The characters of Kim's Convenience. Any major spoilers before Season 4 are unmarked.
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Main characters
Kim Sang-il ("Appa")
- Played By: Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
The Kim family patriarch, a traditionalist but can sometimes be persuaded to be open-minded. He is incredibly stubborn, usually on issues related to Janet. Before immigrating to Canada he was a teacher in Korea with Umma.
- Acrofatic: Even as an overweight old man, his martial art hapkido skills have not waned at all, as Gerald finds out the hard way.
- Affectionate Nickname: Umma calls him "yeobo", an affectionate Korean term used by married couples.
- Asian Rudeness: He does mean well and makes an effort to be accommodating to his customers, but he's still bossy, stubborn and grumpy. This is enough to make Gerald terrified of him at times, especially when he's being trained as the store's new part-time worker and can't do anything right with Mr. Kim around (contrast to when Mrs. Kim trains him and he does a spectacular job).
- Asian Speekee Engrish: Primarily speaks in broken English, which is understandable since he immigrated to Canada as an adult. This is done in a more realistic manner than most examples (the actor based his way of speaking on his own Korean immigrant father). There are Played for Laughs instances of him misunderstanding certain English phrases (especially modern trendy ones) but he and everyone still understand each other fine.
- Asian Store-Owner: He and his wife are Korean immigrants and own the series' titular convenience store. Appa takes the business very seriously and is often cranky, but he does his best to be accommodating to regulars and they in return appear to like the store and his family well enough.
- Berserk Button: Anything Japanese will very much annoy Appa and make him go on rants about Korea/Japan's history.
- Brutal Honesty: Straight to the point even if it can be a little inappropriate. One such example is when he's trying to find a last-minute card for a woman to give to her sick (ex) best friend whose important milestones she's missed out on — unimpressed by her lack of effort, he decides to use a sympathy card and write in it himself:"Dear, Sandra.
"Sorry you have a friend like Halimah.
"Sincerely, Mr. Kim." - Character Catch Phrase: A few eccentric phrases he often says:
- "Stop!"
- "OK, see you!"
- "1910! Japan attacked Korea!"
- "What you talking?"
- "Aeeschamnote !", which he usually says to express frustration.
- "Sneak attack" note
- "No, you _________!" He uses this when he feels like he is being accused of something, even though it may not always make sense.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: In regards to Jung. The two refuse to so much as talk about each other let alone see each other after Jung leaves home; after their small reunion at the hospital near the end of Season 1 (where the drugged Appa doesn't register he was actually talking to Jung until after he leaves) they slowly begin to talk to each other again whenever they do cross paths, and Appa starts to miss Jung. The two have a proper reconciliation towards the end of Season 2, although it's shown throughout the series that the two still have some rough patches and can't be around each other that often.
- Faux Fluency: Inverted, Paul Sun-hyung Lee is fluent in English as he moved to Canada at just a few months old, but Appa speaks broken English with an accent since he only immigrated from Korea to Canada as an adult.
- His Name Really Is "Barkeep": Misunderstood by Mr. Mehta, who doesn't realize that Yeobo and Appa are Korean terms for "dear/honey" and "dad" and so up to a certain point genuinely assumes they are Mr. Kim's first names.
- Hot for Preacher: Mild case when Pastor Nina first becomes a part of the church the Kims go to. Mr. Kim becomes lot more enthusiastic around this new attractive pastor than Pastor Choi (and church in general), and goes as far as to let her get things from his store for free. They remain amicable after her debut episode but this trope otherwise wears off.
- Last-Name Basis: Almost always called Mr. Kim by people other than his family, and he returns the favour for many of his non-white friends and customers. Discussed and Played for Laughs when he and Mr. Mehta realize they call each other this way because they don't remember each other's first names to begin with.
- Manly Tears: In Season 3's "Open Kimunication", in a fit of rage during group couples counseling, he proclaims that it's pointless to bring up things that happened long ago in one's life, but abruptly stops when he mentions "A parent who not even..." When Umma realizes that he's having trouble processing pent-up grief about his upbringing, she warmly hugs him as he sheds a single tear.
