Kim’s Convenience – Review of 2025 Revival of Wonderful Play

Kim’s Convenience is back. Not that it was far away what with an adaptation as a sitcom. But Soulpepper has revived its 2012 production at the Young Centre and told us that the production is headed for San Francisco.
For those who have missed it completely, playwright Ins Choi tells us that Kim’s Convenience is “my love letter to them [his parents] and to all first-generation immigrants.” I considered that 2012 production a warm, touching and funny paean to newcomers to Canada. People who arrive in a strange land where they do not speak English and must adjust to a completely different culture. The present revival only confirms that opinion.
On a convincingly decorated set, Kim, a recent immigrant from South Korea runs a convenience store. He is a proud Korean and gets furious when someone parks a Japanese car in the “no parking area” behind his store. Japanese! In 1904 Japan invaded Korea and enslaved all its citizens. Call 911 and report the parking violation. What do you mean 911 is intended for emergencies only?
The play is about the Kim family but it is also a reflection of South Korean immigrant life in Toronto. It is about their settlement in a strange land, the growth of the city and the removal of the immigrant enclave away from its church and its neighborhood as a result of social changes and the expansion of immigrants. It is a classic tale of immigrants trying to keep what they left behind and social changes making it very difficult.
Kim has two children. His daughter Janet (Kelly Seo) is a smart 30-year-old who wants to be a photographer. She does not want to run a convenience store and Kim meets a recognizable collision that many immigrants face with their children who grow up “Canadian.” His son Jung (Ryan Jinn) left home at age 16 after a violent confrontation with his father. Umma, (Esther Chung) the mother is caught in the middle and continues seeing their son.
The convenience store is visited by Mr. Lee, a real estate agent, Alex, the police officer and Mike, a thief, all played by Brendon McKnight. They provide context, background and humour in a fine performance by McKnight.
The main character is Mr. Kim, played superbly by the author. He is an irascible, perceptive and essentially decent man far from his roots but living with the history of Korea that he tries to instill in his children. He cannot adjust to Canadian mores, thinks that photography is a mere hobby and can’t understand why his daughter does not want to take over the convenience store. His ill temper drives his son away and seems to have created a hollow in his life.
It is a moving story told with humour and passion about a corner of Canadiana that may be completely unknown to many Canadians and about a family that strikes many familiar chords. We are all the same.
Weyni Mengesha directs the production with finesse and sensitivity and Joanna Yu’s set is perfect as the interior of a convenience store.
I will not disclose the whole plot but suffice it say that the play ends on a note of reconciliation, grace and continuation. Go see it.
Kim’s Convenience by Ins Choi opened on February 6, and will continue until March 2, 2025, at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane. Toronto, Ontario. www.soulpepper.ca

Ryan Jinn, Esther Chung, Ins Choi, Kelly Seo and Brandon McNight. Photo: Dahlia Katz

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