American Studies (미국학)

Seoul National University American Studies Institute (서울대학교 미국학연구소)
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Universal Narrative of a Familial Comedy: Ins Choi's Kim's Convenience

보편 서사로서의 가족희극, 인스 최의 『김씨네 편의점』

  • Received : 2021.12.01
  • Accepted : 2021.12.22
  • Published : 2021.12.31

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Abstract

The Canadian public broadcaster CBC had successfully aired a sitcom centered on a Korean immigrant family from 2016 to 2021. The show is based on the play Kim's Convenience written by a Korean-Canadian playwright Ins Choi. This study explores literary features of Kim's Convenience that accounts for its popularity; three elements of the show play crucial roles in maintaining the balance between specificity and universality. First, Choi deploys a Korean immigrant story in the form of comedy. Second, the main plot revolves around an ordinary family with generational strains that ends in reconciliation. Third. the Kims are depicted more as an archetypical family than a stereotypically Asian one. By closely interweaving these elements, Choi induces the audience to find commonalities from the show, and racial specificities of the Kim's family become "spicy" attractions of the play.

Keywords

References

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