Today we’d like to introduce you to June Yoon.
June, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up watching anime dubbed in Korean. The earliest cartoon in my memory is 우주소년 아톰 – Astro Boy. I remember being completely engrossed in the story and the animation. Cartoons like this, and many more, really fueled my imagination and creativity. Even as a fully-grown adult, I still find much joy and fascination in anime – with a hefty amount of appreciation and analysis on the voice acting, of course.
Thanks to puberty, moving to America, and years of cigarette smoking, my voice has developed into a rather unique character of its own. I’ve used this voice to portray various characters on stage, to sing and write songs, and to yell at the actors in shows I’ve directed. It really wasn’t until just a few years ago that I’ve discovered the potential for my voice.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My Korean-accented English used to be seen as a crutch. I’d often hear things like “You’ll need to get rid of that accent if you want to be competitive.” or “That’s not what they’re going to want.” Much like the old adage, if a fish is continuously told that he’s terrible at climbing trees, he’s going to eventually convince himself that he has no business climbing trees.
Thankfully, I’m surrounded by mentors and professionals in the industry who view my voice as a unique weapon. How many naturally-developed-Korean-accented-English-speaking voice actors do you know? How many native-speaking English voice actors are there? It’s a no-brainer.
It took much time, training, experience, reflection, and relentless pursuit for success to be able to view myself as a marketable voice. In the end, as terribly cliché as this is, the biggest obstacle to my success turned out to be myself. I’m very glad that I’ve gotten over that.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Voicemoto.com – what should we know?
What sets me apart from others is my unique and original voice. “Moto” (元) means “origin” in Voicemoto, and I bring to the table a naturally-developed, unique voice that is unlike any other. Coupled with remarkable work ethics, abundant experience in acting, and strong drive for client satisfaction, my clients enjoy a true one-of-a-kind voice product as well as a lasting professional relationship.
I am the owner of my own company – June Yoon, LLC at www.voicemoto.com – and my specialization is various genres of voice work in both Korean as well as in Korean/Asian-accented English. I’m best known as the Korean narrator on Car City Animations (Super Truck, Car Patrol, Tom the Tow Truck, etc. – see my IMDB page for details).
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Work. It’s work. It’s the willingness to get work done. No matter how great a voice is, without continuous training, marketing, networking, and reflecting, failure is going to be imminent. Simultaneously, it’s those moments of failure that motivates me to get back to work. Through this circle-of-life process, I continuously refine, adjust, improve, and reinvent my voice.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.voicemoto.com
- Phone: (562) 285-7931
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voicemoto
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/voicemoto
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/voicemoto
- Yelp: https://voicemoto.yelp.com
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/voicemoto
Image Credit:
Patrick Pu, Leighanne Sturgis, Chuck Duran
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