{snip} At only seven years old, Ji-Young is making history as the first Asian American muppet in the Sesame Street canon. She is Korean American and has two passions: rocking out on her electric guitar and skateboarding. {snip}

{snip} Some of Ji-Young’s personality comes from her puppeteer, Kathleen Kim, 41, who is also Korean American. Kim got into puppetry in her 30s. In 2014, she was accepted into a Sesame Street workshop. That evolved into a mentorship, and she became part of the team the following year.

{snip} Ji-Young’s existence is the culmination of a lot of discussions after the events of 2020 — George Floyd‘s death and instances of anti-Asian hate. Like a lot of companies, Sesame Street reflected on how it could “meet the moment,”...