We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Youlim a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Youlim, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

The first dollar I earned as a creative (actor) was when I was still in college in 2011, performing in a play in Daehakro, the Seoul’s famous theater district! It was my first professional acting job outside of school, and honestly, it felt surreal. No one in my family wanted me to go down this path — not even my mom, which is my best friend. But I was stubborn, and she knew it. Even though she didn’t fully agree, she still supported me financially, paying for my acting classes and college, quietly backing me up.

So when I finally got paid to act, it felt WILD — like a secret victory. The amount was small, but the feeling was huge — like, I’m actually doing this. I bought a bottle of champagne and a cake to celebrate with my mom, which was probably a big portion of that paycheck. That first check didn’t change my bank account, but it definitely changed my confidence in me as an artist.

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

Hi there, I’m Youlim Nam, a NYC-based actor, playwright, director, producer, and filmmaker hailing from Seoul, Korea. I know I wear a lot of hats, but I started simply as an actor. But over time, I found myself writing plays, producing them, directing, and making films. I’m still figuring out the simplest way to introduce myself, but what connects all of it is this: I’m passionate about authentic expression through art — creating work guided by intuition, driven by a desire for unconditional love, and grounded in a sense of playfulness.

I got into this work because I love being on stage — being seen, heard, and felt. That’s when I realized just how powerful storytelling is: to make people feel seen, to challenge how we think, to open new perspectives, to build compassion.

I began my professional acting career in Seoul’s theater district, Daehakro, performing in plays and musicals like “On-Air Chocolate” with the movie Parasite’s Myung Hoon Park. But I knew I wanted to deepen my craft, so I moved to New York in 2015 to study method acting intensively. I trained at Stella Adler Studio and HB Studio with teachers including the late Ed Morehouse, the late Marl Blum, Austin Pendleton, Marion McCorry, Mercedes Ruehl, and more. Their wisdom and passion for acting shaped the foundation of my actor’s life.

Over the last decade, I’ve steadily built a body of work here in New York City, which has been my most inspiring companion. As an actor, I’ve been honored to collaborate with many talented NYC independent filmmakers on award-winning films such as “The Art Thief”, “Mingle”, and “Sunkissed Sky”. I’ve also acted in my own short film “Acting Is My Destiny”, which earned Best Actress at the International Independent Short Awards and Best Monologue at Actors Awards LA. My recent short film “The Audition” is finally ready to meet the audience, so please stay tuned! In my theater journey, I’ve had the privilege of performing in productions, including “12 Angry Women” as well as “Never the Sinner”, which was directed by three-time Emmy winner Cady McClain, who has become a frequent collaborator, mentor, and friend. I’m also proud to be an ensemble member at Axial Theatre, where Cady serves as Artistic Director. I’m also a member of both the Dramatists Guild of America and the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA).

As a playwright, I’ve written and produced numerous plays, mostly one-act; they have been staged in many respectable NYC theater venues like Theatre Row, Gene Frankel Theater, Chain Theatre, and more. My full-length play “a connected place”, which I also performed in, was awarded the City Artist Corps Grant and played to full houses before being selected for the Dramatists Guild’s Friday Night Footlights® in 2023. My other full-length play, “New Year’s Day (Sae Hae)” was showcased during an artist residency at El Barrio’s Artspace PS109 and was invited for an anchor presentation at HB Playwrights Theatre. My recent experimental full-length play, “The Subway Play”, was selected for Axial Theatre’s Safehouse Playwright Series.

My upcoming one-act play, “Last Birthday”, has been recently accepted into the Chain Theatre Summer Festival, marking the second of works selected by the festival this year. I’m deeply grateful for these ongoing opportunities to share my original works with the NYC audiences.

Alongside my theater and film work, I’ve developed a passion for post-modern philosophy and performance practice, which led me to create a podcast with fellow post-modern artists Sophia Treanor and Deborah Black from the Six Viewpoints Institute. The podcast, “In the Particles”, is a conversation project where we explore post-modernism in performance and beyond. While I’m classically trained in method acting, I’ve become increasingly influenced by post-modern practices such as Six Viewpoints and Continuum. I love creating work that moves between the traditional and the experimental — whatever best serves the story and intuition. As an artist, it’s crucial for me to find stillness and spaciousness to meet my most authentic self before I create any work. Meditation, mindful living, and perceptual training have become essential parts of my artistic process.

Whether it’s conventional or unconventional, I want my work to open doors for curiosity, reflection, and sometimes even discomfort— because I believe that’s where growth happens.

Finally, I want to finish by sharing Maharishi Yogi’s quote:
Monks and artists share the same role in society: evolving consciousness and awareness while studying and experiencing the universe. They go into the unknown and bring back what they find. The difference between them is that monks remove themselves from the distractions of society, whereas artists dive deeper into the chaos of sensory experiences in the world. Artists roll around in the muck; they taste things, chew on them, and get dirty.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

What drives my creative journey is curiosity. I want to explore the unknown and dive into the questions that might even make me uncomfortable. Creativity, for me, is about showing up with honesty, taking risks, and staying playful along the way. Whether I’m writing, acting, directing, or producing, my goal is to make work that feels authentic and invites people to connect—not just with each other, but also with parts of themselves they might not always notice.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding part of being an artist is the moment of discovery. For example, as a playwright, when I work with a director and actors, they bring fresh perspectives to my play that I didn’t see before. When that collaboration gets intimate, the synergy deepens, and the work expands in ways I couldn’t have imagined on my own. It’s such a beautiful thing to witness—watching a piece grow through the collective creativity of everyone involved. And when that happens, I truly believe the audience can feel that depth and care coming through the work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://youlimnam.com
• Instagram: @youlimnam
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/youlim-nam-813750126/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@youlimnam

Image Credits

Nicole Lehrman, Michael Kim, Donna Svennevik, Kim Hardy, Jude Kim