This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:01] Robert Bannon: Welcome to The Roundtable, everybody. My name is Robert Bannon. You're listening to Some Broadway World over here on the Broadway Podcast Network, iHeart and Spotify.

[0:15] Robert Bannon: My next guest has the best view. Look at this camera angle. He's got the glare of the windows are giving fancy New York Broadway performer apartment vibes right here. That's what this guest is giving. Living the life. He's come to the United States for a dream and he made it all come true.

[0:34] Robert Bannon: He's a Broadway star. He's been in a bunch, a couple Broadway shows and off-Broadway shows and television as well. He has a book out that I think we all need to take a listen to and a peek to so we can get our life together. Help me get my life together, please. Joomin, get my life together. Joomin Hwang is here to tell us all about it. Congratulations. Thanks for being here.

[0:54] Joomin Hwang: Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm excited. I'm excited. This is a view. I just want we don't even get to see New Jersey guys. I live in New Jersey. I just moved to Union City. I was skeptical at the beginning, but I love it here, guys. I love New Jersey. Okay, here's my secret. I am from Fort Lee, New Jersey. I taught and lived in North Bergen, New Jersey right next door to you for 20 something years.

[1:19] Joomin Hwang: I've paid less rent to look at New York while everybody in New York pays more rent to look at New Jersey. And you have a park and you have a walk and you could jump on the train. You could get to the city. He knows the secret. You can get to a diner and a mall in New Jersey in no time at all.

[1:41] Joomin Hwang: I love malls. I love malls. See, he's a New Jerseyan now. Tell us about when did you come to the United States?

[1:48] Joomin Hwang: I came here in 2013. Yeah, so it's like 13 years ago now. I remember it was August 25th. You know, when you go into the airport, they do like this stamp. That was August 25th. I cannot forget that.

[2:06] Robert Bannon: And you came here when I was reading a bio about you. Did you have a job yet?

[2:11] Joomin Hwang: No, no, no. I came here for school for two years. So I mean, like, it's a long story. But long story short, I found a sister school from my Korean university. And that school didn't require English score to get in. So I could learn English there.

[2:34] Joomin Hwang: That's when I was 29 years old. And that was the main reason I was there, like learning English, because I kind of, I finished my course, like a bachelor's degree in Korea, but I'm kind of like get two years more here to learn English, basically. Yeah, and then I moved here 2015. And since then, I've been auditioning, you know, like, like everybody else. And yeah, I'm here now.

[3:00] Robert Bannon: You know, it's funny when my dad, my grandfather, my dad, my grandfather was born in Italy, and he came here at 18. He didn't speak English. And I remember at the end of like talking to him, and I was like, How are you not scared? And he said, You are scared, but you just do it like you have no, you go. What was it like leading up to that's not like moving from Union City to Times Square.

[3:21] Robert Bannon: I mean, you're talking about moving to a different continent, a different culture. How did you get through the fear of it all and say and commit to doing it?

[3:31] Joomin Hwang: It's actually, I think I didn't know what it was actually, because I, for me, I didn't really go out of Korea, when I was in Korea, maybe a couple times. So I didn't really understand what it means to live in like a country that I don't speak the language.

[3:54] Joomin Hwang: So I was like, I was just watching, you know, like, American College movies. And then, you know, dream about, oh, my God, it's gonna be such a fun experience. I'll be in this old parties and like, wow, everyone's gonna be nice and kind. And I was like, seeing that fantasy and just like, so excited about the journey. But yeah, the reality hit me hard when I got here.

[4:24] Robert Bannon: You have to find a place to live, make money. And then you're also an artist. So you're a dancer, you're a performer, you're like, so that's a whole other tough industry to work in. When did you discover you love the arts? And do you consider yourself, are you an actor? Are you a singer? Are you a dancer? Are you everything? What do you call yourself?

[4:41] Joomin Hwang: Um, I want to say I'm an artist. Yeah.

[4:48] Robert Bannon: But I know that you were dancing in Korea. And I know that you can throw down on the dance floor.

[4:53] Joomin Hwang: I grew up as a dancer. So dancing was my first love. And then I fell in love with singing, acting and writing later now and like, yeah, spending because we have multitude, you know?

[5:06] Robert Bannon: But Joomin, you don't, you just don't, like, there's dancers, like, I'm going to dance, like, and then there's Broadway dancers, like, I'm going to shuffle off to Buffalo tap dance. And then there's you, which you are like, break dancing, like hip hop dance, like, you can dance dance, like you could dance like Beyonce dance.