- Papa Wolf:
- Is pissed when he finds out the Mehtas' son, whom Janet's been romantically involved with, has just become engaged to another girl and he sees how heartbroken his daughter is by the news (despite her claims it was only a casual thing). When the boy attempts to confront Janet, Mr. Kim can't help but give him a big talk-down. A more comedic example with Janet occurs when she and Gerald move in to their new home together, and Mr. Kim (who was initially against Janet living alone with another boy) gifts his daughter a photo her parents... and gifts Gerald with a photo of just himself glaring at the camera, clearly sending a message.
- (Slightly) Played for Laughs; he's super protective of Jung... the cardboard standee (which Mrs. Kim brought home), and angrily chases after two teenage boys when they wreck and attempt to steal said Jung standee.
- In "Knife Strife", when he thinks a man is threatening himself, Umma, and Janet with a knife, Appa's immediate reaction is to stand between them and the man with the knife.
- Unnamed Parent: He is always called Mr. Kim (by non-family) or Appa (by family). His given name is only briefly said/shown in a few episodes,. Played for Laughs when it's revealed Mr. Mehta doesn't even remember his name and had always assumed Yeobo or Appa was his name.
- The Un-Smile: On every occasion he attempts to show Gerald some kindness, usually for some ulterior motive, Mr. Kim ends up putting on forced smiles that freaks Gerald out.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Mr. Kim is on the receiving end of several confrontations about his bad decision-making throughout the series:
- From Mrs. Kim after he implies that Janet had stolen money from the till (an action for which he had previously kicked out of the house his own son). The balance was off because he had not accounted for the "gay discounts" he had been giving throughout the week.
- From Mrs. Kim when she discovers that he had sold off her cemetery plot (but not his own adjacent one) to pay for a slushie machine and never bought it back.
Kim Yung-mi ("Umma")
- Played By: Jean Yoon
The Kim family matriarch, loving but also inclined to meddle in her children's lives. When not working at the store she volunteers at the church the family attends. Before immigrating to Canada she was a teacher in Korea with Appa.
- Affectionate Nickname: Appa calls her "yeobo", an affectionate Korean term used by married couples.
- Asian Speekee Engrish: Primarily speaks in broken English, which is understandable since she immigrated to Canada as an adult. This is done in a more realistic manner than most examples, and she and everyone still communicate with each other fine. It's also slightly Downplayed compared to Appa, since Yoon speaks slightly more clearly than him.
- Asian Store-Owner: A Korean immigrant and co-owner of the titular store along with her husband. She's considerably more friendly and approachable than her husband but is just as proud and serious about the business as he is. People apparently like her more than her husband, as it's her who receives the Moss Park Business Person of the Year award for the convenience store instead of Mr. Kim himself.
- Catchphrase: Like her husband, she has a habit of saying, "What you talking?"
- Dude Magnet: Brags about having guys all over her back in Korea when she was a dancer.
- Faux Fluency: Inverted, Jean Yoon is fluent in English as she was born and raised in North America, but Umma speaks broken English with an accent since she only immigrated from Korea to Canada as an adult.
- I Want Grandkids: Part of her initial obsession with setting Janet up with "cool, Christian, Korean boys" is so that she can give birth to many kids. Janet is very much against this, and so is Mr. Kim (only because it would get in the way of Janet running the store after he retires, which Janet is also against).
- Last-Name Basis: Almost always called Mrs. Kim by people other than her family, and she returns the favour for many of her non-white friends and customers.
- Mistaken for Servant: While Mrs. Kim is standing next to the finger food table at a photography exhibition for Janet, an elderly woman mistakes her for one of the waiting staff; she keeps asking her about the food and even gives her an used napkin to discard. Turns out the the actual waiter for the table is also Asian. Mrs. Kim finds this Actually Pretty Funny, but Janet furiously reports this to Ms. Murray because she thinks it's racist. Things get awkward when the elderly woman turns out to be the main judge for the photography award Janet's aiming for, and the woman and Ms. Murray assume they're being blackmailed into giving Janet the award in exchange for silence.
- My Beloved Smother: Obsesses over Janet and Jung's lives much more than they would like her to. This includes panicking over Janet moving away, trying to pair her up with cool Christian Korean boys, and setting Jung up with an ex-girlfriend (as a joint effort with her mother). This trait is less prominent in the original play.
- Only Sane Man: She's much more grounded than Appa is, despite helicoptering over Janet.
- Parental Substitute: Kimchee sees her as the closest family he's got in town (his mother is in Calgary and he's disconnected from his dad's side), and he also tends to get pampered by her whenever she visits Jung at their home. He even makes her his emergency contact, leading to a paramedic to mistake Mrs. Kim for his own mother.
- Unnamed Parent: She is always called Mrs. Kim (by non-family) or Umma (by family). Her given name is only said/shown a few times.
Jung Kim
- Played By: Simu Liu
The Kim family's estranged son. He was a petty criminal as a teenager, and was kicked out of the family's home by Mr. Kim after he was caught stealing money from the store safe, but now is going straight. Jung works at Handy Car Rental with his friend and roommate Kimchee.
- 10-Minute Retirement: At the end of Season 2 he voluntarily leaves his job at Handy Car Rental because he assumes he's guaranteed a new job at their rival company. Unfortunately said company rejects him in the end due to his delinquent past. Too stubborn to go back, he tries to find other work at the beginning of Season 3 (while pretending to be working at his new job because he's too ashamed to tell the truth); after no success, he eventually asks Shannon to let him come back, which she reluctantly agrees to (on the condition that they forget about the kiss they shared).
- Age Lift: 32 years old in the play, but 24 at the start of the TV show.
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Making a mess of himself due to too much alcohol seemed to be something Jung did when he was younger. The reason his ex-girlfriend Grace broke up with him as teens was because he turned up to her family dinner drunk and threw up on what he thought was a tree (it was her uncle) and punched what he also thought was a tree (also her uncle).
- Ascended Extra: Minor example. Although hardly unimportant in the original play, Jung actually only appears in two scenes. In the TV adaptation (which expands on many details), he appears as frequently as the rest of his family.
- Bad "Bad Acting": Overacts whenever he attempts to lie, such as getting out of a lunch date with a female coworker to go eat with Shannon and pretending to be visiting Kimchee's apartment for the first time (because Kimchee's mother isn't supposed to know he lives there).
- Book Dumb: Lampshaded by Kimchee when Jung's lack of intellectual knowledge is made painfully obvious after flopping in trivia night with Janet's group; when asked by Jung if he thinks he's dumb, Kimchee goes out of his way to clarify that he isn't dumb dumb and is street-smart, "girl-smart, "eat-smart" — just not book-smart. Justified as he didn't end up finishing high school back in his teens — he decides to fix this and gets his GED at the end of Season 2. Even despite the initial lacking education, Jung is still a capable assistant manager at work and good at handling people.
- Childhood Friends: Been good friends with Kimchee since childhood, and the two are still best friends that live and work together.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Despite his friendly and fairly upbeat demeanour, Jung had to go through a difficult time during his youth which has affected what he's become today. He was kicked out of (or ran away from) his house at 16 for stealing money from the Family Business, which led to him not finishing high school and spending time in juvenile detention. He still has a poor relationship with his father because of this, so much so that they avoid speaking to each other as much as possible. Although he's clean now, his mother still feels embarrassed when bringing up his delinquent past.
- Embarrassing Nickname: According to his dad, Jung got teased with many embarrassing variations of his name as a kid such as Dumb Dumb Jung, Ping Pong Jung and Donkey Kong Jung. This is why Mr. and Mrs. Kim gave Janet an English "safe" name.
- Former Teen Rebel: Jung was a delinquent in his youth, but has gone straight now.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Has a close friendship with Kimchee who is also both a work colleague and his roommate. Despite their romances with girls, they rarely appear without each other.
- Meaningful Name: Jung (ě •) refers to a type of love and attachment (not necessarily romantic) between two people, a love so strong it withstands even hate and time. This is applicable to Jung's relationship with his father; it hit the rocks after he left home, but the series shows that despite their differences they still love and care for one another.
- Mr. Fanservice: His toned body is greatly appreciated by other girls (to the point of having his own "fanclub" whenever he plays basketball outside), especially when he's shirtless.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Becomes a minor focus when Alex starts dating Janet in one episode. Jung genuinely wants to support his friend and sister but feels icked out by their public displays of affection and eventually speaks up about his discomfort.
- Oblivious to Love: For much of Season 1 he is oblivious to Shannon's obvious crush on him.
- Person as Verb: Kimchee does not enjoy getting "Junged" ie. having girls interested in himself abandon him once they meet Jung who is conventionally more attractive in-series.
- Reformed, but Rejected:
- Despite making an effort to lead a much better life than when he was a teenage delinquent, his father still refuses to talk to him for much of Season 1. However, Umma and Janet still keep in touch with him in secret (although Umma sometimes obsesses over how other people think of him).
- Jung's employment prospects does not go unaffected by his past. In the Season 2 finale, the rival car rental that accepted him as an applicant turns him down after his juvenile delinquency comes up in the background check.
- Shirtless Scene: Will remove his shirt at the slightest provocation.Kimchee: (referring to the work standee of Jung) I call him the perfect Jung.
Janet: Because he doesn't talk or take off his shirt? - "Well Done, Son" Guy: His father's rejection of him has obviously hurt him the most and is the reason he avoids him. Additionally, he's upset that his mother still obsesses over his past and what other people at church think of him, and makes a point that he doesn't care what they think but cares about what she thinks of him.
Janet Kim
- Played By: Andrea Bang
The younger child in the family, Janet often butts heads with her father over his traditionalism. She attends art school at OCAD University to study photography.
- Accidental Misnaming: Janet herself mispronounces and misspells her brief stage name Eui Kyung since she's not used to it nor has very good Korean pronunciation. She keeps saying the eui part as "oi" instead of "ui" despite her father correcting her multiple times, and she incorrectly spells it in two different ways on the business cards and her poster (which is written as Eiu Kyung) during her student exhibition. This ends up confusing the other people at the exhibition (none of them Korean), and they make it worse by debating how it's pronounced.
- A-Cup Angst: Implied by one of the letters she wrote to Nayoung when they were kids, with a young Janet sounding unhappy with her lack of boob growth during her puberty.Nayoung: (reading) "I think maybe my boob is getting smaller."
- Aerith and Bob: The only member of her family to have an English first name instead of Korean (although apparently her parents had each wanted to give her a Korean name but couldn't agree on which one). Her father justifies it by saying he wanted to give her a safe English name to avoid her getting bullied like Jung. Annoyed by how common of a name Janet Kim is in the photography business, she briefly attempts to give herself a professional Korean name Eui Kyung.
- Affectionate Nickname: Affectionately called eonni (a term for one's older sister or older sister figure) by her cousin Nayoung. She gets sick of being called this during Nayoung's first visit, finding it childish, but is fine with it again after the two cousins make up.
- Age Lift: A 30 year old college graduate and professional photographer in the play, but a 20-year-old photography student in the TV show.
- Asian and Nerdy: Played with. Janet's on a scholarship and generally places first/very high in class, a stark contrast to her Book Dumb brother who acknowledges that he got the looks while she got the brains. However, she studies photography at an art school instead of the typically more nerdy areas Asians are stereotyped with like STEM or business.
- Asian Speekee Engrish: She invokes this trope when she pretends to not speak English well after a security guard catches her trying to sneak into a film festival. This unfortunately haunts her when the security guard runs into her at the store a few times, and during the second time Jung and Kimchee also have to fake accented terrible English to protect Janet's secret. Mrs. Kim is unimpressed by her daughter and angrily asks her, "You pretend to talk like me to get a free movie ticket?"
- Brutal Honesty: Will say what's on her mind even if it can be hurtful. This includes her having enough of Nayoung's overly sweet behaviour and when she and Gerald initially struggle to put up with each other's bad habits at their new home.
- Childhood Friends: Been well-acquainted with her brother's friend Kimchee since childhood, and they enjoy each other's company when they go out for dinner while Jung goes on a date. Old letters she wrote to Nayoung reveal she used to have a crush on him as a kid.
- Compressed Vice: A Season 4 episode has characters criticising Janet for being too unemotional and distant, like a robot. This contradicts with her usual behaviour where she is as expressive as everyone else and is actually prone to freaking out.
- Daddy's Girl: An emotional conversation with Mr. Kim in Season 4 implies that she loves her father the most out of everyone in her family, with the sentiment being reciprocated.
- Dead Guy Junior: When feeling down about her boring her name apparently is, Janet is informed by her mother of its significance — she shares the same name as the deceased elderly woman that helped the newly-arrived Mrs. Kim with her English and looked after Jung (and brought them banana bread).
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: Despite being of Korean heritage, Janet does not appear to be at all fluent in the language. She knows enough Korean to communicate to her mother (albeit badly) when she doesn't want Mr Mehta to know what she's saying, but not enough for her to talk to a Korean waiter (to prove she's just as Korean as her cousin Nayoung) without butchering the pronunciation very badly. After studying the language and preparing for his trip to Korea, even Gerald speaks and understands more than her.
- Hates Being Touched: Downplayed, she's happy dating Jung's friend Alex but her friends observe the two and point out that Janet doesn't really embrace Alex's physical intimacy. When she attempts to act more like Sickeningly Sweethearts with him, it's obvious she doesn't like it all that much.
- Like Parent, Like Child: Despite the two butting heads, Janet shares many traits with her father such as his Brutal Honesty (which he once lampshades).
- No Social Skills: Downplayed, as she socialises with her friends and family fine but is very awkward at expressing herself to other people. Her initial efforts to make small talk with Dree are painful, she finds it difficult to confront people and has a terrible case of Digging Yourself Deeper. This trait is less present in the play, in which her interaction with non-family is more limited.
- One-Steve Limit: How handy this trope would be is discussed when her professor tries to find her photography website and fails because there's just that many photographers called Janet Kim. Janet attempts to "rebrand" herself as Eui Kyung to stand out, but the others (non-Korean) instead just stumble over how to pronounce the name.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: During her Asian Speekee Engrish cover she slips into her fluent non-accented English a few times which confuses the security guard, but her cover isn't blown until right at the end when she feels guilty and confesses.
- Platonic Life-Partners: Close friends with Gerald whom she otherwise shows no romantic interest in whatsoever. The two frequently hang out together and still buy a place together even after their third friend bails out. The Season 4 finale suggests their friendship isn't completely free of Unresolved Sexual Tension, leading them to kiss, but she's unwilling to follow up on it (especially with Raj back in the picture) and bids farewell to Gerald as friends.
- Precocious Crush: Old childhood/teenage letters from Janet that Nayoung kept reveal that Janet used to have crushes on all of her older brother Jung's friends, including Kimchee. Janet is embarrassed about the last one and goes out of her way to avoid revealing this to Jung and Kimchee until Nayoung spills.
- Stage Names: Briefly attempted when Janet realizes all the other photographers named Janet Kim drown her out in the Google results. She decides to call herself Eui Kyung (note that she does not seem to have been given a Korean name by her parents).
- The Unfavorite: Janet feels unsupported by her parents, even after Jung was kicked out of the house. This becomes a plot point at the end of season 2 when she gets frustrated by them celebrating Jung's GED instead of her graduation and tries to act out by riding around in her motorcycle. This trope doesn't apply at least to her with her father, who hints that he loves her the most in the family.
- Unrequited Love Switcheroo: Janet's then-boyfriend Raj gets engaged to another girl without telling her first, which breaks her heart since she was taking their relationship more seriously than she claimed. Later Raj shows interest in her again and confesses to her that the engagement was a mistake, but Janet isn't totally convinced and is visibly irritated by him. Things get complicated when he does end up breaking the engagement off and it becomes clear Janet still has feelings for him, despite getting a new boyfriend herself.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Appreciates the rare praise from her parents, especially from her dad. She's even happy with taking a photo of Appa to go up on the "don't-touch wall" and having Gerald take the credit since Appa wouldn't had appreciated the photo otherwise.
Kimchee Han
- Played By: Andrew Phung
Jung's childhood best friend, roommate, and coworker at Handy Car Rental.
