Starring: Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Jean Yoon, Simu Liu, Andrea Bang
Information: Kim's Convenience can be streamed on CBC Television.
Rating: ★★★★½
This Canadian sitcom is not only funny, but also clever and heartfelt.
According to the City of Toronto, half of the city’s population are immigrants, while hundreds of thousands more are children or grandchildren of immigrants. It is easy to see why Toronto is hailed as one of the greatest multicultural cities in the world; Toronto’s citizens come from over 200 different ethnic origins. And yet, it was only in 2016 that these immigrants (specifically Korean immigrants and their children) could see themselves portrayed on a national television show.
Ins Choi’s television sitcom “Kim’s Convenience” burst onto CBC just over two years ago, and after two smash seasons, it continues to beautifully capture the immigrant experience. Originally adapted from a play, Kim’s Convenience follows a Korean immigrant named Mr. Kim/Appa (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), along with his wife, Mrs. Kim (Jean Yoon). They run a convenience store named Kim’s Convenience in a gentrified downtown Toronto neighbourhood. Their daughter, Janette (Andrea Bang), is an aspiring artist who goes to OCAD, while their eldest child, Jung (Simu Liu), runs away from home as a teenager after a fight.
The ensemble cast (almost completely comprised of Asian-Canadians) gives extraordinary performances that show the breadth of their acting capabilities, including their comedy chops. Although all of the actors give exceptional performance, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s performance as Appa truly stands out. Lee wholeheartedly conveys Appa’s curiosity to discover more about western society, while still insisting on clinging onto his Korean identity.
Unlike other immigrant sitcoms (such as those from south of the border), Choi rarely creates caricatures or uses racial jokes to earn laughs. Rather, his characters are fully drawn out with deep backstories. Choi, along with the other script writers, do not shy away from contentious topics in the sitcom. Previous episodes have highlighted LGBT issues, gentrification, the Syrian refugee crisis, and interracial relationships. Despite the serious topics, the show is always light and funny, and never becomes monotonous.
However, the overarching theme of Kim’s Convenience is the intergenerational differences within immigrant families. Many of the fights and quarrels that arise between the Kims are caused by miscommunication or misunderstanding. As many first and second generation immigrants know, the children may live in the same house as their parents, but they are in separate societies. As an Asian immigrant myself, I can fully understand this divide, and I am certain that millions of other families can connect to this as well. Behind all the humour and fast paced plot lines, Kim’s Convenience can be pinned to a single simple, yet beautiful message: immigrant parents give up their world in hopes of giving their children a better future.