When I received the request to interview Actor, Dancer & now Author, Joomin Hwang, I leaped at this opportunity because I was so inspired by Joomin's story.

Joomin began his journey as a breakdancer in South Korea. At the age of 29 and despite not speaking English, he moved to the US to study Vocal Performance. Five years after moving to NYC, he made history in 2018, with his Broadway debut in The Prom by becoming the first native Korean to perform at the TONY Awards.

Joomin then joined the original cast of Broadway's & Juliet, making another breakthrough as an actor from South Korea to play a non-Asian principal role in Broadway’s history.

How could I not be inspired by this incredible tale of courage, determination & perseverance.

In this interview, Joomin answered my call to share:

• How a breakdancing career in South Korea led to change career direction
• The courage it took to move to the U.S. at 28 without knowing English
• What making his Broadway debut in The Prom actually felt like compared to the dream he’d held for years
• How being the first native Korean at the Tonys and a non-Asian principal in & Juliet impacts representation on Broadway
• Why teaching as a certified vocal coach fulfills him in ways performing alone cannot
• How his own healing and growth journey led him to write The Rule of Five Journal
• Five things he’s grateful for today 
• So much more

Connect with Joomin: Website, Instagram

In addition to currently being on Broadway in the hit musical & Juliet (as Kempe, Francois understudy), Joomin just became a published author with his debut book, The Rule of Five Journal: Daily practice of Gratitude, Clarity & Growth.

The Rule of Five Journal  combines two proven methods from psychology and personal growth.
Dr. John Gottman’s 5:1 positivity ratio and the five Whys method turned into a powerful daily practice that helps you reflect, rebalance, and create meaningful change.

Grounded in neuroscience, positive psychology, and habit-building research, this journal helps you move from stress to clarity and from awareness to action in just a few minutes a day. Click Here to purchase Joomin's Book, The Rule of Five Journal!

Joomin Hwang Breakdancing in NYC
Photo Courtesy of Joomin Hwang's Social Media

1. You started out as a breakdancer in South Korea, but after seeing a performance of Billy Elliot, you found a new calling. What was it about Billy Elliot that made you go, "I want to change directions with my career"? The life of a breakdancer is very similar to the life of an athlete. You train for years. You compete. You go to battles. People begin to know who you are through your dance and your originality. There is beauty in that. I love the discipline, the intensity, and the way breakdance pushes the limits of the human body.

But when I saw Billy Elliot, I realized there was something I was hungry for that competition alone could not give me. I was hungry for life. On that stage, I saw people’s lives interconnected. I saw joy, anger, love, humor, pain, empathy, and the desire to become something more. It wasn’t just about being impressive. It was about being human.

That changed everything for me. I realized musical theater was an art form where I could keep training my body and voice, but also search for deeper answers about life. It was something I could practice both onstage and offstage.

I’ve learned so much about myself, people, and the world through musical theater. I’m so grateful I found it.

2. Shortly after seeing Billy Elliot, at 29 years old, you moved to the US, without being able to speak English & studied Vocal Performance at the University of Wisconsin. Where do you think you got the courage to move to a new country, learn the language & try to make it there? I think courage sometimes begins with one small shift in perspective. I lived in South Korea until I was 29. At the time, I was finishing my BFA in vocal performance, and one day my professor, Dr. Jang said, “Joomin, you love watching Broadway and West End clips. You should try out Broadway.”

I remember saying, “That sounds unrealistic. I’m 29. I don’t even speak English. I don’t think it's possible to make it.” But she said something that changed the way I saw it. She told me, “There is a sister school in the U.S. that doesn’t require an English score. Go there. Learn the language. Use it as a stepping stone. You don’t have to make it to Broadway. Just go and experience it. Experience as much as you can. It will become great soil for your artistry.”

That phrase stayed with me: You don’t have to make it.

Suddenly, it didn’t feel impossible anymore. It felt like an opportunity. I thought, if it’s just for the experience, then I have nothing to lose. That gave me courage. 

Sometimes we think courage has to guarantee success. But I learned that courage can simply mean saying yes to an experience, even when you don’t know where it will lead. And if you fully ride that wave, life can surprise you in the most unexpected ways.

Joomin Hwang at 2018 The Tony Awards
Photo Courtesy of Joomin Hwang's Social Media

3. Five years after moving to the US, you made your Broadway debut in The Prom, which I was lucky enough to see you in! What was the reality of that moment like for you as compared to what you had envisioned it to be in your mind? I loved The Prom, and I feel so lucky that it was my Broadway debut. 

Like many people, I had fantasized about that dream-come-true moment for years. I imagined how glorious it would feel, how emotional I would be, how grateful I would be. But the reality was, I was almost too busy to feel it.

