Dongkwan’s Advertising World

Since young, I’ve always heard that hard work pays off in the end.
Someone who’s been shining shoes their entire life, waking up at 4AM to go for a 2 hour train ride to the inner city, shining shoes after shoes while trying to use more polish to prevent the stinking foot odor from conquering his brain, while worrying about his 3 children who are in school knowing from the customers’ newspaper headlines that school shootings are prevalent everywhere. He works until 7PM at his shop in the train station, and only arrives home at 9PM to see his children ready to fall asleep. Happy that he had more customers today than yesterday, he brings home a bag of grocery so that his children can have a hearty meal for lunch at school tomorrow… After 23 years of this, he wins the $200 million lottery.

I don’t know much about the Yin and Yang, but this is how it’s supposed to be - says mom. I work hard at college, and I’ll end up getting my dream job, people say. But what I’ve realized is that it’s not just about working hard - it’s about how efficiently you work towards achieving your end-goal in a strategic manner. So if you’re a student reading this by randomness while trying to research more about the ad industry - well, you’re off to a great start. But the real important thing is just knowing much about the ad industry won’t get you any where - it’s about what you build to get that great job. So start building, as CareerBuilder suggests.

It’s very ironic that I’m a student in advertising and don’t even have an identity.
Advertising is all about brand awareness - letting others know that there is such a brand. But I’ve been ignorant of this, because I couldn’t even show the world that I, Dongkwan Kim, am a brand. I have no logo, no presenece anywhere.

Despite my terrible graphical skills, I’ve decided to make an identity for myself… via a business card.

Yes, now I work for my name.

Check it out, I just received it in the mail:

Just as a note, it looks a little bit better with the real thing, because I have “rounded corners” with U/V polish. Neat ain’t it?

Wow. I’ve actually had a press release for the first time in my life. I don’t know if they were covered in any of the local or major publications, but at least I’m on my school’s website. Yes, and my name was also mentioned in AdAge… but can’t find it on the online version.

Here’s a copy of the Press Release that my school’s PR Officer was kind enough to interview me on:

ART INSTITUTE OF PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL STUDENT
 EARNS PRESTIGIOUS OPPORTUNITIES AS THE 2008
“MOST PROMISING MINORITY STUDENT”

PITTSBURGH — February 5 —- Dongkwan Kim travels to New York City this week as one of the 2008 national finalists recognized in the Most Promising Minority Students program by the American Advertising Federation (AAF). Dongkwan is an international student from Korea and will earn his Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh this June.
 
The AAF’s Most Promising Minority Students program connects the advertising industry with the nation’s top minority college seniors. This premier event provides opportunities to recruit fresh talent, to further prepare advertising’s best young prospects and to help the industry’s workforce better reflect the multiculturalism of today’s society. The program not only honors the student recipients, but enhances their knowledge and understanding of the advertising industry by offering networking, interviewing and industry immersion opportunities with industry professionals.
 
Dongkwan will join students from the nation’s top colleges and universities in the all-expenses paid experience in New York City February 5 through 8.  The agenda includes a luncheon at MTV Networks, professional development workshops hosted by Interpublic Group, ABC-TV, The New York Times, ESPN, McCann Erickson, and a variety of lectures, panel discussions and networking receptions. The event is sponsored by the above listed companies, as well as Walt Disney, Google, Pepsi, American Airlines, Advertising Age, The Publicis Group, Verizon, Young and Rubicam Brands, USA Today, Saatchi & Saatchi and BBDO.

Art Institute faculty member Jackie Fisher submitted Dongkwan’s nomination for the award and will attend this week’s events with Dongkwan courtesy of the AAF and on behalf of the Art Institute’s Advertising Program. “Dongkwan is an inspiration to me, and to his fellow students at The Art Institute, because of his natural talent, business acumen and the standards he holds for himself,” said Ms. Fisher. “But most impressive is Dongkwan’s career aspiration to become an advertising copy writer and the obstacles he has had to overcome as a non-native speaker.”
 
