The Audio File: Moonface

I love speculative fiction audio dramas, but I also enjoy more down to Earth audio dramas. I'm always very happy when I can find one of those podcasts. Especially if they live up to my standards. That brings us to the audio drama we'll be reviewing today. We're taking a look at the podcast Moonface. 

Moonface follows a young gay Korean-American man named Paul who lives in Downey, a suburb of Los Angles. He's a wayward twenty-something desperately trying to make his way in the world. More importantly, he's trying to come out to his mother. This is complicated by the fact that she doesn't really speak English, but Paul doesn't really speak Korean. The series follows Paul as he tries to find both his place in the world and a way to connect with his mother.

I first became aware of this podcast when I was browsing on the r/audiodrama subreddit. There was a thread about great single season podcasts. I shared my favorites, such as Lights Out and The Hermes & Hekate Road Show, but I also went to see what everybody else was recommending. One person recommended an audio drama called Moonface. I checked it out, and saw that it wasn't too long, and the premise sounded interesting. I'm more willing to take a gamble on shorter shows, since if I don't like them, it will be over soon. Of course, if I wind-up loving them, which is fairly often, I always wish they'd go on for longer. Thankfully, I can safely say that Moonface falls in the latter category. Though I would say it is about as long as it needs to be.

It occurs to me that I'm reviewing this podcast in the middle of Pride Month. Those of you who have been following this blog for a while will know that there is no set schedule, and as such I did not plan this. It is merely a happy coincidence. If I get things posted in a timely manner, it is something of a small miracle.

Moonface is created by James Kim. Like Paul, he is a young gay Korean-American man who lives in Los Angles. He also struggled to connect with his parents due to not being able to speak Korean. Also, like Paul, he has worked in radio and podcasting. I suspected that there were some autobiographical elements to Moonface, and based on what James has said in interview, it appears my hunch were correct.

Moonface very much draws from the Asian-American and LGBT experience. However, you do not have to be Asian-American or LGBT to enjoy this podcast. I have PDD, Pervasive Developmental Disorder. It is an autism spectrum disorder that has aspects of Asperger's, Autism, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia and because misery loves company, Anxiety and Depression. It not the same as being visually a minority, but I often find parallels to my own experience in the stories of minorities. I also related to Paul's struggles to find his place in a post-college world. And even disregarding all of that, Moonface is a well-written and engaging podcast.

I'd like to take a minute to talk about the sound editing and sound design for Moonface. There are several instances of long stretches of silence, with the only noise being ambient background noise. It helps to paint the scenes and indicate the emotions of the characters. In-universe, one of Paul's ideas for a podcast is one composed of nothing but ambient noises.

Of course, another big aspect of Moonface is the focus on language and communication. Obviously, there are no subtitles in podcasts, so we hear what Paul hears. When his mother speaks untranslated Korean, and he can't understand it, that's what we hear. It serves to underscore the language barrier between them. Furthermore, we get flashbacks to Paul's childhood. We see that he speaks Korean fluently when he is a little boy, but gradually loses the language as he gets older. By the present day, he can only speak a handful of Korean words, and not very well at that. This does reflect not only James Kim's experience, but also that of Korean-Americans, and children of immigrants in general.

Usually, immigrants will speak their native langue, with enough English to get by day-to-day. Their children will usually be bilingual, but the grandchildren of the immigrants are usually the ones who loose the language and speak exclusively English. Korean-American are different, as with them, it is usually the children of immigrants who lose the language. Why exactly this happen is unknown, particularly given that there are still large amounts of Koreans immigrating to America, which usually preserves the language for a bit.

James Kim did a report about this phenomenon when he worked for a Southern Californian NPR affiliate. Based on his own admission, and the testimony of his parents, he lost it due to apathy towards Korean culture. For Paul, that appeared to be a factor as well, but also his desire to fit-in with his non-Korean classmates. One of the flashbacks sees Paul's elementary school class going on a field trip to his house to learn about traditional Korean homes. He becomes embarrassed by how strange his classmates find his home, and that seems to be the point he turns his back on Korean culture.

