Season 2 of Netflix’s “Beef” arrives with a new cast, a new story, and a significantly expanded canvas, but the series remains rooted in many of the themes that made its first season an Emmy-winning phenomenon. Once again, creator Lee Sung Jin uses deeply flawed characters to explore class, identity, resentment, and the invisible tensions that simmer beneath modern life. This time, however, those ideas unfold on a larger scale, spanning affluent Southern California enclaves, country clubs, sprawling estates, and eventually Korea itself.
Helping bring those worlds to life is production designer Grace Yun, one of the industry’s most respected visual storytellers. Over the past decade, Yun has assembled an impressive body of work that includes Celine Song’s Oscar-nominated “Past Lives,” Ari Aster’s horror landmark “Hereditary,” Paul Schrader’s Academy Award-nominated “First Reformed,” and the acclaimed series “Ramy.” She also served as production designer on the first season of “Beef,” earning an Art Directors Guild Award for her work on the Netflix hit.
What makes Yun’s work particularly distinctive is the way her environments become an extension of character. The homes, offices, and gathering places in her projects rarely feel like sets. Instead, they offer clues about who these people are, what they value, and where they fit within the world around them. Whether creating the unsettling domestic spaces of “Hereditary,” the emotionally charged New York settings of “Past Lives,” or the competing worlds of Danny and Amy in the first season of “Beef,” Yun consistently builds environments that feel both authentic and deeply personal.
That approach is on full display throughout “Beef” Season 2. The carefully curated luxury of the Monte Vista Country Club, the increasingly chaotic home shared by Josh and Lindsay, the modest starter house occupied by Ashley and Austin, and the sleek, aspirational world of Chairwoman Park each become visual reflections of the people who inhabit them. As the season explores class divisions, generational tensions, and the collision between Asian American and Korean perspectives, Yun’s production design helps communicate those themes with remarkable specificity.
As Yun explained, “There’s even a beef between this East meets West kind of dynamic, with two groups banging heads. For me, in the design, that became two different décor styles banging against each other.” That philosophy becomes one of the season’s defining visual ideas, with contrasting environments reflecting not only differences in wealth and status, but also differing cultural perspectives and generations.
Season 2 also presented Yun with new creative opportunities. Returning to Seoul after previously shooting portions of “Past Lives” there, she worked closely with a Korean crew to create some of the season’s most memorable environments. Among them is the elaborate Korean spa sequence that becomes the setting for one of the show’s most ambitious action set pieces, a complex build that required designing, sourcing, and constructing an entirely new environment under an extremely compressed schedule.
Awards Focus recently spoke with Yun about collaborating with Lee Sung Jin, expanding the visual language of “Beef,” designing worlds that reflect class and culture, and the challenge of creating one of the most memorable environments of her career.
Awards Focus: Season 1 explored a wide range of Asian American experiences. What excited you most about expanding the visual world of “Beef” for Season 2?
Grace Yun: Well, I think a lot of the core thematics are similar from Season 1. Sonny (Lee Sung Jin) is still interested in class dynamics. Except with this season, I feel like he went deeper and more complex because there’s this whole other layer of generational differences.
The first season wanted to highlight and focus on the variety of Asian American experiences. In this season, Austin has an Asian American experience, but we’re bringing in more of a native Korean experience as well. There’s even a beef between this East meets West kind of dynamic, with two groups banging heads. For me, in the design, that became two different décor styles banging against each other.
So it was a lot of fun to play with all of that layering and think about the generational divides, the socioeconomic influences, and bringing in more of a native Korean texture. I absolutely loved being able to work in Seoul and work with a Korean crew.
AF: You previously worked in Korea on “Past Lives.” How did your approach to designing the Korean environments in “Beef” differ from that experience?
Yun: They were very different worlds. “Past Lives” was more anchored in nostalgia and sentimental qualities.
With “Beef,” especially in Chairman Park’s world, I wanted to lean a little futuristic. Korea, and Seoul specifically, is very future thinking. In the beauty market especially, there’s this aspirational quality that our Los Angeles characters are striving for.
