My go-to fun fact? “I was an actor for eight years.” Most people are surprised, especially when I tell them I now work in tech.
Growing up with immigrant parents, acting was never on the radar. But I’d always been drawn to performing, and dance was my happy place. After college, I thought: I can’t spend the rest of my life wondering “What if?” If I’m going to shoot my shot, I need to do it now.
I started with modeling, which led to my first real gig, a Cadillac commercial. Things snowballed from there. I ended up in campaigns for Samsung, Sony, and McDonald’s, plus speaking roles under my stage name on “Grey’s Anatomy,” “This Is Us,” and “Shameless.”
My biggest payday was about $63,000 for a two-day McDonald’s commercial shoot, which paid out over many months. But it took years of hard work to get there.
I’d sit in LA traffic for three hours just to wait around with a bunch of other hopefuls for a two-minute audition. I took acting classes all over the city. While I was working at a medical school in Korea by day, I’d show up to dance studios in Gangnam at night, auditioning for the same agencies that created BLACKPINK, Big Bang, Twice, and other K-pop groups.