[5:28] Joomin Hwang: Yeah, like, I mean, I have unique, I think I have a unique journey towards Broadway, because my background is hip hop. I grew up as like, like a concert dancer as well. But I like mainly, like hip hop, breakdancing, underground hip hop, like house locking all there are a whole lot of drama in hip hop, right?

[5:49] Joomin Hwang: I learned a whole lot of them. And actually, I did that kind of like, what do you call like a concert dancers, right? Like, yeah, you dance for artists. I did a little bit in Korea. Before I got into theater. Um, yeah, so like hip hop is my home and like, and Juliet feels like it's, it's feels so nice, because there are not many shows that can really shine through it. You know what I mean?

[6:13] Robert Bannon: Yes.

[6:44] Joomin Hwang: dance to it. It's a lot of pop dancing, and then you get to really show out and show off up on that stage.

[6:49] Joomin Hwang: Yeah, yeah, I have a couple of freestyle moments that I'm showing people that kind of something upside down, you know, and then quick moment quick moment. Yeah.

[6:59] Robert Bannon: But you your Broadway debut was in the prom. How did how was the experience for you to get into theater in New York City? It's, it's a tough business. It's a lot of auditions, a lot of waiting a lot of nose.

[7:10] Joomin Hwang: Right.

[7:11] Joomin Hwang: Um, so I think I have to start with when I first got here for students, international students like me, after you graduate, you get one year temporary visa.

[7:25] Joomin Hwang: So in that time, you need to have as many credits possible. So you can apply next visa process to stay here for three more years. And then you can keep applying this, this called the artist visa, or one visa, and then you can keep applying this on until you have enough credits to apply permanent resident, like, like a green record green card, it takes like years and years and years to, like, actually I feel like okay I'm staying here.

[7:54] Joomin Hwang: So that's like, mainly all the international performers are going through. And so when I first got here for me, I just need to get anything, anything possible to write on my resume so I can apply my next visa process right.

[8:11] Joomin Hwang: So, um, I went, like, just anything possible, I was on backstage playbill actor success, I just like applied, like, everything I see from student projects to whatever that is, I didn't really care, like, I just like applied everything, and I counted for six months I went 300 auditions.

[8:34] Joomin Hwang: Like, it was insane, sometimes five a day to, like, one, like minimum one almost like it's just like, I just, yeah, and then I just stopped counting because you know what I mean like the first first couple months.

[8:50] Joomin Hwang: When I had big dreams like, okay, I'm going to make it here. And then I keep getting notes from people, right, you're like emotionally attached to, like, projects that you're going to, like even like school projects, and I'm like, I'm getting notes from them like, like, nobody wants me.

[9:04] Joomin Hwang: Almost felt like, oh, my God, nobody wants me.

[9:09] Joomin Hwang: But then what actually moved me forward was the time that I have, right? I didn't have time to think about.

[9:18] Joomin Hwang: What, like, what can I do, like, I just, I just have to move on. I just had to move on to, like, next project to get anything, just like literally anything on my paper, so I can stay here, because if I cannot stay here, then I, I just have to go back.

[9:34] Joomin Hwang: So, I think after three months, I got a lot of notes and I'm like, I just said, okay, more auditions, more auditions, I'm just like going crazy.

[9:45] Joomin Hwang: And I remember that, that whole year, I probably auditioned from 500 to 600, I don't know, I don't know how many, but I only booked 10 out of, like, 500 to 600 from, like, really, like, like school student projects to whatever that was out there.

[10:07] Joomin Hwang: But that year also taught me, because I applied everything possible out there, I was able to do some, like, print models and voiceover in Empire State Building, can hear my voice going down elevator from observation.

[10:23] Joomin Hwang: I'm saying, thank you, that's my voice.

[10:27] Joomin Hwang: I did short film, I did feature film as a support lead, like, I kind of, like, it opened me up in a way that, like, oh, you shouldn't limit yourself.

[10:37] Joomin Hwang: There's, like, hold up, like, it's, it was kind of, like, interesting experience because I felt like nobody wanted me.

[10:45] Joomin Hwang: But then I get here and there, little by little, almost like, um, how do you say, like, drawn?

[10:54] Joomin Hwang: When you, when you, when you land is drawn, you got to rain once in a while, you're like, oh, my God, it's raining.

[11:00] Joomin Hwang: Yeah, um, yeah.

[11:03] Joomin Hwang: And then you, you kind of look back.

[11:05] Joomin Hwang: And I was like, oh, wait a minute.

[11:07] Joomin Hwang: I did this, this, this, huh?

[11:11] Joomin Hwang: I thought I was only going to do musical theater here.

