A new neighbor has moved into “Sesame Street.”
Ji-Young is the latest muppet to be introduced on the iconic children’s television show, The Associated Press reported.
The character is the first Asian American muppet in the show’s 52-year history. Kathleen Kim is the voice and personality behind Ji-Young. Kim is a Korean American puppeteer who was accepted into a “Sesame Street” workshop in 2015, which led to a mentorship and eventually being a full member of the group in 2015, the AP reported.
“I feel like I have a lot of weight that maybe I’m putting on myself to teach these lessons and to be this representative that I did not have as a kid,” Kim told the AP.
Kim was reminded by fellow puppeteer and voice of Abby Cadabby, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, that “It’s not about us ... It’s about this message.”
Ji-Young is 7 years old and is a Korean American who loves electric guitar and skateboarding.
Her name has a connection to “Sesame Street” too.
“So, in Korean traditionally the two syllables, they mean something different and Ji means, like, smart or wise. And Young means, like, brave or courageous and strong. But we were looking it up and guess what? Ji also means sesame,” the character told the AP.
She will be introduced in a special called “See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special” that will be released on Thanksgiving Day on HBO Max, “Sesame Street” social media accounts and local PBS stations. Celebrities featured in the special include Simu Liu, Padma Lakshmi and Naomi Osaka.
Ji-Young was created in response to anti-Asian attitudes, the AP reported.
Kim hopes Ji-Young is more than just another muppet. She hopes that the new character will open a dialog.
“My 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,” Kim told the AP.
The newest season of “Sesame Street” debuted on Nov. 11. There are 35 new episodes that will be released every Thursday. They will also start streaming on PBS Kids in fall 2022.
Among the celebrities appearing this year are Jon Batiste, Billie Eilish, Amanda Gorman, Dr. Mae Jemison, Kacey Musgraves, Anderson .Paak and Keke Palmer.
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