Why I love Kim’s Convenience

(Originally published September 7, 2018, after watching the first 2 seasons)

Kim’s Convenience (on Netflix and CBC) is one of the most hilarious and heartwarming shows I’ve seen. I highly recommend it. I wouldn’t know the differences from a Chinese-American experience, but it seems to tell an accurate portrayal of Korean immigrants to Canada who have Korean-Canadian children. Of course “accuracy” is relative because it’s written to be compelling fiction, with drama and humor.

I was worried when I heard their accents. I had a feeling that the actors who play Appa (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) and Umma (Jean Yoon) speak perfect English and were faking the accents, and after hearing a few interviews with them, confirmed that. These are really great characters: they are complex parental figures, with hopes and dreams, who struggle with expressing love, communicating, but occasionally do convey so much. They just happen to have accents. Appa is simultaneously angry, impossible, and really loving. Umma doesn’t always say what she wants while occasionally really blunt in other situations, but you feel all her emotions through her body language and subtlety.

Accents represent so much beauty and intelligence. Learning a 2nd language is difficult, shows…