“It is a challenge for me to pursue a career in advertising because English is not my first language,” said Dongkwan. “This award, this opportunity is an honor beyond my imagination and I am grateful that I will be a few steps closer to my goals.”
 
Dongkwan is Korean-born and lived in Argentina and South Africa before moving to Pittsburgh to attend college at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Dongkwan averages 18 credits per term and is currently taking 23 course credits consistently earning a 3.9 or 4.0 GPA. He is president of the college chapter of the Ad Club, a member of the college’s student chapter of the AAF and a member of the National Scholar’s Honor Society, and has interned with Pittsburgh advertising agencies. Upon returning from New York, he will lead fellow students in preparing to enter two additional national advertising competitions.
 
“Beyond my academic studies, it is my hobby to research the industry I am preparing to enter,” said Dongkwan. “I encourage my fellow students to become aware of what’s happening because the more aware you are, the more you fall in love with the profession, and the more likely you will be to achieve your goals.”
 
The Advertising Bachelor of Science degree program at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania offers courses in the business of advertising and design. Graduates are qualified for entry level career positions in the advertising industry including: account service, public relations, brand management, corporate marketing, human relations and marketing research.
 
The Advertising Program’s Advisory Board members are ad agency presidents and business owners, marketing consultants and multimedia designers, nonprofit managers and executive directors, assisting in curriculum development and planning, as well as identifying prospective faculty, and providing internship and career opportunities.
 
Interviews and photos are available by request.

It’s been a long time since I last wrote, and now I am back from the Most Promising Minority Students even that was held at the New York Athletic Club in New York. It was fascinating. Just amazing. There were industry immersions with some of the greatest leaders in advertising - including DraftFCB, ESPN, New York Times, Young & Rubicam, McCann Erickson. And we even got to sit down and talk to some of the executive managers in top agencies at Publicis. There were 49 or so recruiters for 49 students. That’s a 1 on 1 chance to get hired…

But here’s the bad news. My portfolio wasn’t ready. I know, it’s stupid not to have my portfolio ready, but I simply didn’t have the time. Taking 7 classes and running the ad club may sound easy - but it’s not really. But to be honest, my experience at the event gave me new insights about my self.

See, here’s a weakness of mine. When I am determined to do one thing, I am totally committed to it. Yeah, maybe it’s not a weakness, but here’s the thing - I love copywriting but I’ve never been able to test my skills as a copywriter. And at the same time, I’ve been ignoring other areas of advertising. I know I’m good at coming up with crazy concepts, but I’ve realized that wasn’t the one thing I had to pursue. So I regret, not having had much internship experiences at ad agencies. So now, I’m really open to any positions in the ad agencies, just so that I can get a better view of how things work in those crazy places. How ideas are born, how they are executed and implemented, all of those things I should have seen. And so now, I’ve decided to open up my views instead of having a parochial mindset of what I want to do.

But yet again, I’ve had some great leads and networks with many agencies. I mean, I would have never even thought about meeting anyone at such great agencies. And so I’m developing more strategies to get my name and works out there… I’m still working on them, but starting with my new website and portfolio is the first step. I’m a believer in change. And I will change. And thus, I am hopeful.

Yessssssssssssssss!

I got back home last night from a long day. I’ve been sick since my arrival from the Bahamas, with school work and activities threatening to kill me everywhere I go. And so I came home, checking my e-mail just before heading off to bed to cool off the rising fever.

“Congratulations.” I receive an e-mail saying I’m a finalist of the 2008 Most Promising Minority Students program sponsored and awarded by the American Advertising Federation. The American Advertising Federation is the oldest professional advertising organization in America, with over 50,000 members across the country. I am actually the Chapter President of it at my school - The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Wow! I mean, I got a kick-ass recommendation from my instructor Ms. Fisher, kick-ass academic accomplishments, and a corny statement and self-promoting tagline and a terrible dress-up photo. But I was actually chosen, as one of the 50 students chosen in the United States of America. OK. I was no longer sick. I jumped around like a kangaroo who just got his toe stepped on by a tow truck. I was like a kid who just had his first experience with plain wasabi.

