We recently connected with Christine Kim and have shared our conversation below.

Christine, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I left my hometown, Seoul, South Korea when I was 15, because I wanted to become an actress in Hollywood one day. I was a minor from a foreign country who didn’t know anyone in the industry, but I wanted to move to America to learn the language and culture while I was still young. And that is a BIG risk!!!! I attended a private Christian high school in Columbia, South Carolina, I attended SUNY Stony Brook where I earned my BA in Theater Arts, and I moved to Los Angeles, CA where I earned my Masters in Fine Arts. At the age of 25, I finally started working on the film sets. I made appearance in commercials, films, TV shows, and streaming services.

But unfortunately, as everyone knows, acting isn’t something that is sustainable all the time. And as it did for many creatives in Hollywood, it took a toll for me when the writers strike and actors strike happened in summer of 2023. This was when I took the next big risk of my life. I decided to try something else other than acting for my career. Without having much knowledge or background in psychology or working with kids, I got into autism therapy, because one of my passions has always been helping others. I became a behavior technician at the end of July 2023 and started helping autistic kids in preschool and their families. And I’ve been working in this field for over a year now.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Both acting and autism therapy require adapting to different circumstances quickly and being a team player. They also need empathy, patience, and resilience, which are some of the core qualities I consider as mine. It’s not always easy, but I try to understand where other people come from and try to be patient with them and feel for them. This is extremely important in autism therapy because it takes a lot of repetition of day to day skills until my clients start to get the muscle memory. Some of the skills my clients acquired took as short as 6 months to as long as 1 year (pumping hand soap, drying hands with towel, saying hi, etc).

Have you ever had to pivot?

When I had to consider a different career because of the writers/actors strike in the summer of 2023. I decided to try something else other than acting for my career but I didn’t know what to do. I had never imagined myself NOT acting. I had a serious talk with myself, ‘what is my passion other than acting?’ I’ve always had a passion for helping people and one way to fulfill that was to get into healthcare. Without having much knowledge or background in psychology or working with kids, I got into autism therapy. I became a behavior technician at the end of July 2023 and started helping autistic kids in preschool and their families. And I’ve been working in this field for over a year now.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I have so many supportive friends (artist or not) who tell me that my story inspires them. When I hear that, everything I’ve gone through to be here today, makes it all worth it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.christinekimofficial.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinekimofficial
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinekimofficial
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9hc7O7gqHIRTmmaYWZMgPQ

Image Credits

Christine Kim (Self)
Leon Sheen
Reilly Ho
Paul Zechariah
Randi Dela Rosa