Who is Kathleen Kim? Ji-Young Character Puppeteer on “Sesame Street”
3 min read
For the first time ever, the famous television series Sesame Street introduced its new character. Yes, you read it right! The new character is the first Asian-American Muppet on the show. We will share some news about Ji Young- the new resident in Sesame Street. And meet Kathleen Kim, the puppeteer behind Ji-Young.
Who is Kathleen Kim?
Kathleen Kim, 41-years-old, is a Korean American who started her career as a puppeteer in her 30s. She is part of Sesame Street. In 2014, she joined the workshop on Sesame street. Later, she became a full-time member of the world-famous kid’s show. The opportunity she got first evolved in mentor and after a year Kathleen was in the team. She feels that it was a dream come true for her to be a puppeteer on the show that she grew up watching.
Kathleen did share her thoughts about her character as Ji-Young on the show. During an interview, she stated that, she hopes the character of Ji-Young will surely teach about the term racism. This will help kids to recognize it in their surroundings and stand against it. She hopes that the character will help to normalize the different kids appearances on TV. She said that she remembers the Atlanta shootings that happened last year and how terrifying it was.
Sesame Street Brings Ji Young
Sesame Street announced it officially by sharing a post on Twitter about the introduction of the new character in the show. The kid’s show started 52 years ago. Ji-Young, a 7-year-old, Korean American girl, the new resident of sesame street who is really cute. She will be greeting us on a thanksgiving special episode- SEE US COMING TOGETHER: A SESAME STREET SPECIAL. The show will be released on 25th November 2021 on thanksgiving day.
Ji-Young is smart, adorable and she has two passions. She like rock and roll on her electronic guitar and skateboarding. The introduction of Ji-Young is based on the events in the year 2020 of anti-Asian hate incidents. The main motive is to teach kids about race, ethnicity, and culture. It will also teach children how to identify racism and how to stand against it.
The Korean name itself Ji-Young means a lot in itself what the show wants to depict. The word ‘Ji’ means smart, wise, and also sesame. Ans the ‘Young’ means courageous and strong. The character will teach kids how to be a good upstanders. This step will help the kids to learn about the beauty of diversity in our community. Other celebs will also appear on the show for the Thanksgiving special. Simu Liu, Padma Lakshmi, and Naomi Osaka will appear. The special episode will be aired on HBO Max, Cartoonito, and PBS Kids.
Fans Reaction Over The Announcement
Fans are full of thrill to watch the Thanksgiving episode of Sesame Street. Here are some tweets:
