MID WILSHIRE, Calif. – Starting in 1965, Star Trek has produced five network television shows, so when CBS decided to launch a new Star Trek series on its streaming platform, CBS All Access, they wanted to create a show that broke boundaries like never before. Bo Yeon Kim is a writer and producer on Star Trek: Discovery.

“I got into genre at a very young age,” said Star Trek: Discovery writer and producer, Bo Yeon Kim. “I think I’ve always read fantasy, supernatural books and then later got into science-fiction and horror because I think those stories gave me worlds that I could belong to.”

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The daughter of a diplomat, Kim grew up more like one of her characters in Star Trek than your average Earthling. Born in Korea, she grew up in Portugal, Brazil, Japan, and Vietnam. She attended Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania to study anthropology. A product of multiple cultures, she grew up questioning her identity as a Korean citizen until realizing her intrinsic diversity was a source of immense creativity.

“I think one of the reasons why I am vocal on social media and I keep my you know Korean name as opposed to having a more anglicized name is because I want to show writers coming after me that you can write science fiction,” said Kim. “You can write genre stories as a woman, as a person of color, as someone coming from an unusual background because this is the place to tell those kinds of stories.”

“This ship bears the name Discovery,” said the character First Officer Saru played by actor Doug Jones in a promo of up the upcoming third season of Star Trek: Discovery.

Star Trek: Discovery features a female lead in a series mostly known for male captains. Kim is soon to be the co-showrunner with her writing partner Erika Lippoldt of the upcoming yet-to-be-titled Star Trek series featuring Michelle Yeoh.

A spin-off from Star Trek: Discovery and set in the world of the clandestine organization Section 31, actress Michelle Yeoh will reprise her role as Philippa Georgiou, but from the Mirror Universe.

Writing for Star Trek is a wormhole Kim was born to beam up, but co-showrunning a new Star Trek series led by an Asian actress is a first for a franchise with many firsts. Along with her writing partner, Kim also credits the role diversity writing programs had in helping to shape her career.

“It forces you to interact with people and create a community where your stories can be championed and ultimately hopefully get into the hands of people who can make them,” said Kim. “Without having forced myself to apply to these programs and then go through them, I don't think I would be here.”

Kim is a writer boldly going where no woman has gone before.