Kim’s Convenience (2016-2021)

Kim’s Convenience is a comedy yet it is also the heartfelt story of The Kims, a Korean-Canadian family, running a convenience store in downtown Toronto. The series is based on the award-winning play by Ins Choi, who adapted it for television. Mr. and Mrs. Kim (‘Appa’ and ‘Umma’) immigrated to Toronto in the ’80s to set up shop near the neighbourhood known as Regent Park. They had two kids, Jung and Janet who are now young adults. However, when Jung was 16, he and Appa had a major falling out involving a physical fight, stolen money and Jung leaving home. Father and son have been estranged ever since. Now, Appa and Umma run the store along with Janet who is studying photography at art school. Meanwhile Jung, who secretly stays in contact with Umma and Janet, is trying to turn his life around and recently landed a job at a car rental agency. The world of Kim’s Convenience is real, colourful and urban – a diverse landscape of people and places and at the heart is the Kim family and their store. While the family continues to work and live, finding humour in the everyday tasks of running the store, they long for the day when the rift between Appa and Jung is mended and the family is whole once again.

Also see: Kim’s Wraps.