'Kim's Convenience' Simu Liu and Jean Yoon Rant Over Flawed Approach, Horrible Working Experience
Actors from the hit sitcom "Kim's Convenience" have spoken about the show's flawed approach on depicting Korean Canadians.
The series gained positive reactions from critics and audiences since its premiere in 2016, and as the show came to its conclusion, the stars voiced out their frustrations with the show's approach and lack of diverse voices in front of the camera for the viewers to see.
Led by Marvel's "Shang-Chi" and the "Legend of the Ten Rings" actor Simu Liu and co-star in the show Jean Yoon shared their horrible experiences on social media for the show having an "overwhelmingly white" production team, reported by BBC.
'Kim's Convenience' Ends In Bad Terms With Cast Voicing Out Concerns
According to LA Times, the fifth and final season of the CBC series debuted on Netflix last week, which in the end, Liu claimed that he and his co-actors for "Kim's Convenience" were purposefully and grossly underpaid. The actor explained how they got "horsepoop" pay, comparing it to other popular shows such as "Schitt's Creek," which boasted "brand-name talent" but received lower ratings than "Kim's Convenience," in a Facebook post.
A spokesman for CBC, which broadcasts the show, told the BBC: "Respectfully, it's not our place to speak on behalf of the producers or cast members of Kim's Convenience."
The spokesman directed further questions to Thunderbird Entertainment, the independent company producing and distributing the program, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The show has not yet responded to requests for comment from BBC News and US media.
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Simu Liu And Jean Yoon List Down More Horrible Things Working For 'Kim's Convenience'
Adapted from playwright Ins Choi's stage production of the same name, "Kim's Convenience" centres on a Korean-Canadian family running a convenience store in Toronto. Simu Liu, who played the store owner's son Jung Kim, panned several aspects of the show ahead of its Netflix debut.
Adding more points stated by Liu on Facebook, he listed several ways he felt disappointed by the show. "I WAS, however, growing increasingly frustrated with the way my character was being portrayed," he said, adding that he also got frustrated over the idea of his character being treated differently.
"Aside from Ins, there were no other Korean voices in the room," Liu wrote, referring to the producer Ins Choi. "And personally, I do not think he did enough to be a champion for those voices (including ours)."
Jean Yoon, who played Liu's mother on the show, tweeted that the cast had their script reading only to discover "storylines that were OVERTLY RACIST, and so extremely culturally inaccurate that the cast came together and expressed concerns collectively."
Dear sir, as an Asian Canadian woman, a Korean-Canadian woman w more experience and knowledge of the world of my characters, the lack of Asian female, especially Korean writers in the writers room of Kims made my life VERY DIFFICULT & the experience of working on the show painful
— Jean Yoon (윤 진 희 or 尹真姬) (@jean_yoon) June 6, 2021
The scene partners also addressed the alleged absence of diversity on the "Kim's Convenience" writing team, which "lacked both East Asian and female representation," as well as "a pipeline to introduce diverse talents," according to Liu.
Despite trying "so hard" to make himself available as a creative resource, Liu said, the producers dismissed efforts made by him and others to improve the show from the inside. Without adequate input from a talent of Korean descent, Yoon added that the show's authenticity suffered.
