Sang-Young Shin, a Korean-American drag queen, artist, businesswoman, and television personality born on August 8, 1987, better known by her stage name Kim Chi, is most recognised for her participation in the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. In addition to becoming the first Korean-American drag queen on American national television, Kim Chi was the first Korean-American competitor on the programme. She is the owner of Kim Chi Chic Cosmetics, a beauty company.
Early Life And Career
Sang-Young Shin was raised in South Korea after being born in the United States on August 8, 1987. Her divorced parents reside in Chicago as well. She was a student at Okemos High. Her mother was unaware that she was a drag until she became well-known on television, as of 2017. After pursuing studies in graphic design in college, Shin went on to work as an art director and experiment with painting, sculpture, and fashion design.
In 2012, Shin began doing drag shows in Chicago under the name Kim Chi. In addition to being a legitimate Korean female name, her drag name is a pun on "Kimchi," the national cuisine of Korea. Shin gave this description of her drag style: "Kim Chi is a live-action anime character whose style may be characterised as 'bionic doily.' My aura, in my imagination, is a gush of ultra violet colours and sparkles. I love anything adorable, entertaining, strange, and foreign." As Trixie Mattel struggled to find a drag job in her hometown of Milwaukee, Kim Chi became friends with her before she joined RuPaul's Drag Race and assisted Mattel in landing one of her first drag gigs in Chicago.
Kim Chi took part in the Werq the World 2017 tour in May of 2017. Alaska Thunderfuck, Alyssa Edwards, Detox, Latrice Royale, and Violet Chachki were among the drag queens that participated in the tour, which was presented by Bianca Del Rio and Michelle Visage.
Kim Chi had an appearance in RuPaul's Drag Race Holi-slay Spectacular, a holiday one-off of the regular Drag Race season, which aired on television in December 2018.
Among 100 previous Drag Race participants, a team of judges from New York magazine ranked her 17th on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America" in June 2019. Kim Chi said in September 2019 that she was working with Toni Ko's Bespoke Beauty Brands to create her own makeup brand.