You do learn several tidbits about Korean culture during the course of the podcast. For example, when Paul's mom catches him in bed with his boyfriend Ryan, Paul isn't too panicked. In traditional Korean culture, it isn't uncommon for two men to share a bed. There's also a point where Paul and a fellow Korean-American classmate at his podcasting class compare experiences. They talk about going to Korean megachurches in their youth, and getting looked down on by the rich Korean kids. Christianity is fairly common among Koreans. About thirty percent of South Korea identifies as Christian. I've had several Korean Christians attempt to proselytize me over the years. I've also had many Black Jehovah's Witnesses, and Black Christians generally, do the same. The number White proselytizers tended to be fairly low, but I suppose that might be a quirk of where I live.

As a side note, I just wanted to say that I utterly adored Paul's two best friends, Shayla and Danny. They've been Paul's best friends since he was in the third-grade, and are also struggling to figure out what to do with their lives. Shayla dreams of being a fashion designer, but keeps getting passed over for promotions, and is stuck as an assistant. Danny wants to be an artist, but his self-doubt causes him to be stuck working in a retail store. Shayla is Black, and Danny is Mexican-American and gay, and they often compare and contrast their experience with Paul. They're also the ones who encourage Paul to get out of his rut, and add levity to the show.

Obviously, being gay, and trying to come out to his mom, is an important aspect of Paul's character. However, it is not the be-all end-all of who he is. He has his desire to be a podcaster, as well as his general search for a purpose to his life. Paul thinks that coming out to his mom will be this big turning point, but what he really wants is to figure out what he wants to do with his life.

Moonface is a great audio drama podcast, and every audio drama needs a great team of voice actors. James Kim certainly went the extra mile to get that team for Moonface. Paul is voiced by Joel Kim Booster. I'm not previously familiar with him, but he did an excellent job. James really wanted Joel for the part, so I'm glad it all worked out. Paul's mother was played by Esther Moon Wu. Again, not previously familiar, but she also did a good job, especially given the limits of the role. The other voice actors are also excellent. They're all professional actors who have appeared in shows such as Dear White People, The Affair, and Where the Bears Are. The endings for each episode feature music from a different South Korean indie band. It all sounds awesome, and made me want to look-up the bands.

Now we've at the part of the review where we have to go into spoilers. So turn back now if you don't want any of that.

This is your last chance, you sure you want to go forward?

If you're still here, and want to continue to the spoilers, then let's begin.

So, Paul finally confesses to his mom about his sexuality...and she doesn't care, because she already knows. However, she is angry that he hasn't bothered to learn Korean, especially since they're going on a trip to visit family in Seoul soon. But more than just that, she's angry that he isn't making an effort to connect with her, especially because she's been trying to improve her English specifically for this purpose.

Admittedly, I kind of suspected something like this was going to happen. All the same, it was a very effective reveal. But we aren't done yet. I did chuckle a little when Paul's mother says that she's known he was gay for years because he watches Disney movies and doesn't like sports. Stereotypical reasoning, but it is nice that she didn't judge him for that.

Paul's mother got a friend to help her write a heartfelt letter to Paul. She talks about her life in South Korea, meeting Paul's father, and moving to America. Most of all, she talks about how much she wants to connect with Paul and be part of his life. From the letter we learn that Paul's father has died, and fairly recently, from the sounds of it. Admittedly, I had been wondering about that, since Paul's dad appears in the flashbacks, but not the present day. He was also from South Korea, but could speak English much more fluently than Paul's mother, so finding a job in America was much easier for him. His death is also a big part of why Paul's mother wants to connect with him, because they have to be there for each other during these trying times.

The letter Paul's mother wrote reminded me of several other stories I've read of Asian-American parents trying to connect with their kids. In particular, I was reminded of "The Paper Menagerie" by Ken Liu. In fact, Ken has said that his inspiration for that story was becoming a new father, and trying to pass on his Chinese culture to his daughters. That, and imagining the generation gap that might ensue due to them being the children of an immigrant. I guess some experiences are universal no matter if you're the child of immigrants from South Korea, China, or anywhere else.

There's some more stuff that happens, but I've said enough. I gotta leave you guys with something to discover for yourselves. I kind of wish Moonface had lasted just a bit longer, because I love it so much. However, all things considered, I think it is exactly as long as it needs to be.

Well, there you have it. Moonface is great podcast about a young gay Korean-American man try to find his way in the world and bridge a cultural divide. I can't recommend it enough.

I think that's enough from me for now. I will see you guys next time.