Meet Christine Kim of Glendale, CA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Kim

Hi Christine, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. I started learning English when I was 8, around the same time my parents took me to watch “Sound of the Music” musical and started dreaming about becoming an actress in Hollywood one day. Being an only child, I always performed in my room, sang, and played violin. Then I started begging my parents to send me to America, so I could start prepping for my acting career in America. After 3 years of them saying no, they eventually “gave in” to me.

They sent me to a private Christian boarding school in Columbia, South Carolina in January 2005. After 4 years of high school, I went to SUNY at Stony Brook, where I got my BA in Theater Arts. My mentor there recommended that I should try film acting. My interest was also in film acting rather than in theater. So I applied for MFA in Acting for Film at New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, CA, and I got accepted. In August 2012, I finally moved to my dreamland of Los Angeles, CA to study film acting. And mind you, through all these years, I was on an international student visa (F-1), and away from my parents, on my own. But I rarely felt lonely because it was all I ever wanted and daydreamed of back when I was in Korea. Even though I wasn’t allowed to work on “real sets,” because of my immigration status, I enjoyed the film school so such and learned a lot. I got my MFA in Acting for Film in March of 2014. Since then, I worked on a lot of indie films, commercials and streaming services all as a background performer, lead actor, and a co-star. I got to be on the apple iPad commercial, I got to be on the pilot episode of “Real Rob” on Netflix, and I wrote, produced, and acted in my own short films. I eventually became a permanent resident and a naturalized citizen after 12~17 years since I began my journey, and it felt like nothing could stop me.

But then SAG-AFTRA strike happened in July 2023. I started having a serious conversation with myself. I couldn’t always do the full time background work to pay the bills because of its uncertainty and all the actors were about to lose work. I started thinking about the things I could do vs things I was passionate about. I could work at a restaurant, bar, or a movie theater like everyone else. But do I want to be another actor who’s supporting herself like that? No. Then I realized that one of my biggest passion is to help others. Ok, how can I do that? I wanted to get into healthcare, but without going back to school for a few years, get a nursing degree, and graduate with a bunch of student loan. So I searched “fastest and easiest healthcare job.” Then behavior technician came up as one of the results. Behavior Technician works with kids on the autism spectrum and helps them to adapt to the society and teaches them different social skills. Within 2 weeks of applying to 5 different autism spectrum agencies, I interviewed with 3 of them, and I got the job offer from 2 of them. And now, it has been just over a year since I came a behavior technician.

Even though I’m taking a quick break from the “Hollywood level acting,” I am still producing and constantly working on my own photoshoots and self-written scenes for my reels. And coming January 2025 will be my 20th anniversary since I moved to America by myself, starting as a freshman in high school.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
From 2005 to 2014, my immigration status and my age were the main obstacles, because I wanted to get the experience in Hollywood right away, but I was illegal to work then. Also, my high school in South Carolina did not have their own drama club. I tried to start it a couple of times, but it fell through.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Unlike most of the second generation immigrants around my age, because I am the first generation who was born and raised in Korea, I am fluent in both Korean and English. I am also on the beginner level of Spanish because I took 5 years of Spanish in high school and college, and I constantly review the language on Duolingo.

I’m not picky about whether I work on the film, tv or commercials/print, but my main interest is in drama or horror film. In the recent year, I have become more interested in fashion print work. I’ve been in search for a modeling agency and have been doing my own fashion photoshoot during my free time.

Even though it can be very draining for most days, I am still enjoying my behavior technician work as well. Even though I’ve never had professional experience working with kids, I’ve always loved them and I have a lot of patience. The days I notice that my 4~5 year old clients make a small progress gives me the biggest achievement and fulfillment in this career!

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
A lot of people think that I was born and raised in the U.S and my parents live in the states as well. They get very surprised when I share my long journey in the U.S and that my parents are still living back in South Korea.

I look very young for my age, so even my close friends have to remind themselves of how old I legally am sometimes.

I am fairly new to the rave scene and started going during summer of 2021. Some of my favorite EDM genres are techno, psytrance, and hardstyle. I like anything as long as they have fast beats and bass. I’ve been learning how to shuffle.

I take scenery and food photography/videography as a hobby. Instagram handles are on my main instagram intro page.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.christinekimofficial.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinekimofficial
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@christinekimofficial

Image Credits
Randi Dela Rosa
Rielly Alexander
Jonathan August
Erik Friestad