Being part of an original Broadway cast is no joke. I had dreamed of that moment for 11 years, but when I got there, I was suddenly surrounded by jaw-dropping talent. Everyone was so ridiculously gifted, and honestly, I was intimidated. I wanted to do a good job. I wanted to give everything I had to this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

During rehearsals, the show was changing constantly. You are absorbing new material every day. This was such a challenge for my brain. Then you go into previews, where you rehearse changes during the day and perform the show at night. Sometimes you are working close to 10 hours a day, trying to handle exhaustion while still performing at your best.

Then the show opens, and you are still trying to find your rhythm, because if you don’t, the show can break your body apart. After that came the Tony campaign and TV appearances. For me, it felt like a 10-month marathon from rehearsals in September to the Tonys in June.

So while I was living inside my dream, I often forgot to feel it. But every once in a while, in a quiet random moment, I realized, “Wait. I’m on Broadway. I’m here. I’m part of this community.”

Looking back, I think that’s how dreams sometimes feel. While you are inside them, they feel like a storm. Later, when the storm passes, you finally realize, “Wow. Look how beautiful the world is around me.”

Joomin Hwang as Kempe
& Juliet on Broadway
Photo Courtesy of Joomin Hwang's Social Media

4. Since starring on Broadway, you have been making history! You were the first native Korean to perform at the TONY Awards & now through your role in & Juliet on Broadway (which I also got to see you in), you are an actor from South Korea who is playing a non-Asian principal role on Broadway. How do you hope these accomplishments help continue to diversify Broadway in terms of representation? This is a very meaningful question. Thank you for asking. 

I know Asian American artists have been fighting for representation for a long time, and I have so much respect for that. I see the change happening. I’m cheering it on with all my heart because we still have a long way to go. I simply want to become the best version of myself so I can help move that change forward.

For immigrant performers, there is another layer people don’t always see: visa uncertainty. On top of training, auditioning, surviving rejection, and trying to build a career, you are also carrying the question, “Will I be allowed to stay?” Your time is literally ticking. If you don’t build enough credits and a strong enough case, you may have to leave the country, even if your dream is here. That pressure can easily drain your daily motivation.

So I hope my journey encourages more immigrant performers, not only from English-speaking countries, but from all over the world, to believe there may be space for them here too.

Broadway becomes richer when more cultures, accents, bodies, histories, and perspectives are allowed to exist onstage. I don’t want to be the exception. I hope I can be part of opening the door wider.

5. In addition to being a performer, you are also a certified Vocal Coach. What do you get from teaching your students that you don't get from performing? The reason I studied vocal coaching was because I wanted to help people who dream of coming to the U.S. to pursue their artistry.

I’ve been teaching for about nine months, so I still feel new to it, but teaching has already changed me. It has helped me find missing pieces in my own vocal technique. In learning how to explain the voice to someone else, I’ve understood my own instrument more deeply.

It has also reminded me how much psychology affects singing. So many students are not only fighting technical problems. They are fighting fear. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of being judged. Fear of trusting themselves. 

So teaching becomes more than technique. It becomes a way of helping someone and myself to believe we are allowed to take up space.

What I want to get from teaching is a sense of future. There may be things I won’t accomplish in my lifetime, but maybe my students will carry them forward. That feels very full circle to me.

One thing I love about Broadway is that I get to witness people’s dream-come-true moments in person. You can see it in their eyes. It’s like a galaxy appears. You can feel the whole story they carried to get there.

That is why I also love teaching: witnessing someone’s growth and celebrating it with them in the moment. Teaching gives me a deep sense of fulfillment in that way. It is different from performing for sure. I love teaching.

Joomin Hwang holding his book The Rule of Five Journal
Photo Courtesy of Joomin Hwang's Social Media

6. If the above isn't enough, you are also a published author, just releasing your debut book, The Rule of Five Journal: Daily Practice of Gratitude, Clarity & Growth. How did you come up with the idea to write this book? This journey started from my own healing process. When I was going through a divorce, it was hard to find hope around me. I felt like my life was over, and I was filled with a deep sense of failure. I wanted to find a way back to hope, so I turned to gratitude journaling. 

It helped, but I realized that only focusing on the positive felt incomplete. I needed honesty, not just optimism.

That led me to the 5:1 positivity ratio from the Gottman Institute, which taught me the importance of balance: holding one negative experience alongside five positives instead of letting the negative take over. Negative thoughts are powerful, and they tend to linger in our minds. This is known as negativity bias. Because of that, it takes five positive experiences to counterbalance one negative one.

After learning this, I realized I did not have to run away from my negative feelings. I could acknowledge them, hold them with the positives, and slowly find balance.

