REUTERS

South Korean film icon Youn Yuh-jung won the best supporting actress Oscar on Sunday for her role as a spirited and unconventional grandmother in "Minari."

Youn, 73, is the first South Korean actor to win an Oscar and the first actor from that nation ever to clinch an Academy Award nomination.

She was the front-runner for an Oscar after picking up dozens of trophies this year for her role in "Minari," a tender story about a Korean immigrant family that starts a farm in Arkansas.

In the film, which is based partly on the life story of director Lee Isaac Chung, Youn's character travels from South Korea to help care for her two grandchildren.

Youn has been a sensation on Korean screens for decades, most often playing witty, thought-provoking characters.

Youn's fellow supporting actress nominees included Maria Bakalova for "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm," Glenn Close for "Hillbilly Elegy," Olivia Colman for "The Father," and Amanda Seyfried for "Mank."

(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Andrea Ricci)