Kim Chi’s Sundae School Collaboration Is All About Representation

When Kim Chi entered the Werk Room doors of Ru Paul’s Drag Race in 2016, she didn’t care about winning. Believe it or not, at that point in time, the eventual Season 8 runner-up had only been doing drag for two years. And sure, while Kim Chi said she was there to “chop suey” the competition (which she did), her mission coming onto Drag Race was bigger than that. “The title of ‘America’s Drag Superstar’ didn’t mean much to me,” Kim Chi exclusively tells Her Campus. “But, more so, I wanted to spread Korean culture and let myself be known.”

It makes sense. After all, the iconic drag artist was the first Korean-American contestant to ever appear in the franchise. Along with that, Kim Chi’s drag stood out against her other competitors. She showed out in anime-inspired mugs and dressed in silhouettes that differed from the bodysuits and pageant ball gowns typically seen on the U.S. version of the franchise. “One of the reasons why a lot of my outfits are empire-wasted silhouettes, inspired by Hanbok, is because I want to showcase there’s more to beauty and glamour than just western silhouettes that are typically very form-fitting,” Kim Chi says.

Representation, or lack thereof, was the reason why Kim Chi started drag in the first place. “Growing up as a Korean American who was from a small town in Michigan, I hardly ever saw people like me in the media [besides] Lucy Liu, Margaret Cho, and Sandra Oh, who are all amazing and all phenomenal people, but I never saw myself in any of them,” Kim Chi says. “When I started doing drag, I purposely picked the name kimchi because it is as Korean as it can be.”

Kim Chi’s passion for representation didn’t stop there. Along with creating her own brand, KimChi Chic Beauty, the beloved drag artist recently joined forces with the Korean-American streetwear and cannabis brand Sundae School for their newest campaign: Kim Chi Over Flowers.

On Jan. 23, Kim Chi and Sundae School released a limited-edition cannabis gummy that combines the bold spice of kimchi powder with the sweet brightness of yuzu to create a Korean-inspired taste experience. “Sundae School’s branding celebrates all things Korean, and I feel like kimchi is the national dish of Korea,” Kim Chi says. “Yuzu is also a popular product that comes out of Korea, which is this beautiful delicate citrus. So, when you pair that with the little spicy kimchi twist, I feel like we’re letting the flavors of Korea be known to the cannabis users.”

According to Kim Chi, the product is like “the Hermès of the gummy world.” So, yeah, consider me sold. 

And, if you’re Kim Chi’s mom and reading this, don’t worry — cannabis wasn’t the (only) reason why the drag artist took on the collaboration. “I love Sundae School,” Kim Chi says. “I love Asian businesses that are doing cool things, and that are doing progressive things for the community.”

The creative team behind the campaign further drove the missions of both Kim Chi and Sundae School as a brand. “A lot of people in the creative process and people running the thing were all women, especially from the Asian-American community,” Kim Chi shares. “They’re just a really cool brand, and they’re really cool people to work with.”

Nine years after her appearance on Drag Race, it’s safe to say that Kim Chi is still standing on business when it comes to spreading Korean representation to the masses. From the runway to the beauty world to the cannabis industry, Kim Chi is a champion in her own right. 

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