The release of “Beef” Season 2 sparked a flurry of online discussion, from explainers on its gripping finale to interpretations of what the ants really mean to visceral reactions to the show’s arguably two most shockingly revolting scenes.But what hasn’t been talked about enough is the sheer “Koreanness” of the popular Netflix series. Aside from being a twisted thriller that exposes humanity’s darkest tendencies and the ills of late-stage capitalism, the show also serves as a love letter to Korea and Korean culture, told with an appreciation, authenticity and nuance that could only come from a creator drawing deeply from their own heritage. While Lee Sung Jin — the series’ Korean American creator, showrunner, writer and executive producer — had already given us a glimpse of this in Season 1, he leans even more heavily into his Korean roots in the second season.There are, for instance, scenes with extensive Korean-language dialogue and myriad references to K-beauty and K-culture throughout the series (e.g., the Korean energy drink Bacchus, K-pop powerhouse BTS, various Korean skincare treatments). Actors of Korean descent also make up a significant proportion of the cast, with Charles Melton, Matthew Kim and Seoyeon Jang appearing alongside legendary Korean actors Youn Yuh-jung and Song Kang-ho. The season finale takes place in Seoul, where some of the scenes are filmed at the majestic headquarters of Amorepacific, South Korea’s largest cosmetics company.What Filming A Show Like ‘Beef’ Meant To Its Cast Members Of Korean DescentCharles Melton as Austin Davis in the first episode of Season 2 of "Beef."NetflixMelton, who stars as the half-Korean character Austin and is himself half-Korean, called it an “incredible gift” to be able to shoot the final episode in Seoul.“My mother is Korean, and I spent part of my childhood there,” he shared via email. “Seoul has always been part of me, but returning as an actor telling this story was something else entirely.”Despite the global rise of Korean popular culture, it’s still rare for a Hollywood series to feature so many Korean cultural elements and such prominent Korean representation both behind and in front of the camera. For Kim, who plays beefy tennis instructor Woosh, the show felt different from the outset. “It started with Episode 1, where everyone is waiting at the country club for Chairwoman Park to arrive,” Kim told HuffPost over Zoom. “They say, ’Annyeonghaseyo!’ To see Americans greet in Korean — this is something you would’ve never seen 10 years ago.”He added, “It’s a huge honor to be on a show where Korean culture and Korean people are respected.”That sentiment was echoed by other cast members of Korean descent. “Being part of a story that connects to my Korean heritage made me realize how much I had been waiting for a project like this,” Melton said. Jang, who plays Chairwoman Park’s personal assistant and interpreter Eunice, revealed that working alongside other actors of Korean descent “felt like home.” “I think there was an unspoken connection because of our heritage,” she said over Zoom.How ‘Beef’ Opened Up New Possibilities For Its Creator And CastSong Kang-ho as Dr. Kim, Youn Yuh-jung as Chairwoman Park and executive producer/writer Lee Sung Jin filming Season 2 of "Beef."Jaehyuk Lee/NetflixBut a series like “Beef” that centers Korean identity and culture would have been unthinkable 15 or 20 years ago. Lee, who landed his first TV writing job in 2008 for “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” recalls how different writers’ rooms were back then. “There just weren’t any stories being told at all of anyone of color,” he said via Zoom. “You’re just trying to assimilate and fit in. As a writer of color, you’re trying to copy and mimic, because the last thing you want to do is be yourself. Or at least that’s what you’re almost brainwashed into thinking.”He admits that it took him almost two decades to learn to be comfortable with sharing his heritage and lived experience through his work.“‘Beef’ really was the first time that I was able to be 100% myself and put my Asian American experience — and also the experience of the [other] Asian and Asian American writers — into a show that we’re writing,” he said.Despite growing up in London and speaking fluent English, Jang never even entertained the possibility of working in Western television until she was cast in “Beef.” Jang had worked primarily on Korean films and K-dramas. Then she appeared in the 2025 American spy thriller “Butterfly,” but as that series was shot entirely in South Korea by a predominantly Korean production crew, “Beef” was her first time filming in the U.S. Seoyeon Jang as Eunice in "Beef."Netflix“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. “This whole sense of a global stage was not something that I had even considered. It was just never in my head.” Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kim moved to South Korea to pursue his dream of working in entertainment. There he eventually debuted as a member of the co-ed K-pop group Kard and came to be known as “BM” or “Big Matthew” in the K-pop world. Although he says acting was always one of his goals, the lack of Asian and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) representation in Hollywood kept him from even considering that option.“Hollywood in general felt so not feasible, especially for an Asian American growing up,” he said. “Watching people on TV when I was young, the only [Asians] that I saw most of the time were Lucy Liu, Jet Li and Jackie Chan.”