{"id":2142,"date":"2012-09-01T15:32:25","date_gmt":"2012-09-01T15:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/library.ryerson.ca\/asianheritage\/?page_id=2142"},"modified":"2026-04-28T10:26:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:26:21","slug":"ins-choi","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/authors\/ins-choi\/","title":{"rendered":"Ins Choi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Ins Choi was born in South Korea and grew up in Scarborough, now part of the city of Toronto.\u00a0 He is a poet, playwright and actor who graduated from the acting program at York University in 1998.\u00a0 His first play, Kim’s Convenience<\/em> was a huge success at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival where it won the New Play Contest and Patron’s Pick Award.\u00a0 Subsequently the play was remounted in an acclaimed version by Soulpepper Theatre Company. More recently, Kim’s Convenience<\/em> has been adapted into a television series airing on CBC. Choi completed a Master of Theological Studies at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Book<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Drama<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kim’s Convenience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 2012.
PS8605 .H63 K54 2012<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Kim is a first-generation Korean immigrant and the proud owner of Kim’s Convenience, a variety store located in the heart of downtown Toronto’s Regent Park neighbourhood. There, he spends his time serving an eclectic array of customers, catching petty thieves, and helpfully keeping the police apprised of illegally parked Japanese cars. As the neighbourhood quickly gentrifies, Mr. Kim is offered a generous sum of money to sell – enough to allow him and his wife to finally retire. But Kim’s Convenience is more than just his livelihood – it is his legacy. As Mr. Kim tries desperately, and hilariously, to convince his daughter Janet, a budding photographer, to take over the store, his wife sneaks out to meet their estranged son Jung, who has not seen or spoken to his father in sixteen years and who has now become a father himself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Drama<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Son of a Preacherman<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 2026.
forthcoming Sept. 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Ins Choi is the son of a preacherman and the grandson of a preacherman, the nephew of a preacherman and the nephew of a preacherwoman. Seven of his cousins are preachers, and Ins himself has a Masters of Theological Studies which he got enroute to being a preacher… but then he became an artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through songs, stories and spoken word, Son of a Preacherman<\/em> takes audiences on a unique and intimate journey chronicling Ins\u2019 struggles going from preacher to artist. This solo show includes the story of his dad\u2019s journey through the Korean War, having only Bruce Lee and David Suzuki as Asian male role models and what type of sandals Jesus would wear if he walked the earth today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Son of a Preacherman<\/em> is an award-winning show filled with warmth, wit, and moments of deep reflection, sure to resonate long after the curtain falls.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Poetry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Subway Stations of the Cross<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Illustrated by Guno Park.
Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 2015.
PS8605 .H63 S83 2015<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by a real-life encounter with a homeless man, award-winning playwright Ins Choi (Kim\u2019s Convenience<\/em>) has originated an astounding work of artistry and imagination in these fourteen spoken-word poems and songs that make up Subway Stations of the Cross<\/em>. Part public disturbance, part performance artist, and part modern-day prophet, Ins Choi embodies the form of a nameless vagabond who is both beggar and seer. He creates a rich tapestry of the profane and the sacred, the humorous and the banal, the contemptuous and the poignant in both poetry and lyric. It is a holy communion for the urban soul. This relevant and challenging show is captured here in book form with illustrations of subway drawings by Guno Park, whose work has been featured internationally.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Publisher House of Anansi Press<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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\u00a0<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ins Choi was born in South Korea and grew up in Scarborough, now part of the city of Toronto.\u00a0 He is a poet, playwright and actor who graduated from the acting program at York University in 1998.\u00a0 His first play, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"parent":16,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2142","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2142"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22083,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2142\/revisions\/22083"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}