Big Trees Grow Slow

November 28, 2018

Wednesday, 28 November 2018 | 2:30pm to 4:30pm | ACE 004, York University

Jean Yoon began her career at a time when systemic racism in the performing arts in Canada was endemic and unquestioned. There was no straight path, just obstacles, and closed doors. In this talk, Jean reflected on her artistic career as a writer and actor and her journey as a diasporic Korean Canadian. A very serious talk was peppered with anecdotes, ephemera, jokes, language lessons, and unsolicited advice.

Jean Yoon is an actor and writer best known for her work as “Umma” on the CBC hit comedy Kim’s Convenience. Jean began her performance career in the early 1980’s in Toronto’s growing independent theatre community, then took several odd but necessary detours. She taught English in China, returned to theatre to focus on cultural equity advocacy, then put her energies into new play development in the culturally diverse sector and her own playwriting and performance. Jean’s playwriting credits include The Yoko Ono Project (Theatre Passe Muraille & Loud Mouth Asian Babes, 2000), Hongbu & Nolbu: The Tale of the Magic Pumpkins (Young People’s Theatre, 2005), as well as indie shows Sliding for Home, Spite and Yes Yoko Solo. For the last twenty years, Jean has focused primarily on film and television acting, accumulating credits on over sixty productions including Dragon Boys, Orphan Black, The Expanse, Peg + Cat, Save Me, Baroness von Sketch and of course Kim’s Convenience. Jean is a two time CSA nominee, an ACTRA Award winner in 2017, and a Dora nominated playwright.

This talk was organized by Mihyon Jeon (LAPSE, York University) and Hong Kal (AMPD, York University) and presented by the Korean Office for Research and Education (KORE) funded by the Academy of Korean. It was co-presented by the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Toronto, The York Centre for Asian Research at York University, and the Centre for the Study of Korea (CSK) at the University of Toronto.