‘Sesame Street’ will debut first Asian-American muppet in upcoming special

A new face is coming to Sesame Street. Ji-Young is the newest character and the show's first Asian American muppet in its 52-year history. 

The Sesame Workshop describes Ji-Young as a 7-year-old Korean American girl who loves playing her electric guitar, skateboarding, and eating with her family.

Ji-Young will debut in the upcoming Thanksgiving special See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special, which will air on HBO Max. The special will center around a celebration called Neighbor Day, where residents will share food, music, dances, and other traditions from their cultures. 

The special features a slew of celebrities including actors Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and Anna Cathcart (To All the Boys I've Loved Before), professional tennis player Naomi Osaka, chef Melissa King, author Padma Lakshmi, and comic book artist Jim Lee.

Ji-Young will be played by Workshop puppeteer Kathleen Kim. She joined the Sesame Workshop in 2014 as an assistant puppeteer.

Ji-Young is a result of the Coming Together imitative developed by Sesame Street last year as a result of the events of 2020, such as the George Floyd protests and the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. 

Kay Wilson Stallings, head of creative development for Sesame Street spoke on the show's need to represent all children in their program.

"When we knew we were going to be doing this work that was going to focus on the Asian and Pacific Islanders experience," Stallings stated, "We of course knew we needed to create an Asian muppet as well," Another creation of the Coming Together initiative was an eight-year-old African American puppet named Tamir, who spoke about the issues of race in The Power of We: A Sesame Street Special last year.

'See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special' is set to premiere on 25 November.