Kim Chi is the stage name of Sang-Young Shin, a drag performer from Chicago, Illinois. She is one of 12 contestants to compete on the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and finished the season as a runner-up alongside Naomi Smalls.
RuPaul's Drag Race
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Kim Chi art by Chad Sell
In Episode 1: "Keeping It 100", Kim Chi did well in the photoshoot mini-challenge, where the queens had to pose with previous winners. For the main challenge, she was assigned the "RuPaul's Hair Extravaganza" design challenge from Season 3. She won the challenge due to her photo and acclaimed Givenchy-inspired outfit, despite being critiqued on her runway walk by Michelle Visage.
In Episode 2: "Bitch Perfect", Kim Chi was chosen last and was placed on the team "Lady Bitches". On the main stage, she was in the bottom 3, due to her lack of dance ability (Bob The Drag Queen commented and said that she "was possibly the worst dancer in RuPaul's Drag Race herstory") and was critiqued again on her runway walk, but was saved from lip syncing by her outfit and personality.
In Episode 4: "New Wave Queens", Kim Chi formed a team with Naomi Smalls and Robbie Turner, who she labels as "Team Best Friend Race". She names the team containing Naysha Lopez, Derrick Barry and Chi Chi DeVayne "Team Leftovers", as they are the remaining members who weren't instantly made a team. Kim Chi, Robbie Turner and Naomi Smalls were Team Punk and were the winning team, with Robbie being the winner of the New Wave Queens Challenge.
| Season Competed: | Season 8 |
|---|---|
| Ranking: | 2nd/3rd |
| Mini-Challenges Won: | 0 |
| Times as Team Captain: | 0 |
| Main Challenges Won: | 2 (Ep. 1 and Ep. 8) |
| Times in Bottom Two: | 0 |
| Episode Eliminated: | N/A |
Entrance
"I came to chop suey the competition!"
Trivia
- Kim Chi helped Trixie Mattel get her first gig as a drag queen in Chicago, Illinois.
Kim Chi and Pearl before Drag Race
- She is the first queen to win a main challenge in season 8.
- She is the first queen to win the first main challenge and be in the bottom of the second challenge (excluding All-Stars).
- Kim Chi first started doing drag with Pearl on Halloween.
- Kim Chi is the only queen on season 8 to not lipsync before the music video challenge.
- Kim Chi is also one of the seven queens to not lipsync, but still be in the bottom three (Not including All-Stars). The other six are Nina Flowers, Tyra Sanchez, Alaska, Courtney Act, Violet Chachki and Sasha Velour.
- She is also one of the only queens to win the first and the last challenge in their season, along with Violet Chachki and Sharon Needles.
- Unlike Sharon and Violet, Kim Chi did not win her season.
- Her mother does not know she does drag.
- Kim Chi has a show with Naomi Smalls on World Of Wonder called 'M.U.G.'.
- Kim Chi was the first queen to use the Shade Tree.
- Kim Chi is Alaska's drag mother as of May 11th 2017.
- Kim Chi is sometimes called "Shade Chi" by fans on Reddit for her tendency to post shady comments on Twitter.
- Kim Chi is the third runner-up who never placed in the bottom two while the winner of her season did, the others are Nina Flowers and Alaska.
- Kim Chi is 7 feet tall.
- Kim was raised in South Korea, but was born in the United States.
Quotes
- "I came to DESTROY EVERYONE, with my make-up."
- "Donut come for me!"
- "Naysha is dancing like a soccer mom. You can get the ball in the goal, kids!"
- "I'm not going to be ashamed of being hungry, I am hungry!"
- "I think you're hot for a black guy, Naomi."
- "My name is Kim Chi, and say hello to yellow!"
- "This ad was paid out of my own pocket because no one cares. Do you?"
Gallery
| Winner | Bob The Drag Queen |
|---|---|
| Runners-Up | 2nd & 3rd: Kim Chi & Naomi Smalls |
| Other Contestants | 4th: Chi Chi DeVayne • 5th: Derrick Barry • 6th: Thorgy Thor • 7th: Robbie Turner • 8th: Acid Betty • 9th: Naysha Lopez • 10th: Cynthia Lee Fontaine (Miss Congeniality) • 11th & 12th: Dax ExclamationPoint & Laila McQueen |
| Judges | RuPaul • Michelle Visage • Carson Kressley • Ross Mathews |
| Pit Crew | Jason Carter • Miles Davis Moody • Bryce Eilenberg |