“Beef” marks his acting debut, and he feels fortunate to have landed his first role in a series of this caliber. He remembers being on the red carpet for the premiere of “Beef” Season 2 and realizing that now he, too, might be able to inspire future generations of Asian and Asian American actors to chase their Hollywood dreams. “I think the ‘Beef’ premiere was the start of, ‘Everyone I watched when I was younger — I wonder if I could be that for somebody else,’” he said.What Hollywood’s Appetite For Korean Culture And Asian Talent Feels Like From The InsideYoun Yuh-jung as Chairwoman Park, Song Kang-ho as Dr. Kim in "Beef."NetflixOf course, it certainly helps that the Hollywood landscape has shifted in recent years to keep up with the changing times and global cultural trends. A 2024 study by the University of Southern California of the top 1,700 films between 2007 and 2023 showed that the percentage of Asian characters with speaking roles jumped from 3.4% to 18.4% over that period. Asian men, long deemed unattractive by mainstream Western media, are now often viewed as desirable (partly thanks to the rise of K-pop and K-dramas) and increasingly portrayed as multifaceted characters in Hollywood films and shows. “Hollywood is always trying to tap into what’s hot, and it’s a battle because Asians weren’t seen as hot before,” said Nancy Wang Yuen, an ethnic studies professor at Crafton Hills College who studies AAPI representation in Hollywood.“Beauty standards are changing. When I was growing up, the blond, blue-eyed person was the only kind of beauty standard. Now, because we have K-pop and K-beauty, people are really appreciating the Asian face for the first time in the United States,” Yuen explained over Zoom. “I mean, fetishization always existed. But now people actually want to look like us. They’re like, ‘We want to have the glass skin. We like the K-beauty makeup.’”The rise of social media and streaming platforms like Netflix has undoubtedly led to the increased globalization of entertainment (and arguably the Koreanization of beauty standards as well). We’re currently living in an era where the biggest band, TV show and movie — namely BTS, “Squid Game” and “KPop Demon Hunters,” respectively — are all Korean and/or grounded in Korean culture. Stories told by members of the Korean diaspora, like “Minari,” “Pachinko,” “KPop Demon Hunters” and, yes, “Beef,” have also won prestigious awards in recent years.Both Jang and Kim say that they feel very fortunate to have arrived in Hollywood at a moment when K-culture is enjoying global popularity and Asian and AAPI talent and storytelling are receiving unprecedented attention.“I mean, it is very good timing,” Jang said. “Speaking as a Korean, I think BTS and Blackpink really did their share of making Korea proud and paving the way for us. I think we are all benefiting in a very trickle-down effect in culture.”“I feel incredibly lucky,” Kim said. “And while I’m of Korean descent and love how much attention K-everything is getting, I think it creates hope for other ethnicities of Asian descent to have that door open, too. I really believe that everyone has something beautiful to show about their culture.”Where Do We Go From Here? Matthew Kim as Woosh in "Beef."NetflixAll that said, industry observers like Yuen stress that Hollywood still has a long way to go in terms of Asian and AAPI representation. That USC study referred to earlier in this article that examined the 1,700 top-grossing films from 2007 to 2023? Yuen points out that much of the increase in Asian representation over that time period actually stemmed from imported Asian films. What’s worse, the following year’s USC study showed that the percentage of speaking roles for Asian characters fell from 18.4% in 2023 to 13.5% in 2024.“Simu Liu posted that Hollywood still sees Asians as risks, and that is what I’m still hearing from Asian American actors,” Yuen said. “A lot of the Asian American actors I follow that were trying to break in — it’s not like all of a sudden they’re stars now. They’re perfectly fine actors, [but] the best they can do is guest-star.”“There definitely are more opportunities than in the past, but that’s because we literally had no opportunities in the past,” Yuen added.Still, the growing number of Asian and AAPI creators and actors earning global recognition in recent years — from Emmy winners Steven Yeun, Ali Wong and Lee Jung-jae to Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Chloé Zhao, to name a few — offers reason to remain hopeful.Kim and Jang, for their part, seem optimistic about the future of Asian and AAPI representation in Hollywood. “I think so many things are happening, so many doors have opened,” Kim said. “And I’m hoping that more doors open to people that are doing it.”“I’m starting to see the demand [for Asian talent and storytelling] grow, and I hope there will be more,” Jang said. “I mean, I feel like the reason why I’m able to do what I’m doing now in Hollywood is because of the people that have gone before me. Even Youn Yuh-jung is paving the way for me. It sounds very scary, but I hope I can do the same for the generations to come. I think there is a low-key sense of responsibility that I carry, but it’s shared. Lee Sung Jin — he’s doing that. Charles Melton is doing that. Youn Yuh-jung is doing that. And so many Korean stars are doing that as well.”“Beef” is streaming on Netflix.