Kim's Convenience

I started to read this because I'm a regular viewer of the Kim's Convenience TV series, and I want to start by saying that the two are very different from each other. This makes a lot of sense given the very different media that they were created for, but it's worth noting.

Kim's Convenience is simultaneously heart-breaking and heartwarming, darkly funny while still being at times melancholy. Ins Choi does a fantastic job of balancing those emotions and the tension that is created by trying to be both at the same time. In the introduction to the play, Ins Choi makes a comparison to Death of a Salesman, and that's a very apt comparison - both plays look at aging men, the legacies they try to build, and the ultimately devouring nature of capitalism.

It's tough. Like reviewing Hey Jude with nothing more than the lyrics. The play's the thing! After reading it I'm more than a little disappointed to find it just finished it's run in London Ontario. I can only hope someone mounts it again nearby.

The play, not unlike the Korean variety store it's set in, crams so much into such a tiny space. Parental expectation, xenophobic bias, forgiveness, immigrant Korean's roots in the Christian community and, with the convenience store, the community at large. And while I agree with reviewer that says “it could be accused of sacrificing truth to reconciliation” I understand the motive. It's hilarious, heartfelt and it can't help but make me think of my own folks.