Stand Up, Yumi Chung!

Stand Up, Yumi Chung! (March 2020) is the debut novel by Korean American author Jessica Kim. When first published, it made several 2020 award lists, including Kirkus Best Children’s Books and Amazon Best Books of the Month. The author followed this title with Make a Move, Sunny Park! (2023), which covers similar material as her first book. Like her characters, Kim was born in California and is currently a SoCal resident. She is also a former grade-school teacher. According to her website, Kim writes about “Asian American girls finding their way in the world.”

The author’s first novel falls under the categories of Children’s Asia & Asia America Studies and Children’s Performing Arts Books. It is intended for readers aged 9 to 12 in grades 4-7. This study guide and all its page citations are based on the book’s Kindle edition. The story takes place in the Koreatown neighborhood of contemporary Los Angeles during August. It is told using a first-person point of view from the perspective of protagonist Yumi Chung.

As the tale begins, 11-year-old Yumi is enjoying her summer vacation away from the upscale Winston Academy prep school. Much of Yumi’s free time is spent helping her parents in their family restaurant, Chung’s Barbecue. Yumi frequently feels invisible since her parents brag about her overachieving 20-year-old sister, Yuri, who attends UCLA medical school. Yumi wants more than anything to be a stand-up comedian someday. She keeps a secret comedy notebook and practices comedy routines in her bedroom, where she thinks nobody can hear her. When Yumi’s comedy idol, Jasmine Jasper, conducts a kids’ comedy camp in the neighborhood, Yumi is desperate to attend. Her scheme involves passing herself off as another student and lying to everybody she knows. As Yumi’s deceptions begin to unravel, and she tries to make amends for her mistakes, the novel explores the themes of Cultural Expectations, The Fear of Causing Disappointment, and The True Yumi.

Plot Summary

Eleven-year-old Yumi Chung often feels that nobody listens to her. She begins by telling the reader that she’s looking forward to a fresh start in the new school year by getting a new haircut, but her mother insists on a perm. This will draw even more ridicule from Yumi’s snobbish classmates at the Winston Academy, where she spends most of her time as a social outcast.

Yumi’s parents run a popular restaurant in Koreatown called Chung’s Barbecue. Now that the neighborhood is becoming gentrified, business has been slowing down, and the Chungs worry about their financial future. They have used every penny to give their two daughters a good education. Yumi’s 20-year-old sibling, Yuri, is already attending UCLA medical school, while Yumi is being sent to a pricey prep school in Beverly Hills.

Yumi rejoices briefly when her mother says that the family can’t afford her tuition because of a downturn in their business. Her happiness evaporates when her mother announces that Yumi can qualify for a scholarship at Winston by taking an SSAT exam at the end of the month. To that end, Mrs. Chung has enrolled Yumi in a test-cram course at a neighborhood hagwon run by the strict Mrs. Pak. Yumi is depressed that the rest of her summer has been so overscheduled.

She secretly desires to be a stand-up comedian one day and avidly watches videos posted by the kids’ comedy coach, Jasmine Jasper. While walking through the neighborhood after a hagwon class, Yumi stumbles across a new building that appears to be a theater. She is amazed to discover that it will be a comedy venue called the Haha Club and that Jasmine is conducting a comedy camp for kids there.

When Yumi walks in, she is mistaken for a missing student named Kim Nakamura. Yumi doesn’t have the nerve to correct the mistake and finds herself accepted into the program. She soon shows her comic talent while performing improv routines with two new friends named Felipe and Sienna. This lucky break makes Yumi want to convince her parents to let her take comedy classes, even though she suspects they won’t approve.

Yumi discusses the problem with sister Yuri, who advises Yumi not to let their parents run her life. Yuri soon demonstrates this principle when she announces to the family that she’s quitting medical school and joining the Peace Corps. Unlike her sister, Yumi is too afraid to confront her parents directly about her comedy ambitions. She fears disappointing them and resorts to trickery and deceit to continue taking classes.

Eventually, Yumi’s lies catch up with her, causing everyone in her world to feel betrayed and angry. To make amends, Yumi tries to help save her family’s restaurant by suggesting they use their karaoke stage for an open mic benefit. Yumi overcomes her fear of disappointing others by making peace with her comedy camp friends and enlisting the support of Jasmine to bring in a large crowd for the event. On open mic night, Yumi takes the stage and makes the audience laugh by admitting her many mistakes. In the process, she learns that no failure is final, as she finally stands up for the True Yumi. In the process, she also saves the family restaurant.