my Asian American experience into a show we were writing.”

That authenticity resonates deeply with the cast. Charles Melton, who plays half-Korean Austin, called shooting the Seoul finale “an incredible gift.” “My mother is Korean, and I spent part of my childhood there,” he said. “Returning as an actor telling this story was something else entirely.”

Cast Reflections: ‘It Felt Like Home’

For Matthew Kim — known to K-pop fans as BM of Kard — the show marks his acting debut. He recalled the opening scene at a country club where non-Korean characters greet in Korean: “To see Americans greet in Korean — this is something you would’ve never seen 10 years ago.” Kim described being on the Beef Season 2 red carpet as the moment he realized he could inspire future Asian American actors, just as Lucy Liu and Jet Li once inspired him.

Seoyeon Jang, a veteran of Korean dramas, never imagined working in the West until Beef. “For me, the only option was Korea, because it was like, ‘Oh, I’m Korean. Of course, I have to work in Korea,’” she said. Working alongside other Korean-descended actors felt like coming home, she added.

Legendary actors Youn Yuh-jung and Song Kang-ho also appear, further grounding the series in Korean cinematic prestige.

A Changing Hollywood Landscape

The rise of global K-culture — driven by BTS, Blackpink, Squid Game, and a wave of award-winning diaspora stories like Minari and Pachinko — has shifted Hollywood’s appetite. A 2024 USC study found that Asian speaking roles in top films jumped from 3.4% in 2007 to 18.4% in 2023. Meanwhile, beauty standards are evolving: K-beauty’s glass skin ideal is now coveted by non-Asian audiences.

“When I was growing up, the blond, blue-eyed person was the only kind of beauty standard,” said Nancy Wang Yuen, an ethnic studies professor. “Now people actually want to look like us.” Yet Yuen cautions that much of the on-screen increase came from imported films, and representation dipped to 13.5% in 2024. “Simu Liu posted that Hollywood still sees Asians as risks,” she noted.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Despite the progress, both Jang and Kim acknowledge the road ahead. Kim hopes the door opens wider for all Asian ethnicities. Jang carries a “low-key sense of responsibility” to pave the way for future generations, following the lead of Lee, Melton, and Youn Yuh-jung.

With Emmy winners like Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, and Oscar winners like Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan blazing trails, the momentum is undeniable. But as Yuen points out, “More opportunities than the past isn’t hard — we literally had zero before.” Still, Beef Season 2 proves that when creators are allowed to be fully themselves, the result is not just compelling television, but a cultural milestone that reminds an entire industry: representation isn’t risk. It’s rich storytelling waiting to be told.

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