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By Nina Steele

I stumbled upon Helen Hong while going through my facebook feed, and I am glad that I did, simply because she is very funny. I first had a hint that the 33-year-old Korean American was childfree, when reading her biography in which she describes herself as: “chronically single”. Listening to a podcast she did in 2017, confirmed it.

Asked in the said podcast whether she was worried about leaving it too late to try to have children, now that her career is taking off, Helen said: “I have decided that I don’t want to have children”. She goes on to add: “It’s never a thing that I really wanted to do, and part of that is because I have already found the thing that gets me going, and that’s my career. I am already fulfilled”.

Also during the podcast, on the subject of culture, she points out that, as a Korean woman, she is lucky to have parents who are open minded, and that this has helped her, as far as her career is concerned. The stereotype of the tiger mum is a well-documented one, so much so that the presenter had anticipated some sort of conflict between her and her parents because of her choice of career. Her parents definitely deserve praise for allowing her to forge her own path, without burdening her with the weight of tradition.

Her years of working her socks off are now being rewarded. She has appeared on many comedy shows, including ‘Last Call with Carson Daly’. Her major acting role is appearing in the Coen Brothers’ 2013 film, ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’.

Going back to her 2017 podcast, I quite enjoyed listening to it. She went quite deep, not only about her personal life, but also about her career. I learnt for example that one of the rules of comedy is to always talk about whatever it is that marks a comedian out. For example in her case, the one thing she cannot pass over, is her Asianness. And with so much to talk about in terms of culture, without mentioning the current political climate, there is enough material on there to keep her busy for an entire evening.

I am hoping to see her talent showcased on Netflix, in the not too distant future. That’s one of the positive things about Netflix. Its willingness to give people who are not yet major household names a chance. I have discovered some true gems that way.