I met Q at NYU, at an event co-sponsored by the Young Korean American Network, where he came to speak about his life journey, the entertainment business, and of course, the importance of networking and building relationships. He had just flown in from Seattle, only a few days after he had been flying in and out of LA and Korea, but even with the tiring schedule he still managed to put a smile on his face and gladly agreed to the interview.
Did you always want to work in this industry? Kyu Lee(Q): I grew up playing sports like baseball, football, and swimming and back in high school and college, I used to watch a lot of “Friends” and Jackie Chan movies. I felt that camaraderie within the system and it seemed like a lot of fun and I pictured myself being someone in the sports industry and in the entertainment industry. I got my first job at Sony Pictures as an assistant in post production marketing and ended up working there for 10 years. I transferred to Korea in 2009 to oversee marketing distribution in Korea and to possibly start a production unit there. About a year and a half into living in Korea, I was going to transfer back to the home office but I ended up getting scouted to a venture capital firm to do film investments and deal sourcing. It turned out it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, so I started my own business.
Tell us some of the things you did recently. Q: In LA, there was the Korean Times Music Festival, where I brought some acts from Korea and from Asia to perform. I have a girl group that I produced called “Blush” and they
performed alongside Yoon Do-Hyun(윤도현), who’s a good friend of mine, is also involved in Blush from the get-go; He was a celebrity judge when we were casting the girls. I stayed with my family for a few days in Seattle and I’m flying back to Korea soon for other projects.
28 PEOPLE July 2013
What’s the most exciting part about working in the entertainment industry? Q: The eclectic and dynamic group of people in this industry, from the business side to the creative side; artists, producers, executives, staff, editors, there are all kinds of people from all walks of life, it’s fun getting to meet them. In creating Blush, I try to get involved as much as possible in all aspects, from the audition process, the cutting process, making of the music, to working with editors, directors, and marketing people. Aside from this I have other projects going on, so they’re keeping me on my toes.
What the biggest challenge you face in trying to bring foreign, i.e. Korean, artists or films to the US market? Q: It’s an uphill battle because the Hollywood market is already saturated, plus the cultural barrier doesn’t make it any easier. So for large studios and producers, they don’t want to take the risks of going into uncharted water. But I think little by little it’s getting better and PSY definitely opened up the gate more, not only for artists but also for creatives and staff to be noticed. I think people in this industry are slowly finding out that there’s a lot more out there, with international box offices a lot higher now than they were before.
You highlight the importance of networking and building relationships, but it can be hard for people who are introverts. Q: I was never the outgoing type; I was very quiet, very shy, and I used to get really nervous in front of people. When I went to college, I thought to myself ‘if I continue to be this shy person, how am I ever going to find success?’ so I forced myself to take a speech and hearing science course. It was really hard at first. I got through the semester but after that I never went back. But after that, I forced myself again to take a drama class.
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