[11:14] Joomin Hwang: You know, so it was a kind of, like, nice, um, shifting perspective moment for me.

[11:21] Robert Bannon: I think that's such a good lesson for all of us because we think it's going to look like this.

[11:25] Robert Bannon: It's going to look like a certain way.

[11:26] Robert Bannon: It's going to happen in a certain way.

[11:28] Robert Bannon: And then now you, I always know, like, year to year, you think nothing happened this year.

[11:32] Robert Bannon: And then you look back and you say, oh, wow, I, I did all of this.

[11:35] Robert Bannon: And I did not even realize it.

[11:37] Robert Bannon: Um, for you, was the dream of being on Broadway and then being able to do it and currently doing it like you have a show tonight?

[11:45] Robert Bannon: Like you, you, you go into work.

[11:47] Robert Bannon: Um, was it what you thought it was going to be?

[11:49] Robert Bannon: Did you find your own community and family and, and life here in the United States?

[11:54] Joomin Hwang: Was it hard?

[11:56] Joomin Hwang: Um, it was hard at the beginning, but then I feel like, um, I'm so glad I went into theater community because I, I would say.

[12:05] Joomin Hwang: Thank you for having me, Robert. I'm really excited to be here and talk about my journey and everything that's been happening.

[12:35] Joomin Hwang: You know, making Broadway history has been such an incredible experience for me. I never imagined I would be here, especially coming from South Korea.

[12:57] Joomin Hwang: The power of storytelling is something that I truly believe in. It's amazing how stories can connect us and inspire others.

[13:17] Joomin Hwang: My new book, The Rule of Five Journal, is all about blending neuroscience and psychology with personal growth strategies. I want to help others find clarity and purpose in their lives.

[13:45] Joomin Hwang: Being one of the first native Korean performers at the Tony Awards was a huge honor. It felt like a significant moment not just for me, but for representation in the industry.

[14:13] Joomin Hwang: Joining the original Broadway company of & Juliet has been a dream come true. The show is so vibrant and full of life, and I love being part of it.

[14:41] Joomin Hwang: I think it's important for Asian performers to break barriers and show that we can thrive in musical theatre. It's all about authenticity and determination.

[15:09] Joomin Hwang: The journey has had its challenges, but persistence and passion have really driven me forward. I believe that if you dream big, anything is possible.

[15:37] Joomin Hwang: Creativity is such a vital part of who I am. It's what fuels my performances and my writing. I love exploring new ideas and pushing boundaries.

[16:05] Joomin Hwang: Mindset plays a huge role in achieving your goals. It's about believing in yourself and staying focused on what you want to accomplish.

[16:33] Joomin Hwang: I hope my story can inspire others to pursue their dreams, no matter how impossible they may seem at first.

[17:01] Joomin Hwang: The response to my book has been overwhelming. I'm so grateful to hear that it's resonating with people and helping them on their journeys.

[17:29] Joomin Hwang: I really believe that everyone has a story to tell, and it's important to share those stories with the world.

[17:57] Joomin Hwang: Thank you again for having me on the show, Robert. I'm looking forward to sharing more about my experiences and the lessons I've learned along the way.

[18:25] Joomin Hwang: It's been a pleasure to chat with you about Broadway, books, and everything in between.

[18:53] Joomin Hwang: I can't wait to see where this journey takes me next, and I'm excited to continue breaking new ground in the industry.

[19:21] Joomin Hwang: Let's keep the conversation going and inspire each other to reach for our dreams.

[19:49] Joomin Hwang: I'm really passionate about helping others find their voice and their path, and I hope to continue doing that through my work.

[20:17] Joomin Hwang: Thank you to everyone listening. I hope you find inspiration in your own journeys as well.

[20:47] Joomin Hwang: Remember, it's all about persistence, passion, and reinvention. You can achieve anything you set your mind to.

[21:17] Joomin Hwang: Let's keep dreaming big and supporting one another in our creative endeavors.

[21:47] Joomin Hwang: I'm excited for what's to come, and I hope to share more of my journey with all of you.

[22:17] Joomin Hwang: Thank you, Robert, for this wonderful opportunity to share my story.

[22:47] Joomin Hwang: It's been a joy to connect with you and your audience.

[23:17] Joomin Hwang: Let's continue to uplift each other and celebrate the beauty of storytelling.

[23:47] Joomin Hwang: Until next time, keep dreaming and keep creating!

[24:11] Joomin Hwang: Talks Broadway, Books, & More on The Roundtable with Robert Bannon!.

[24:41] Joomin Hwang: Talks Broadway, Books, & More on The Roundtable with Robert Bannon!.

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