So what next you ask? I’ll be heading on to the 3 day seminar in the Mosaic Multicultural Center in New York (yeah baby NYC), and participate in a program where I get to learn many things. The main event: the recruiting session with the world’s top ad agencies. Oh yeah, all of them that are on my list.

So watch me in USA Today or Ad Age when I participate in the event from Feb 5 - Feb 8, 2008. As I am most likely the only non-citizen or green card holder, this means that now I have to be the best amongst the 50 finalists.

So if you’re a student who’s willing to put something more to your resume, or, willing to do something more to get you an ad agency job, check out the many opportunities available at the AAF website. You’ll be surprised at what you’re missing out on.

And if you’re a recruiter or a creative professional willing to hire me, please give me just a couple more months when I’m ready to show you some of my talents.

Thank you everyone who has helped, and I will always do my best to make you all proud. Thank you AAF for choosing me.

(I know it’s long, but you should read this till the end to know me…)

I’m sure you’re all wondering, who is this Dongkwan?

I would too. Every time I pick up a book to read, I always look for the brief bio about the author. For example, if I pick up a book on copywriting, I would want to read an author who’s worked in the ad industry for over 20 years at large well-known agencies. Unfortunately, most of the time, they’re written by some freelancer who’s had a lot of clients in a consulting business… whatever that means.

But this is me. And after reading my bio, if you’re a student or rookie like me, you may think that I’m not worth reading. I’d do the same, too. But if you’re a professional copywriter or a creative director or recruiter seeking new talent, then, you might think different. I don’t know who you are and where you come from, but I’d sure be interested. So let me know, if I interest you at all. You know, so we can get to know each other. (winks)

My name: Dongkwan Kim

I was born in Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina. That was some 25 years ago. I was baptized under the name Carlos Andres, and hence, my real name should be Carlos Andres Kim. But of course, as having Korean parents, I was given a Korean name, Dongkwan. But wait, in the west, they all have middle names. So I should really be named, Dongkwan Carlos Andres Kim. But Andres was actually named after a Korean Saint Dae-Gun Andrew Kim. To make things more clear, I should really be named Dongkwan Carlos Dae-Gun Andres Kim. Ah, but just call me Dongkwan. Or DK if you’d like.

So, after speaking only Spanish until the age of 4 (which my mother told me… I don’t remember speaking at all), I moved to Seoul, Korea - that’s South Korea. OK. So at age 4 of just learning to speak Spanish, I had to learn Korean. Ctrl-Alt-Del. Rebooted my system. So now I’m learning Korean, attending Taekwondo pre-school, and by age 7 I’ve just learned to speak Korean and learned how to kick some mellow butt with my black belt. But, I had to leave. I was too old for Seoul I guess.

My family and I ended up in the northern part of Africa, in a city named Tunis in Tunisia. What a name. Like the U.S. should change their name to Washingtonia. Or Korea to Seoulia. Or Brazil to Brasilia. (Oh wait a minute… Brasilia is the capital!) Any how, I ended up attending my first grade in Tunis. Decided not to attend an arab school, or french. I mean, imagine an asian boy speaking arab. That just doesn’t fit somehow! So I ended up attending The American Co-Operative School of Tunis/Tunisia. Everyone who memorized the school name was allowed to attend. In short, it was called A.C.S.T. Well, so I had to Ctrl-Alt-Del again. This time, to American English. So after 3 years of using a whole lot of body language and some basic words in English (”I eat apple”), I ended up having to leave Tunisia again.