- Berserk Button: Very protective of his special sneakers collection which he refuses to wear so they stay in good condition. Jung accidentally getting burrito juice on them when messing around with his empty burrito paper wrap makes Kimchee super pissed and hostile enough that Jung goes out of his way to buy new ones to make it up to him.Kimchee: Careful. He'll destroy everything you love. [later on, over the loudspeaker at work] Everything you love.
- Big Fun: On the larger side and is very playful and friendly.
- Disappeared Dad: Kimchee's dad abandoned his family at some point in his childhood. Kimchee's only memory of him is the two of them eating kimchi together and the name Kimchee itself (which his dad came up with), which is why he's very protective of his In-Series Nickname. In the series finale he goes Gene Hunting for his father. It turns out the guy he tracked down was a different guy with the same name.
- Childhood Friends: Been friends with Jung and Janet since childhood. He's still Jung's best friend in the present and is on good terms with Janet.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": It's implied he has some disdain for his real name when Shannon is angry at Kimchee and refers to him as Arnold while at the office, to which Kimchee replies, "Stooping to my legal name. Cold." His preferred nickname is always used, even when signing his coworkers' paychecks, since it's his only memory left of his father who abandoned him.
- Faux Fluency: Mild as Andrew Phung's efforts in his Korean are admirable, but the few times we hear Kimchee speak Korean it evidently does not sound as fluent as the Korean spoken by his actual Korean co-stars.
- Former Teen Rebel: Like Jung, Kimchee was a delinquent in his youth before maturing as an adult (but he still has a rebellious side).
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Has a close friendship with Jung who is also both a work colleague and his roommate. Despite their romances with girls, they rarely appear without each other.
- Hidden Depths: He apparently enjoys watching documentaries, something Jung has no interest in. He even becomes visibly choked up when relating the plot of a movie he saw about street cats.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Mild as he isn't quite a jerk (except to Terrence) and is instead just sometimes inconsiderate or puts himself first instead of doing the right thing. Nevertheless, he's easy to get along with, polite to elders, and is also the one who took Jung in and got him work when he was kicked out of home and struggling on his own.
- Karma Houdini: Prior to the start of the series he got away with shoplifting smartphones, while Jung was not as lucky.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: He and everyone uses his nickname Kimchee, to the point that his name sign in his office even says "Kimchee Han". His coworkers are confused when they find out it's not his actual name. He insists on using the nickname rather than his real name, Arnold because it's one of the few memories of his father.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Jung is suspicious when Kimchee makes an effort to clean up their place and buy a lot of things despite usually being a bit sloppy. He eventually finds out that this is due to Kimchee making decent money off of an Uber-equivalent business.
- Rank Up: Becomes the new assistant manager at Handy Car Rental at the end of Season 2 after Jung leaves the place for another job (which, unbeknownst to Kimchee, he doesn't get in the end). Kimchee enjoys flaunting his new status in Season 3 but otherwise does a sufficient job, and Jung refuses to tell him he was rejected by the other car rental because he doesn't want him to feel bad for taking his old position.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Goes out of his way to please his mother when she visits him in Season 3. He even pretends to have cut ties with Jung since she doesn't like him and considers him a bad influence—turns out whenever his mum caught him with bad stuff in his youth, he lied and blamed it on Jung.
Shannon Ross
- Played By: Nicole Power
Jung and Kimchee's manager at Handy Car Rental, originally from Nova Scotia. She means well but her attempts to appear cool often come off awkward.
- Animal Lover: She dotes on her cats, gets quickly attached to a lost dog, and is eager to help an injured pigeon recover rather than giving it a Mercy Kill (like Jung was about to do).
- Benevolent Boss: Shannon treats her employees rather well and is very pleasant to work with.
- Cannot Keep a Secret: When confronting Jung about the sexual harassment complaint made against him, she initially attempts to hide the complainer's identity but doesn't do a great job at hiding their gender ("he's requested that his name, or she, her name, or his, remain anonymous") and eventually doesn't even bother avoiding their name altogether ("but if Kimchee, or her, decides to file a formal complaint I have no choice but to send this on up").
- Country Mouse: She's from rural Nova Scotia, and has trouble fitting in with Jung and Kimchee.
- Covert Pervert: Jung's explaining ddongjeem as the cultural equivalent of a wedgie leaves her confused but also very curious.
