Lee Sung Jin spoke in further detail about the music of "Beef" in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. Most of the licensed songs throughout the show are 2000s radio hits, evoking Lee's childhood. As it turns out, when Danny Cho performs a rendition of the Incubus song "Drive" with his church band, this too took inspiration directly from both Lee and Steven Yeun's upbringings.
"I'd say, 'Oh, did you hang out after church with a Taylor 7-series guitar and try to sing secular songs?' And he'd be like, 'Yes, I did that.' 'Did you sing Incubus at all?' 'Oh, my God.' Next thing you know, we have to put Incubus' 'Drive' in the show, because he and I used to sing that after church," Lee said.
Yeun elaborated on his relationship with religion in an interview with Netflix. Just like Danny, he explained, he gave up church during his college days, only to return and develop a newfound appreciation for the experience years later. The fact that Yeun's rendition of "Amazing Grace" resonated so acutely with fans, then, is no coincidence, given that this and the other big church scenes throughout "Beef" are firmly rooted in reality.