Whereto now? Back to Korea. Even back in Korea, I moved around in two cities - Seoul, and a new suburb called Bundang. Whew. I was a fourth grader, and I was up til 4AM simply doing simple homework (”I eat more apple”). Just two years pass, and I’m packing my bag again. Actually, my mother. Now we’re headed to Africa once more. This time, to the most southern. Guess where? South Africa! I thought I’d be lionback-riding while dad’s hunting for waterbuffaloes in mom’s homemade jaguar leather skirts for my sister’s marriage on her 15th birthday. I was wrong. It was heaven established in heaven by heavenly people. I ended up attending a South African old-english-style ‘primary’ school in Pretoria, the capital city. It was called Waterkloof House Preparatory School, in short, W.H.P.S - pronounce, whipps. Ironically, the teachers didn’t have whips in their safari-uniform back pockets, but did have the strictest mouths. We had to call everyone “mam” or “sir” (We couldn’t say “yesiree” at any time). Well, after being at school at somewhat a resemblance to Roald Dahl’s novels, I graudated from Whipps, and went to Saint Alban’s College. Yeah baby, I was in college at age 15! But really, it’s just highschool. Oh, did I mention that since 5th grade at Whipps, I’ve been in an all-boys school? Yeah, and when I decided to go alone to the U.S. alone in my 9th grade, I ended up at a boys-school once again.

This time, in Washington, D.C. most prestigious school - Saint Albans School for boys. Somehow, it had the same name as in South Africa, except I went down from college to highschool. Anyhow, I was in the dorms, but learned a really good lesson - the U.S. isn’t called the land of freedom for no reason. After graduation in 2000, I came to Pittsburgh, PA, at Carnegie Mellon University. Major: Information Systems. Oh yes, having to do with computers, but no one can really define that major. I still can’t (It’s a system involving information of some sort). During that time, my parents landed up in Bucharest, Romania. So every break, I had to fly there. Amazingly, it’s the only airline I could still find smoking-allowed airplanes. And an international airport that’s full of smokes despite no-smoking signs everywhere. Yes, it was still in smokes from the aftermath of a totalitarian regime.

After a year or so, I left Carnegie Mellon and return to Korea. Why? To serve my nation. So that in case the North does come marching down, I can be on the frontier and guard my nation till death. I served the Army in the southern part of South Korea as a linguist - typing and translating field manuals. Never got to see anything really army-like, but still, it’s the freakin’ army. Once more I felt that the U.S. isn’t just a land of freedom, it’s a land of humanity.

Well, so I make my way back to Pittsburgh in the summer of ‘05, and suffer from some kind of… what do you call it… Don’t-Want-To-Meet-Other-People-For-The-Purpose-Of-Doing-Well-In-School-Syndrome. And soon that led to What-On-Earth-Am-I-Doing-Studying-Computers-Syndrome. I can type… real fast. I can build a computer. But I can’t code. I can’t do math. I can’t think in logical terms with numbers.

So the time came, when I needed to find myself a better life. “Better late than never”, was as new a term to me than ever. So I acted fast, before ‘later’ became ‘never’. I soon began to analyze myself (It’s really scary, so you should try it). Number 1, what am I good at? Typing fast, thinking outside-the-box, having weird ideas in my head, not going to bed due to visualizing random things in my head… So after a lot of reseach, I found this job - called a copywriter? Someone who copies other writers? Or someone in a law firm? Well, it was totally something else. Totally me!

So here I am now, taking 7 classes per quarter at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, majoring in Advertising. People around me would think, what a downgrade, as most haven’t heard of this school. My parents had a hard time adjusting to me too. But whatever. I had to change. And I fell in love instaneously. And knowing that I love advertising, nothing came in my way.

So this is me now, trying to land a job in a global ad agency, and trying everything to compete against… let’s see… compete against: english-natives, American citizens and greencard holders, portfolio school graduates, majors in literature and english and journalism, experienced workers, design and photography skilled students, and all A students. Well, that’s just for a Jr. Copywriter position in an ad agency. But I know I can do this. I can find a needle in a haystack, as long as I stay focused and motivated. And when love motivates you, oh man, you enjoy every little moment. And I know so, that given my weird life of travels (never mentioned all the other places I’ve visited have I?) and experiences, and my weird visualizing brain, I’m fit to create some super-duper-campaigns that you’ve never even thought of thinking about.

Me. I am Dongkwan.
You. You are the advertising world.
I love you. And you’ll love me.