- Endearingly Dorky: Awkward but endearing in her attempts to be cool and relatable to people at work, as well as when she lets loose. Jung has mixed feelings about her at first but her dorky personality grows on him, and him catching her singing over the speakers when closing up the workplace is the first clear sign that he's begun reciprocating her feelings.
- Extreme Doormat: Her efforts in being the nice "cool" boss can make it easy to fool her or use her. Jung is wary of this when he thinks Janet is taking advantage of her kindness in order to go to a concert in her very first weekend shift at their workplace.
- Innocently Insensitive: She has prejudices toward people raised in the city as being more aggressive, but this is based on being from Cape Breton than any actual malice. She's also occasionally culturally-insensitive without meaning to.
- May–December Romance: She's older than Jung.
- Stepford Smiler: Shannon is a cheerful person, but a small breakdown in Season 4 reveals she's unhappy about the way her life turned out, which is why she's determined to give Stacie a memorable 30th birthday work party.
- Token White: The only white member of the main cast. She is amicable and respectful of cultures other than her own, but occasionally crosses into Innocently Insensitive territory.
- Unrequited Love Switcheroo: Harbours a big crush on Jung in Season 1 and makes some attempts to woo him, something that he either doesn't notice or chooses to ignore. When he finally starts to realize his feelings for her, she's already moved on and started dating Alejandro. The finale of Season 2 reveals she still has feelings for Jung but she refuses to act on them because of her relationship with Alejandro.
Recurring characters
Gerald Tremblay
- Played By: Ben Beauchemin
Janet's good friend and fellow student in her photography course. He buys a place with her in Season 2.
- Butt-Monkey: Mr. and Mrs. Kim frequently snark about Gerald or use him for their schemes, and he's often unintentionally treated with some disdain by even his friends which he does not ignore.Janet: We couldn't find another roommate. So, now, I have no choice but to live with Gerald.
Gerald: You don't need to say it like that. - Cannot Keep a Secret: Unwilling to keep things to himself. One such example is when he doesn't seem to realize (or care) when he casually reveals Janet's secret birthday plans for their friend Semira.
- Nervous Wreck: Nearly always looks uncomfortable and anxious, especially when Mr. Kim is around.
- Platonic Life-Partners: Close friends with Janet whom he otherwise shows no romantic interest in whatsoever. The two frequently hang out together and still buy a place together even after their third friend bails out. The Season 4 finale reveals that he does have pent-up feelings for her, but he chooses to respect her potentially getting back together with Raj.
Mrs. Park
- Played By: Uni Park
A snobby, wealthier woman at the Kims' church.
- The Ghost: Mr. Park is alluded several times, but has yet to make an appearance in the series.
- Happy Marriage Charade: Apparently is in a troubled marriage, and Mr. Park is never seen.
- JerkAss: Makes a mockery out of the Kims and always looks down on Jung and his delinquent past despite him obviously making an effort to clean up.
- No Name Given: Only known as Mrs. Park, with her first name yet to be revealed.
- Rich Bitch: Mrs. Park is wealthy and isn't shy of rubbing it to the Kims.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Has petty contests and snark-to-snark exchanges with Umma.
Pastor Nina Gomez
- Played By: Amanda Brugel
The new associate pastor at the Kims' church, introduced in the Season 1 episode "Service".
- Beware the Nice Ones: The usually nice and respectful Pastor Nina occasionally loses her temper if the situation gets too hectic or she's in a bad mood, like scolding the couples during couples counselling or yelling at Jimmy for his sexist remarks. There's also a misleading Played for Laughs instance where she loudly announces the silent auction is finished while raising the signed bat, making it look like she's threatening everyone with it.
- Cannot Keep a Secret: Repeatedly lets slip marriage counselling information, with Mrs. Park being a frequent victim.
- Not So Above It All: Usually good at being the reasonable person in the room but occasionally gives in to temptation and whatnot. One such example is when she fights over the signed bat with Mr. Kim and later ends the silent auction early after he backs off so no one else can claim it.
- Only Sane Man: As a pastor who prioritises having a good conscience and keeping things peaceful, she's often the voice of reason or mediator when things get too weird among the eccentric cast. But not always...
