KIM'S CONVENIENCE

Background Notes

by Soulpepper Associate Artist Paula Wing

Kim's Convenience began as a vignette for an event at fu-GEN Theatre. Director Nina Lee Aquino, among others, felt there was more to be mined: a story rooted in this city but not often portrayed on our stages. A story needing to be told. With Aquino's encouragement and guidance, Ins Choi set out to create a full-length play.

But first he acted at the Stratford Festival, won a place in the Soulpepper Academy, and became a father twice over. The play grew slowly, gaining supporters as it went. Choi's faith community at Grace Toronto Church, for example, funded a week-long workshop. When Kim's Convenience was finally submitted to the Fringe Festival New Play Contest, it won. The subsequent production and extension were sold out. Soulpepper saw a chance to champion a new work that celebrates a completely Torontonian story. And here we are.

While not autobiographical this play is grounded in a thorough knowledge of the milieu. In fact, Choi originally wanted to stage it in an actual convenience store. "You got that smell," he says. "You got that convenience store smell, the dust, the grime, the bell…" That idea didn't come to pass but this tender, funny and surprising script evokes the setting brilliantly anyway, giving the play a powerful integrity and authenticity. One of its many pleasures is the "behind the scenes" look we get at this staple of our economy.

From the 1980s, when the Kim family of the play moves into Regent Park, Koreans have been a fixture in Toronto convenience stores. In the enormously appealing character of Mr. Kim, or Appa (father), we see the smarts, courage, resourcefulness, and humour these immigrants brought with them. Through his customers and perhaps most vividly through his children, we also see Mr. Kim's prejudices, hopes, fears and longings. He is a fully rounded, richly realized creation, and a gift for any actor. Listen to Mr. Kim on the subject of who's stealing and who isn't. Watch him deal with other businessmen. His daughter may speak better English but she has her hands full in an argument with her tough-minded Appa. Mr. Kim's all too familiar difficulty is he has knowledge but no one to pass it on to: neither of his children will take over the business when he retires. They have other dreams - desires Mr. Kim and his wife's hard work and sacrifice have helped make possible.

One of the script's most revealing aspects is its portrait of Regent Park. The closeness and pride among those who live there is perhaps most simply and beautifully summed up in Mr. Kim's response to the idea of closing his store, "This community need me." The gentrification now underway may improve some buildings, there'll certainly be more pricey condominiums but what will happen to the people who have called this community home for years? What will happen to the small businesses that have so faithfully served them? Through this one family, their business, and their loyal clientele, Ins Choi has given us a hilarious, touching glimpse of a corner of our own world. Here. And now.

Korean Immigration to Canada

1890s - Canadian missionaries arrive in Korea, and start evangelizing. They form strong bonds with the new faithful there.

1948 - The very first Korean settler in Canada is a mission-sponsored medical intern, Tae-yon Hwang. He remains in Canada after his training, practices medicine and eventually lives in Rosedale. Many who come after him will follow this pattern of Canadian education leading to citizenship.

Early 60s - Independent immigrants begin arriving, mostly from South Korea but a few, like Ins Choi's family, from North Korea as well. Most of these immigrants are connected in some way to the Christian missions back home. This group, known as the "Canadian Christians", initiates a Korean influx into Canada from all religious and political backgrounds.

1963 - Formal diplomatic relations between Korea and Canada are established. A fundamental change to immigration regulations from a quota system (which restricts access to Asians) to cases being judged solely on individual merit. The door is officially ajar.

1967 - In this centennial year, there are 200 recorded immigrants from Korea - most living in Toronto. One of their first actions as a community is to set up the Toronto Korean United Church, which goes on to become not only the spiritual but the social and cultural hub of the burgeoning community.

Late 60s-Early 70s - Many now follow a different path to permanence here: they begin on temporary or visitor visas, obtain work permits and eventually embrace full citizenship. The churches play a pivotal role in helping people settle into their new country, a role Ins Choi's father, a pastor himself, still performs in the community today.

1973 - In the fall, a Canadian Embassy is opened in Seoul, South Korea.

1980 - There are now 20,000 Korean immigrants in Canada, most of them based in either Toronto or Vancouver. The weakness of the Canadian dollar means that immigrants tend to choose Canada over the United States, as their savings will stretch farther here.

Late 90s - Students are pouring into the country, bringing their culture, cuisine and music, sparking a global interest in Korean pop culture, known as hallyu or Korean Wave.

2008 - Yonah Martin becomes the first Korean Canadian to hold public office at the federal level when she is appointed to the senate by Stephen Harper.

2011 - There are more than 200,000 Korean-born immigrants who call Canada home. While Toronto has the largest Korean-Canadian community, Vancouver's is on the rise, having experienced an amazing 69% increase in Korean immigration since 1996.

Tidbits

• Kimchi, a spicy pickled cabbage and a Korean favourite is also reputed to: prevent cancer, provide protection against SARS, shrink pores, and hide wrinkles. Kimchi is often served with gochujang a traditional sauce made of hot pepper.
• Director Weyni Mengesha was a member of Soulpepper's inaugural Academy and the director of Soulpepper's greatly acclaimed production of A Raisin in the Sun.
• Jean Yoon, who plays Umma, is the former Artistic Director of Cahoots Theatre.

Background Notes

by Soulpepper Associate Artist Toby Malone

As one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world, Toronto is home to countless compelling untold stories which define the place in which we live. In this rarest of cities cultures of all types are embraced: the collision of the 'here' of a bustling western metropolis with the 'there' of imported traditions and values is an intoxicatingly Torontonian mix. It is for this reason that Ins Choi's Kim's Convenience is a Canadian classic in the making: a touching, humorous, and distinctively Torontonian tale of inter-generational difference and the ties that bind beyond all petty conflict. Ins Choi is a first-generation Canadian whose parents emigrated from Korea to seek a different life; he grew up in Scarborough with a distinctive cultural history and a familiar Canadian accent, which perhaps marks him as archetypically Canadian.

The Korean convenience stores of Kim's Convenience, once ubiquitous Toronto landmarks, are vanishing much in the way Choi describes in his play, yet they are an instantly recognisable element in the city's cultural heritage. The play was first workshopped with fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company in 2006, and again in 2008, the year that Choi joined the Soulpepper Academy. Over his two and a half years in the Academy, Choi developed his work into a two-act piece built on the fu-GEN workshops, and by the time he won the Toronto Fringe New Play contest, the play had been developed through by some of Toronto's best dramatic minds. Refining the work into a muscular one-act Fringe format allowed Choi to cut to the heart of his family drama, while retaining the glorious humour that characterises the family dynamic, led by the unforgettable patriarch, Appa. Soulpepper is thrilled to have a role in the development and realisation of Kim's Convenience.