Dongkwan’s Advertising World

(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. 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.