Kim’s Convenience co-stars Simu Liu and Jean Yoo have spoken up against the lack of Asian representation, cancelled sixth season, and racist story lines involving the popular CBC Television sitcom.

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Kim’s Convenience co-stars Simu Liu and Jean Yoo have spoken up against the lack of Asian producer representation, cancelled sixth season, and racist story lines involving the popular CBC Television sitcom.

With the launch of the fifth and final season of Kim’s Convenience, Simu Liu (who plays Jung Kim) has spoken out via personal Facebook post about the many problems he faced while a member of the cast.  

With the launch of the fifth and final season of Kim’s Convenience, Simu Liu (who plays Jung Kim) has spoken out via personal Facebook post about the many problems he faced while a member of the cast.  

Liu stated how the show (and its final season) was not cancelled in a traditional sense, rather the producers who owned Kim’s Convenience IP decided not to continue after the departure of two major showrunners (Creators Ins Choi and Luke White). 

He opened up about his own frustrations with the stagnated portrayal of his own character and the stark lack of East Asian and female representation amongst the writers. He also shed light on the lack of unity and fair compensation within the cast given the popularity of the show, stating “we were told to be grateful to even be there, and because we were so scared to rock the boat.” Liu expressed his resentment of the circumstances that led to the ongoing production of a spin-off show for the only non-Asian character (Shannon; played by Nicole Power).

Co-star Jean Yoon (who plays Umma) also spoke up against a lack of Asian representation in the writer’s room via Twitter. Yoon wrote that “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.”

She also exposed racist and culturally inaccurate scenes that were originally part of the scripts for the fifth season. For example, Yoon spoke up against a cut scene that would have her character wearing nude shorts to a Zumba class. Yoon wrote, “No one, esp. Mrs. Kim, would be unaware that a garment makes her look naked. Unless she is suddenly cognitively impaired. Or STUPID. Stripping someone naked is the first act before public humiliation or rape. So what was so funny about that?”

Yoon concluded, “THAT scene would have aired hours after 8 people, 6 Asian women, were shot in Atlanta, GA in a hate crime spree that shocked the nation. THIS IS WHY IT MATTERS. If an Asian actor says, ‘Hey this isn’t cool,’ then maybe should just fix it, and say THANK YOU.”

Yoon concluded, “THAT scene would have aired hours after 8 people, 6 Asian women, were shot in Atlanta, GA in a hate crime spree that shocked the nation. THIS IS WHY IT MATTERS. If an Asian actor says, ‘Hey this isn’t cool,’ then maybe should just fix it, and say THANK YOU.”