Introducing Jean Judy Kwon of Yo Mama Rice

On being Korean American, surviving systemic racism, and her attempt at promoting Korean American representation in Hollywood

When Judy Jean Kwon’s father left Korea for America after the Korean civil war in an attempt to escape the horrors of the past, he never could have imagined the tumultuous journey that laid ahead of him and the negative impact it will have on his family.

Judy Jean Kwon’s dad in the 1970s, as she describes it, “looking cool.” (Courtesy Judy Jean Kwon)

Judy Jean Kwon is an actor, director, and producer. She grew up in a Korean American video store, where she fell in love with the art of filmmaking and storytelling. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she split her time between Korea and America as a child. Not feeling like she belonged anywhere, she turned to music and the arts.

Judy Jean Kwon as a girl in Korea standing among the cherry blossoms in her backyard. (Courtesy Judy Jean Kwon)

After her parents move to America, Judy and her sister were left to the care of their grandmother. The first time she visited America as a child, she remembered being ignored by everyone; her only friend was a black girl who she played with in silence because of language barriers. Her second visit and final move to America with her sister and grandmother turned out to be a…