In July of 1997, Young John Kim, the man who is now DJ Young flew from Santa Monica to Korea to go through several auditions he had landed. Hearing that he might have a chance in the entertainment industry, DJ Young returned Stateside to clear out his apartment, threw all his belongings into storage, and booked a one-way ticket back to Korea.

At the time, Young says, there were few Koreans in entertainment, and Asians were only offered stereotypical roles like "the Vietcong," the "guy who can't speak English," the “karate fighter,” or the "liquor shop owner."
“So I decided that I was going to make something out of myself in the Korean entertainment industry,” explains DJ Young.
“To achieve a dream, to be a star,” he says, “everyone dreams of or has dreamt of it. Only a small percentage actually walk the walk to make the dream a reality. I didn't want to live my one life I was given without at least trying.”
What followed was a series of auditions for companies large and small. Any available time was spent running around, working in the studio, submitting demo tapes, and attending an acting academy. After seven months, dealing with severe culture shock and no signs of changing luck, DJ Young began hanging out with his friend Steve Kim – an old friend from U.S. who was in a group called Uptown.
Only then did DJ Young begin meeting major players in the industry, including up-and-coming artists like Tiger JK and DJ Shine. One of Uptown’s management people heard DJ Young’s story and set up an audition for him at World Music, one of the powerhouses of Korea’s entertainment scene at the time, before companies like SM and JYP came to the fore.
DJ Young didn’t land a deal right away, but he did earn an invitation to come in and practice everyday. It wasn’t glamorous, but he also had the opportunity to build relationships as he worked as a trainee – making coffee, translating, running errands, making phone calls, and doing whatever he was asked to do.
In the midst of his training, DJ Young received a call from Kim, saying that there was a producer looking for a rapper and that he would set up another audition – an audition that DJ Young would land in July 1998. He signed to debut with the then five-member group S#ARP (pronounced “sharp”).
Recording, practicing, debuting was all one rushed blur for DJ Young, a rollercoaster ride as they sought to climb to the top. DJ Young does remember, however, his first performance with vivid clarity.
“The very first stage performance was nerve-wracking,” he says. “I remember it clearly. I hated my outfit. Rain was there in his group back then, FANCLUB. I remember seeing him, just a skinny dude. He stood out because he was the scrawniest guy. If you told me back then what he was to become, I would have laughed.”
The moment they got out onto the stage, DJ Young recalls hearing the crowd wonder who they were and make brutal comments comparing them to the stars they came to see.
“You might be surprised at what you can see from the stage. You can see everything. Every face, everything they're wearing, every camera, every expression,” says DJ Young.
“Then the music starts and it's more like a reflex. It's the hours and hours of training that makes your first stage. You get used to it though and you begin to make the stage yours. They used to say that on your first stage, you see black,” he goes on. “And I did.”
It wasn’t until DJ Young gained more exposure appearing on television shows and began being recognized on the street that he felt he had finally achieved a level of success. And meeting the artists he had grown up watching – he cites DEUX and Solid as major influences – also left a deep impression on him. DJ Young’s acting career, however, never really took off.
“The acting thing never really worked out because of my Korean pronunciation,” says DJ Young ruefully.
“There's a double standard for gyopos (people of Korean descent living outside Korea),” he explains. “Since you look Korean, they expect you to speak Korean. My Korean was terrible back then.”
“It's funny how people like Daniel Henney can get away with speaking English everywhere he goes. Helps to be good looking,” he jokes.

Today, DJ Young is known primarily as the host of KBS World Radio’s Kpop Connection. Along with co-host Angie Park, DJ Young appears on the daily radio program broadcasted on KBS World, picking his own playlists as well as writing the script for the show.
“I basically put K-Pop Connection together,” DJ Young says.
Having put his time as a pop star behind him, DJ Young says he admires media personalities like Chick Hearn, Larry King, Oprah, and even Ryan Seacrest and aspires to be Korean comedian and TV show host Yoo Jae-suk’s sidekick, or to host KIIS FM in Los Angeles.
In fact, he has considered moving his act back to the States, he says, because he feels that he’s not yet on a big enough stage doing what he does in Korea. At the same time, DJ Young knows well the challenges involved in starting over – he’s waiting for just the right opportunity.
“Live without regrets,” he says. “Try everything and make the most out of the potential you possess.”

Interview By: Diana Kamel and Diana Truong

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