Sesame Street has a new friend, and it’s the long-running show’s first Asian Muppet. Sesame Workshop announced that Ji-Young is a seven-year-old Korean American character, performed by Sesame Workshop puppeteer Kathleen Kim.
The “spunky” character will make her first starring appearance opposite Shang-Chi star Simu Liu in See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special.
“See Us Coming Together continues Sesame Street‘s proud legacy of representation with an engaging story that encourages empathy and acceptance and uplifts Asian and Pacific Islander communities,” the show’s producers said.
“[Ji-Young] is extremely close with her family and is proud of her Korean heritage,” according to her official bio. “She loves playing music with her grandma and cooking her favorite food — tteokbokki. Her family eats dinner together at the kitchen table every night, chatting in both Korean and English.”
The new special also features celebrity guests including Anna Cathcart, comic-book artist legend Jim Lee, Padma Lakshmi and tennis star Naomi Osaka.
See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special will debut on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 25, on multiple platforms, including Cartoonito on HBO Max, PBS KIDS and Sesame Street‘s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels.
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
