Eunji Kim is tired of how people measure taste and who gets to decide what’s tasteful.

These tastemakers and their boxes with their spoken and unspoken expectations never served Eunji anyway. Not growing up a Korean child who wanted to be powerful but couldn’t fathom being center stage and not the almost forty-year-old queer standup comedian, writer, and mom she is today. So why the hell should she care what anyone thinks?

This uninhibited confidence and the epiphany that Eunji could shape her own career and comedy culture based around nothing other than her own questionable taste serves as the foundation for Eunji’s upcoming one woman show.

‘In Bad Taste’ premieres  at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago 6/10 and 6/11.

‘In Bad Taste’ came to Eunji after an 8-week ketamine therapy treatment Eunji undertook partly for her depression and partly because the existential intake questions on the forms got her gears grinding. The number one side effect of the treatment being ‘euphoria,’ Eunji couldn’t resist. Now, Eunji plans to take the stage following her trial with this mysterious and sought-after state. We can expect a concoction of comedy, jazz, essays, video, standup, and a ride on the full range of emotions from laughing to crying. Eunji’s utterly unique experience as a queer immigrant mother plants her in the center stage. We cannot WAIT to hear what she has to say.

Eunji reminisces on her quirky intro to the comedy scene.

A friend thought she’d take a liking to improv, and Eunji simply accepted. That statement wouldn’t even scratch the surface of the feeling it gave Eunji to finally throw herself into improv and comedy. The calculations on how she could find her comedic voice came on early and fierce, and that fire has remained since she first started. 

Separate from when Eunji first dove into comedy was the time she set herself ions beyond those around her at an improv show where she hobbled onto the stage 38 weeks pregnant. Her bit throughout the performance was that she was, indeed and honestly, crowning. Eunji’s standup comedy journey actually began at 30 weeks pregnant to everyone’s surprise except maybe Eunji. She admits how much this tracks. These standout qualities in Eunji lead her on an endless mission to create and perform. ‘In Bad Taste’ feels like a checkpoint that will both wildly entertain us and define a movement forward where Eunji continues to peel away the forces that judged and quieted her in the past. 

Keep up with Eunji on Instagram. Purchase tickets to see ‘In Bad Taste’ on Friday, June 10th or Saturday, June 11th HERE. 

Words by Grace Kinter