M.J. Kang is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

playwright and actress.

Early life and education

Born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, Kang immigrated to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

with her family at the age of two."Toronto playwright cites youthfulness, Korean heritage as aid to writing". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'', November 24, 1996. She studied with the Playwrights Unit at Toronto's

Tarragon Theatre The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country.

.Seoul sister launches play: M.J. Kang drama explores issue of cultural dislocation
. ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', November 14, 1996.

Career

Kang's plays include ''Questioning Condoms'', ''Noran Bang: The Yellow Room'', ''Blessings'' and ''dreams of blonde & blue''. She received a

Dora Mavor Moore Award The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped estab ...

nomination for Outstanding New Play, Independent Theatre Division in 1998 for ''Noran Bang: The Yellow Room''. As an actress, Kang had a regular role in the 1997 television series '' Riverdale'', and made guest appearances in ''

E.N.G. ''E.N.G.'' is a Canadian television drama, following the staff of a fictional Toronto television news station. The show aired on CTV from 1989 to 1994. The series ran for 96 episodes, produced by the Alliance Entertainment Corporation. Plot ...

'', '' Earth: Final Conflict'', '' The City'', ''

Doc DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode * ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...

'', ''

Strong Medicine ''Strong Medicine'' is an American medical drama with a focus on feminism, feminist politics, health issues and class conflict that aired on the Lifetime Television, Lifetime network from 2000 to 2006. It was created and produced in part by Who ...

'' and ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

''. On stage, she has performed in productions of

Jean Yoon Jean Yoon (born May 4, 1962) is an American-born Canadian actress and writer of Korean descent. Yoon is best known for originating the role of family matriarch Umma in the 2011 play ''Kim's Convenience'' and in the award-winning CBC Television ...

's ''The Yoko Ono Project'', Laurie Fyffe's ''The Malaysia Hotel'' and

Oren Safdie Oren Safdie ( he, אורן ספדיה; born April 20, 1965) is a Canadian- American-Israeli playwright and screenwriter, and the son of architect Moshe Safdie. Early life Safdie was born in Montreal, Quebec, to Canadian-Israeli architect Moshe S ...

's ''Private Jokes, Public Places''. She has performed in productions of ''Private Jokes, Public Places'' in Toronto,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

Personal life

She is married to

."Home is where the rejection is: Writer Oren Safdie is a hit in the U.S., but Canada isn't calling". ''National Post'', November 24, 2000.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
M. J. Kang Asian Heritage in Canada
20th-century Canadian actresses 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian stage actresses Canadian television actresses South Korean emigrants to Canada Living people Canadian writers of Asian descent Actresses from Seoul Actresses from Toronto Writers from Toronto Canadian actresses of Korean descent Year of birth missing (living people) {{Canada-playwright-stub