Kahn Souphanousinphone

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Kohng Koy Kahn Souphanousinphone, Sr., is a fictional character and the neighbor antagonist on the animated series King of the Hill.^[2] He and his wife Minh and daughter Connie live next door to the Hills. Kahn works in the Information Technology industry as a system analyst. He originates from Luang Prabang, Laos. An immigrant from Laos, Kahn represents the new American trying to assimilate into the melting pot of Arlen, Texas.

Like many immigrants, Kahn is preoccupied with achieving “the American dream.” In his case, this means succeeding financially, having his daughter excel academically, and keeping up with the Joneses (or the Hills, as the case may be). Kahn brags about his material possessions and puts down his neighbors, calling them names like “hillbilly” and “redneck.” He also has an affinity for ’80s pop music. Kahn idolizes Ted Wassanasong, another Laotian-American, who is more affluent than Kahn. However, Kahn does not realize that Ted, and presumably most of the local Asian community, dislikes him; he and his wife have forbidden their daughter to date Bobby Hill, with Kahn's preference being that Connie date Ted Wassanasong's son Chane. Kahn's favoritism toward Chane is evident in the episode Bobby Goes Nuts, when both Chane and Bobby crash a slumber party at the Souphanousinphone's house. When Kahn finds both of them in Connie's room he forces Bobby to leave through the window while Chane is allowed to leave through the front door; he later declares Bobby's kicking of Chane in his crotch "unforgivable" (although he admits he's conflicted because Bobby did the same thing to Hank, causing more damage to his father). Kahn’s greatest fear is that his daughter might someday marry Bobby, who embodies everything Kahn dislikes about white Americans, though the two part ways for different reasons to his relief.

Kahn quietly respects Hank (whose names are, incidentally, anagrams of each other), being particularly aware that Hank is in many ways his equal. Although Kahn frequently disparages Hank’s blue-collar tastes and avoids socializing with him, Kahn has admitted his abrasive personality means Hank is his best friend. When a thuggish neighbor moved into their neighborhood, Hank formed an alliance with Kahn to drive him out. In another episode when Dale, Hank and Kahn go to Mexico for vacation, they have a run-in with the law, thanks to Kahn trying to rip off the manager of the hotel where they were staying. Their IDs are taken away from them in order to prevent the trio from returning to the US without paying back the hotel manager. They decide to make a run for the US/Mexican border, and while they are climbing the fence, Kahn and Dale who are on the US side of the border spot a US Border Patrol jeep. Dale runs off, only caring about himself, while Kahn risks his status in America to help Hank over the fence.

Kahn is a non-practicing Buddhist. He also gets very irritated when people ask him if he is “Chinese or Japanese”, and was forced to constantly remind Hank and the rest of his neighbors (save Cotton Hill, who knew Kahn was Laotian by sight) about his Laotian heritage when he first moved into the neighborhood. A sympathetic view of Kahn came about when Minh’s retired Army General father visited them and was as cruel and insulting towards Kahn as Kahn usually is towards his neighbors. Minh and Hank combined to lift Kahn’s spirits and eventually convinced the General to mute his unbending feelings of contempt for Kahn.

In one episode, while Hank and Peggy are talking about the anonymity of the internet, Peggy briefly alludes to Kahn having bipolar disorder. This may explain Kahn's more harsh nature.

References

1. ^ Three Days of the Khando
2. ^ The relevant material from the cited page describes the character as an "antagonistic neighbour". See Suzanne Buchan, David Surman, and Paul Ward Animated ‘Worlds’ (J. Libbey Publishing, 2006), 97.