Meet Ji-Young, the first Asian-American ‘Sesame Street’ muppet
- The 7-year-old Korean-American will formally be introduced in ‘See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special’ on Thanksgiving Day
- Kathleen Kim, Ji-Young’s puppeteer, said she hopes to ‘help teach kids to be able to recognise racism and then speak out against it’
What’s in a name? Well, for Ji-Young, the newest muppet resident of Sesame Street, her name is a sign she was meant to live there.
“So, in Korean traditionally the two syllables they each mean something different and Ji means, like, smart or wise. And Young means, like, brave or courageous and strong,” Ji-Young explained during a recent interview. “But we were looking it up and guess what? Ji also means sesame.”
At only 7 years old, Ji-Young is making history as the first Asian-American muppet in the Sesame Street canon. She is Korean-American and has two passions: rocking out on her electric guitar and skateboarding. The children’s TV programme was first aired 52 years ago this month.
Ji-Young will formally be introduced in See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special. Simu Liu, Padma Lakshmi and Naomi Osaka are among the celebrities appearing in the special, which will drop on Thanksgiving Day on HBO Max, Sesame Street social media platforms and on local PBS stations.
Some of Ji-Young’s personality comes from her puppeteer. Kathleen Kim, 41 and Korean-American, got into puppetry in her 30s. In 2014, she was accepted into a Sesame Street workshop. That evolved into a mentorship and becoming part of the team the following year. Being a puppeteer on a show Kim watched growing up was a dream come true. But helping shape an original muppet is a whole other feat.