My Origin Story…
I was born in South Korea to a creative family—my mother, an artist, and my father, an electronics engineer with an entrepreneurial spirit. When I was eight, my father’s career took us from Seoul to a quiet neighborhood in New Jersey.
1974 - My parents, Byung Moon Song an Hwaim Choi get married. They look like old-time Korean movie stars!
Art was a constant in my childhood. The smell of turpentine signaled my mother was working on a painting, and her vibrant oil portraits filled our home. My father, though an engineer, was just as creative. As a child, I didn’t understand the sketches on his graph paper—clusters of lines and symbols that looked like mazes to me. I later realized they were circuit board designs. He didn’t just create the inner workings of electronics; he meticulously crafted prototypes by hand, turning sheets of plastic into polished products.
1991 - My Dad drafting something I still don’t quite understand. Hard to believe he is younger than me here.
2020 - My Mom gifting me her studies of using traditional Korean ink called “Meok”. Meok ink is made from soot and glue, and is typically ground on an inkstone with water to create a liquid ink used in traditional Korean calligraphy.
Growing up in the '80s and '90s, I was captivated by TV commercials. One in particular—a Honda del Sol ad where a beach towel transformed into a real car—blew my mind. How did they do that? That moment sparked my fascination with visual effects and animation. I became obsessed with commercials that blended reality and animation, craving to understand the magic behind them.
When it came time to choose a career path, I told my high school counselor I wanted to make commercials like the ones that inspired me. The advice was vague—graphic design, illustration, fine arts. It wasn’t until I discovered the animation concentration within the Illustration department at Parsons School of Design that everything clicked.
Before graduating, an Animation Director from Nickelodeon noticed my work during a portfolio event. A little post-it note left on my portfolio led to my first job in animation, working on Little Bill. That opportunity was the first step in a journey where I’ve had the privilege to contribute to diverse projects, collaborate with talented teams, and continually grow as a creative professional.
Entering the animation industry also fueled my love for tech—a quality I likely inherited from my father's love for technology. Animation is a highly technical field, and the constant evolution of tools and software kept me learning and adapting. Mastering new apps, workflows, and creative technologies has been an integral part of my career, blending my passion for creativity with my curiosity for tech.
Looking back, I see how the creative energy I grew up with shaped who I am today. The values of collaboration, growth, and shared passion for creativity that I experienced in my family are the same values I bring to every team I work with.