Ji-Young to make history as first Asian American muppet
What鈥檚 in a name? Well, for Ji-Young, the newest muppet resident of 鈥淪esame Street,鈥� her name is a sign she was meant to live there.
鈥淪o, 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,鈥� Ji-Young explained during a recent interview. 鈥淏ut we were looking it up and guess what? Ji also means sesame.鈥�
At only 7 years old, Ji-Young is making history as the first Asian American muppet in the 鈥淪esame Street鈥� canon. She is Korean American and has two passions: rocking out on her electric guitar and skateboarding. The children鈥檚 TV program, which first aired 52 years ago this month, gave The Associated Press a first look at its adorable new occupant.
Ji-Young will formally be introduced in 鈥淪ee Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special.鈥� Marvel Universe star Simu Liu, 鈥淭op Chef鈥� host Padma Lakshmi, and professional tennis player Naomi Osaka are among the celebrities appearing in the special, which will drop Thanksgiving Day on HBO Max, 鈥淪esame Street鈥� social media platforms, and on local PBS stations.
Some of Ji-Young鈥檚 personality comes from her puppeteer. Kathleen Kim, who is Korean American, got into puppetry in her 30s. In 2014, she was accepted into a 鈥淪esame Street鈥� workshop. That evolved into a mentorship and becoming part of the team the following year. Being a puppeteer on a show Ms. Kim watched growing up was a dream come true. But helping shape an original muppet is a whole other feat.
鈥淚 feel like I have a lot of weight that maybe I鈥檓 putting on myself to teach these lessons and to be this representative that I did not have as a kid,鈥� Ms. Kim said. But fellow puppeteer Leslie Carrara-Rudolph 鈥� who performs Abby Cadabby 鈥� reminded her, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about us. ... It鈥檚 about this message.鈥�
Ji-Young鈥檚 existence is the culmination of a lot of discussions after the events of 2020 鈥� George Floyd鈥檚 death and anti-Asian hate incidents. Like a lot of companies, 鈥淪esame Street鈥� reflected on how it could 鈥渕eet the moment,鈥� said Kay Wilson Stallings, executive vice-president of Creative and Production for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind 鈥淪esame Street.鈥�
Sesame Workshop established two task forces 鈥� one to look at its content and another to look at its own diversity. What developed was Coming Together, a multi-year initiative addressing how to talk to children about race, ethnicity, and culture.
One result was 8-year-old Tamir. While not the show鈥檚 first Black muppet, he was one of the first used to talk about subjects like racism.
鈥淲hen we knew we were going to be doing this work that was going to focus on the Asian and Pacific Islanders experience, we of course knew we needed to create an Asian muppet as well,鈥� Ms. Stallings said.
These newer muppets 鈥� their personalities and their looks 鈥� were remarkably constructed in a matter of months. The process normally takes at least a couple of years. There are outside experts and a cross-section of employees known as the 鈥渃ulture trust鈥� who weigh in on every aspect of a new muppet, Ms. Stallings said.
For Ms. Kim, it was crucial that Ji-Young not be 鈥済enerically pan-Asian.鈥�
鈥淏ecause that鈥檚 something that all Asian Americans have experienced. They kind of want to lump us into this monolithic 鈥楢sian,鈥欌�� Ms. Kim said. 鈥淪o it was very important that she was specifically Korean American, not just like, generically Korean, but she was born here.鈥�
One thing Ji-Young will help teach children is how to be a good 鈥渦pstander.鈥� 鈥淪esame Street鈥� first used the term on its 鈥淭he Power of We鈥� TV special last year, which featured Tamir.
鈥淏eing an upstander means you point out things that are wrong or something that someone does or says that is based on their negative attitude towards the person because of the color of their skin or the language they speak or where they鈥檙e from,鈥� Ms. Stallings said. 鈥淲e want our audience to understand they can be upstanders.鈥�
In 鈥淪ee Us Coming Together,鈥� Sesame Street is preparing for Neighbor Day where everyone shares food, music, or dance from their culture. Ji-Young becomes upset after a kid, off screen, tells her 鈥渢o go back home,鈥� an insult commonly flung at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. But she feels empowered after Sesame Street鈥檚 other Asian American residents, guest stars, and friends like Elmo assure her that she belongs as much as anyone else.
The fact that Ji-Young was created to counter anti-Asian sentiment makes her more special to Ms. Kim in some ways.
鈥淚 remember like the Atlanta shootings and how terrifying that was for me,鈥� Ms. Kim said. 鈥淢y one hope, obviously, is to actually help teach what racism is, help teach kids to be able to recognize it and then speak out against it. But then my other hope for Ji-Young is that she just normalizes seeing different kinds of looking kids on TV.鈥�
Vanessa Leung, co-executive director of Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, is excited about Ji-Young. The organization was not involved in Ji-Young鈥檚 creation but previously consulted on anti-racism content for Sesame Workshop. It matters when Asian American families, especially with many of them being immigrant families, can see themselves reflected in an institution like 鈥淪esame Street,鈥� Ms. Leung said.
鈥淚t sparks curiosity and early understanding of the diversity of our community, the beauty in the diversity of our community,鈥� Ms. Leung said.
Ji-Young will be heavily present throughout the show鈥檚 53rd season next year, Ms. Stallings reassured. She also won鈥檛 just be utilized for content related to racial justice. She will pop up in various digital programs, live-action and animated.
As the new kid on the street, Ji-Young is looking forward to showing her friends and neighbors aspects of Korean culture such as the food. She loves cooking dishes like tteokbokki (chewy rice cakes) with her halmoni (grandmother). And she already has one 鈥淪esame Street鈥� friend who wants a sample.
鈥淚 would love to try it,鈥� said Ernie, who joined Ji-Young鈥檚 interview. 鈥淵ou know, I鈥檝e tried bulgogi. I really like bulgogi. I鈥檓 gonna guess that maybe old buddy Bert has not tried Korean food.鈥�
Having already made several famous friends on 鈥淪esame Street,鈥� is there anyone Ji-Young still really wants to meet?
鈥淭he Linda Lindas because they鈥檙e so cool,鈥� Ji-Young said, referring to the teenage punk rock band. 鈥淎nd they rock out and they鈥檙e cool girls and most of them are Asian. They鈥檙e my heroes. If we can get the Linda Lindas on 鈥楽esame Street,鈥� I would show them around.鈥�
This story was reported by The Associated Press.