We also leaned into seasonal motifs. Chairman Park is associated with winter throughout the season, and that became part of the visual language of her world.
AF: One of the most striking Korean locations is the breakfast scene featuring Chairman Park. Can you talk about finding that space?
Yun: I had known about the Amore Pacific building before it first opened a few years ago. I’ve always loved the architectural qualities of it and how it’s this cube with these large atrium cutouts.
The trees you see there are literally stories high in the air. There’s this huge open atrium with a very curated garden inside of the building. It felt like the perfect environment for that world.
AF: One thing that stood out to me was how each major environment feels like an extension of its characters. What were the visual anchors of the season for you?
Yun: I wanted to isolate the visual anchors of the show. For this season, it was definitely the country club, Josh and Lindsay’s home, Ashley and Austin’s home, and then Chairman Park’s world.
Those four spaces really showed the variety of the show, the breadth of the world, and the arc of the characters.
AF: Let’s talk about Josh and Lindsay’s home. The production design tells us so much about their marriage before they even speak.
Grace Yun: For Josh’s ATU, I thought about how he would be living if he were single in a studio apartment. He would have all of his beloved memorabilia. He’d have his music equipment so he could play it as loud as he wanted. He has his clothes, a little kitchenette, and a sleeper sofa.
Those were elements that we wanted to telegraph to the audience, that he’s actually living there. He’s living separately from the house and trying to stay out of Lindsay’s way while also marking his own ground in his own home.
For Lindsay’s main space, it felt right when Sonny and I were talking about it that her ambition and need to achieve something was being presented throughout all the rooms of the house. We wanted it to have this over-collected feel, but also this unfinished renovation feel.
Living in the midst of renovation is stressful, and then having it stall while overcompensating by buying all these décor items creates a very disjointed feeling. In some ways, it became a security blanket for her. I think a lot of us understand that impulse. Sometimes my coping method is retail therapy. This pillow is so velvety and beautiful and soft and it makes me feel better. That imagery of excess felt like Lindsay trying to self-soothe.
AF: On the other side of the spectrum is Ashley and Austin’s home. How did you approach creating that environment?
Yun: We wanted it to feel like a starter home. It’s lived in and has seen many generations before them.
Ashley and Austin have a rose-colored view of it. They see older dated tile and find it charming. We wanted all of their items to feel sentimental. Maybe they’re thrifted, borrowed, or handed down by family members, but everything has some sort of emotional value attached to it.
Cailee and Charles were great and sent us some of their personal photos. Those are peppered throughout the house. We wanted it to feel like the beginning of a honeymoon stage, where they didn’t have a lot, but they were in love with the idea of building a home together.
AF: One of the biggest set pieces of the season takes place in the Korean spa. How did that sequence evolve from concept to execution?
Yun: Early on, Sonny told me he wanted some sort of action sequence inside a Korean spa. I loved the idea immediately.
At first, we planned to shoot entirely on location in Korea. But as we started talking through the action beats and researching real locations, it became clear that most operating spas aren’t designed in a way that would accommodate everything we wanted to do.
I think all of us had it in the back of our minds that building the space would be much more straightforward. Eventually we got the resources and approval to do it.
AF: I was surprised to learn that set was built in such a short amount of time.
Yun: It was quite a feat. We had to design it, source all the materials, and build it simultaneously in under two weeks.
I give so much credit to the Korean crew. They were incredibly dedicated and game to make it happen.
The exciting thing was that the action sequence, the shot design, and the production design were all being developed together. As the action was being designed, we were laying out the space. The hallways all connect to each other and form a loop. I wanted to give them as much runway as possible for the action.
Once we had the freedom of a build, the sequence became even bigger because we could really go all out.
AF: Looking back on the finished season, what stands out as the accomplishment you’re most proud of?
Grace Yun: I think that build in Korea.
It was a particular challenge, but I had such a blast doing it. Every material in there came from a company in Asia. Part of that was practical because of lead times, but it also felt important to source those materials locally.
To see that entire sequence come together and work the way it does on screen is something I’m very proud of.
The above transcript was adapted from Grace Yun’s Interview on the United By Rice podcast.