Jee Young Han and Cathy Shim On Anderson .Paak’s Directorial Debut and Bridging Cultures Through Music In K-Pops!
K-Pops! follows washed-up musician BJ who joins the house band of a K-pop competition show, only to discover one of the contestants is his long-lost son. The film marks the feature directorial debut of multi-hyphenate artist Anderson .Paak, who also wrote, produced, and stars in the project inspired by his real-life son Soul Rasheed who appears alongside him. Stars Jee Young Han and Cathy Shim spoke with Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado about collaborating with .Paak, the film’s musical heart, and why stories that bridge cultures feel especially resonant right now.
For Han, what stood out about immediately .Paak was his collaborative energy. “What really struck me when we were at the table read was he brought this real wonderful cast. I loved that all the Korean women were essentially strong women. I was so excited because you have an idea of what you think the movie is going to be, but, something that is so specifically Anderson versus like other directors I've worked with is that, he genuinely really loved the cast and he was so excited by the different colors they brought,” Han told me. “There was no part of him that was like, ‘This is my vision. I cast you accordingly, so I need you to do it.’ It was almost like he embraced every single person's individuality. He let them each individually shine to the point that I said, ‘We have too much footage. Like, this movie is getting a little long.’ But that's really infectious. It makes an actor feel good to be embraced, to feel like don't change. He's a real collaborator in that way and that was a real wonderful surprise working with him.”
Shim saw that balancing act firsthand while filming the fictional Wildcard competition show within the movie. “That was really where you got to see him come and put all his various hats on in all its glory. So directorial debut, he wrote it, produced it, stars in it, and he's also got Soul, his son in the movie,” she said. “It was just quite a sight to see him directing through all of the various dance numbers, all the cameos, everything.”
One quiet moment stuck most with her. “There was a decision that needed to be made about a ring that Soul was wearing and director-father thought maybe no ring. It went back and forth very quietly and then finally I saw our first AD Neil Lewis come over and whispered to us all, ‘Okay, dad wants you to take the ring off.’ Then Soul very gently took off his ring and put it into Neil's hand.” explained Shim. “And I thought, how wonderful to see him do that with such grace and not embarrass his son in any way and just privately do this and as a father loving me like, ‘Son, trust me, give me the ring.’ That was a really neat, wonderful moment to see him wear so many hats so fluidly and with such love and grace.”
Music isn’t just background noise in K-Pops!, it’s the connective tissue. In fact, Han’s character Yeji and BJ meet during karaoke. “I have a rule that I don't like doing karaoke when everyone takes it too seriously,” laughed Han. “You don't always choose a song that you think you're going to sound great at. I want you to sing a song everyone is so excited to hear. My thing is songs that bring people together. [.Paak] chose ‘Weak’ in the movie and that brings people together. Everyone knows when they heard it. Everyone feels like they're in middle school again. But for me, I like ‘In the End’ by Linkin Park. That brings people together.”
Karaoke was even crucial to Shim being discovered back in the 90s. “The way that we actually got discovered — I was in a three-girl band group — was when we would sing karaoke together. We chose a song and so our song together was ‘How Deep Is Your Love,’” Shim revealed. “I love throwbacks. Take me to any of the girl bands. I'm all about the Destiny's Child and the TLC and the SWV and the En Vogue.”
K-Pops! also features original music by .Paak. “Early in the movie, he has a really beautiful love song and I think that is that's a little stripped down version of Anderson that I don't think we all get to see. I think we knew we were going to hear an original K-pop song in a movie called K-Pops!, but I think it'll surprise people. It's very heartwarming and it always tugs at my heartstrings,” explained Han, with Shim adding: “AP has such a unique genre blending sound to him. He's soul, he's funk, he's hip-hop, he's R&B, and that's what he brings infused with the K-pop to this movie.
Music is a universal language throughout the film, bringing people together. “What I love about the approach is, the main character BJ, he doesn't love K-pop. He barely knows anything about K-pop, but he does find a way to connect to it. And I think that is so exciting in music. It's exciting because I love listening to Bad Bunny. I don't understand it, but it brings me joy and I love that it brings someone else joy. That is what the phenomenon of K-pop is now,” said Han. “It's very surprising that people listen to it who don't know Korean. But I think that's the unifying thing about this movie is that you can connect to people despite differences. There is so much more to connect with with other people than it is to divide people. You see that in this story of bridging the cultures, bridging the music. So I think that's the message which is love is universal and music is a real wonderful catalyst for that.”
Shim echoed that sentiment. “I hope walking away from this people realize we are so much better when we're together. Find ways to unify and find common ground with one another,” she said. “There's just such a beauty in embracing so many different cultures and coming together in that way.”
This isn’t Han’s first time telling a family-centric story that connects with audiences on a deeper level, as she stars in Nickelodeon’s hit animated series Wylde Pak. “You know what's interesting? This movie and Wylde Pak have something that is a common denominator. It's a mixed race family that's a reflection of what families look like today. I think it's exciting. K-pop has always been in my life, but now it's becoming more universal now. K-pop does not define the Korean culture in any way. It's just a real wonderful part of being Korean is that we have this phenomenon,” shared Han. “I had no idea when I was younger that one day I'd be a Nick Toon. These are our stories that we haven't been able to embrace. And I'm really excited about stories that I haven't seen that have nothing to do with me because, at the end of the day, family is universal. Coming together is universal. Love is universal. And the more we see culture’s less outside in, the more we all come together. I'm excited for this era of storytelling.
Meanwhile, Shim recently contributed additional voices to the global phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters and praised director Maggie Kang for staying true to her vision. “Oh my god, it's been incredible to see this insane global phenomena that KPop Demon Hunters has brought to the world. I love Ejae. I had the blessed opportunity to work with Maggie Kang and various different Korean voices of additional voices and such. She has such a specific eye and an ear to what she wanted for that movie. Just working with her being a Canadian Korean, she stayed true to what her voice is and her love of K-pop and what she wanted every single voice to embody as a whole. It's just been incredible. And Ejae's story is so inspiring,” shared Shim. “I mean, HUNTR/X, right? Talk about powerful female figures. I love seeing this rise of Korean-American female artists coming together in this way. Strong female characters all the way!”
K-Pops! is now playing in theaters.
