‘Kim’s Convenience’ creator Ins Choi is back with a new show — and it’s his most personal project yet - Toronto Star

In “Son of a Preacherman,” Choi tells a series of personal stories conveyed through word and song.  

Ins Choi is pictured at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church in Toronto, where his new play “Son of a Preacherman” is running this month.

In the 1990s, Ins Choi picked up a camcorder and started to film his family. He interviewed his father, his aunts and his uncles, all with the goal of creating a homemade movie about his family’s stories, including their memories of living through the Korean War. 

By the end of filming, Choi had more than four hours of footage. He then carefully went back through the videos, summarizing the interviews into a hundred pages of notes. 

But nothing came of those notes. For years, they sat collecting dust in Choi’s home as he moved on to other projects and pursuits. He went to theatre school. He joined the Soulpepper Academy. He wrote “Kim’s Convenience,” the hit play that was adapted into a CBC television series and recently toured across North America, starring Choi himself.