- Sexy Priest: A pastor at the Kims' church who's also very attractive (even though she's always seen in modest clothing including outside of work), something that Mr. Kim appreciates very much. He and Mrs. Kim ponder about her love life now and then, especially when they find condoms in Janet's bedroom and think they're hers. Season 4 implies Pastor Nina's gotten involved with multiple (married) men and it's even revealed she's in a secret relationship with Jimmy.
Nayoung
- Played By: Soo-Ram Kim
Janet and Jung's cousin, introduced in the Season 1 episode "Frank and Nayoung" when she visits from Korea. As of her second appearance in the Season 2 episode "Cardboard Jung", she has moved to Canada to study at the University of Waterloo.
- Asian Speekee Engrish: As she's just come to Canada from Korea to visit her extended family and later study at Waterloo, she's understandably not fluent in English yet. Her grammar and pronunciation is the most lacking, but like her uncle/aunt this is done realistically instead of mockery and everyone still communicates with her fine.
- Ditzy Genius: Despite her airhead/childish-like demeanour, the fact that she attends a university known for its math, computer science, and engineering programs implies she's also very smart.
- Genki Girl: Very cheerful and excitable, which wears Janet down in her first appearance.
- Girlish Pigtails: Often wears her hair in pigtails, which suits her cutesy ways.
- Innocently Insensitive: Sometimes make rude remarks with no malicious intent whatsoever especially to Janet, sometimes due to language barrier and sometimes because she's just too peppy to notice.
- Kawaiiko: A Korean variant (although she appears to be heavily influenced by Japanese kawaiiko fashion too), Nayoung loves dressing in cute and gaudy fashion, and talks and acts very sweetly. She also has an obsession with cute trends such as hand/arm hearts and selfies. She first appears wearing cat ears, making Janet wonder if she's dressing up (which Nayoung laughs off, thinking she's joking). She is 18 in her debut appearance, which Janet initially thinks is too old to be acting this way.
- Prone to Tears: Overly sensitive and easily gets upset, as Janet finds out when she calls Nayoung a freak and tells her to grow up.
- Really Gets Around: Implied when she hooks up with Kimchee during her second appearance and also kisses her guy friend from Waterloo in the very same episode, and she dubs them her "Toronto friend" and "Waterloo friend". Janet suggests it might not be good for her to have too many "friends", but Nayoung is unfazed.
- Sickeningly Sweet: Nayoung's hyperactive and sweet personality combined with her Kawaiiko ways really puts off Janet at first and she eventually snaps at her because of it.
Chelsea
- Played By: Gabriella Sundar Singh
Gerald's girlfriend, who's introduced in Season 2.
- Ambiguously Bi: Introduced as Gerald's girlfriend, and it's not made clear if she's also attracted to girls or not. She does however suddenly kiss Janet during a girls' night at home when getting "caught up in the moment" and teasingly calls it their "little secret thing" while winking (very vocally). Additionally, when Chelsea is socialising with all her "friends" at a party, Gerald feels insecure about their relationship and snarks that it worries him watching her keep going from "guy to guy to girl to guy".
- Beware the Nice Ones: Downplayed. She's arguably not really "nice" (if anything, she's definitely perky and cheerful, at least on the outside), but in "Thinkin' 'bout Inkin'", a casual conversation about relationships with exes turns somewhat dark:
- Genki Girl: Very upbeat and energetic.
- Irritation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery: Downplayed. When Chelsea is introduced to Janet, she takes a liking to her and starts copying her in various ways, like ordering the same food (despite Janet changing her mind multiple times Chelsea still copies her) and buying the same drink bottle. She stops when she finds out this has been annoying Janet.
- Oblivious to His Own Description: When Gerald complains about Jung sleeping at their place, Janet snarks to him about the time he let someone stay over and they never left, obviously hinting at Chelsea. Chelsea doesn't realize this and agrees with, "God, those people are the worst!"
- The Thing That Would Not Leave: In Season 3 it's revealed she's been staying at Janet and Gerald's place for more days than they would have liked. They attempt to get rid of her—unfortunately, their awkward way of going about it and Janet's hunger for money leads to the opposite effect ie. Chelsea permanently moving in.