Then I wanted to understand my struggles more deeply, so I added the Five Whys Method, created by Sakichi Toyoda, to find the root of a problem. Most of the time, what we see on the surface is not the real issue. The true problem lies deeper underneath.

By asking “why” repeatedly, I began uncovering the fears, unmet needs, and expectations underneath my pain. Once I was able to break down my problems, they became clearer and felt more workable.

After that, I added positive reframing, because understanding pain was not enough. I also needed to choose how I wanted to respond. Reframing helped me reconnect with my values instead of reacting only from hurt.

Finally, I added one small action step, because insight without action does not create change. Even the smallest steps helped me feel steady again.

When I combined gratitude, honest reflection, root-cause questioning, reframing, and action, I found a structure that helped me rebuild. I thought it might help others too, so I shared it with friends. They told me it helped them find clarity as well.

That is when I realized this was not just a tool for me. It could help others. And so, The Rule of Five Journal was born.

7. What clarity did you get from writing this book that you did not have beforehand? What I appreciate most is having a tool that helps me see the things around me with distance. What meditation, therapy, and journaling all have in common is that they give you time and space to observe what is happening inside and around you. For me, this journal has worked wonders.

Now I can handle negative emotions with more balance. It has helped me live my daily life with more happiness and gratitude than before. And when I face a problem, I use the Five Whys to break it down.

I’ve had so many “aha” moments through that process. After asking why again and again, my problems start to look completely different underneath the surface. I begin to see that my deeper intentions are actually constructive, and from there, I can find a direction for growth. 

That clarity gives me momentum even before I take action, because the goal becomes clear. The biggest clarity I gained from writing this book is that I now see negatives differently. I don’t see them only as negatives anymore. I see how much they can teach me and how much growth can come from them.

There is a line I really like: “Problems are the point of life. Through facing them and solving them, we earn our own values.”

Since this journal, I feel less afraid of life. In many ways, I feel I can solve anything.

8. One of the exercises in The Rule of Five Journal is to list five positive things each day to retrain your brain toward gratitude and progress. What are 5 things you are grateful for today?

1. I’m learning about my new chapter as a writer while answering my Call Me Adam interview questions.

2. My plant’s new leaf just opened up!

3. I loved teaching my students yesterday. Sebin was able to mix high C for the first time! And I heard Kit’s gorgeous chest voice for the first time.

4. I’m really enjoying Iron Gold. I can’t stop reading it.

5. Finally, I got into a class I had been on the waitlist for.

Joomin Hwang as Francois
& Juliet on Broadway
Photo Courtesy of Joomin Hwang's Social Media

9. Another activity in the book is to take one small action step to turn reflection into real growth. What is one small action step you have taken recently to move your life forward? One recent action I’ve put on my radar is speaking with time. I’m reminding myself that it is okay to pause and think while I speak.

I’m still working through my insecurity around English being my second language. Sometimes, in my head, I want to sound fluent in front of people, so I try to talk too much. But I realized it is better to connect to my core and speak as who I am.

I don’t have to prove anything. Showing my true self will be much more appreciated than trying to pretend, even if I’m not perfect.

10. What is something you'd like my audience to know about you that we didn't get to discuss in this interview? I love reading. I think we all should read more books. We live in a world where everything is competing for our attention.

In Irresistible, Adam Alter explains how modern technology is designed to keep us hooked through behavioral science and product design. And he said it is only going to get worse when A.I can effectively provide us personalized contents. No wonder we feel so occupied by our phones! Reading physical books could help us to take a break from it. That is why I want to share how powerful reading books can be.

In The Art of Impossible, Steven Kotler talks about the return on investment of reading. He explains that a short piece of content may give you a few days of someone’s research, an article may give you months of work, but a great book can give you years, sometimes decades, of someone’s research and life experience in just a few hours.

That is incredible to me. By reading a few great books, you can access more knowledge and wisdom than one lifetime could normally gather alone.

I would suggest starting with what you are curious about. For me the gateway was Fight Right by the Gottman Institute. After my divorce when I wanted an answer, this was such an eye opener so I read the whole book in 4 days! This book should be a textbook for a relationship. Then, I was like “More of this!” Now, I can’t stop reading books. Let’s read more books together! 

Thank you for having me and hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I did.

If you liked what I shared, you can follow my artistic journey on IG @joominhwang

You can buy my Journal on Amazon by searching the title The Rule of Five Journal or my name “Joomin Hwang.” If you want further information you can check my website joominhwang.com

Joomin Hwang
Photo Courtesy of Joomin Hwang

More on Joomin Hwang:

Joomin Hwang began his journey as a breakdancer in South Korea. While touring and performing a dance show at London’s Peacock Theatre in 2007, his life was changed after seeing a performance of Billy Elliot. Shortly after, at the age of 29 and despite not speaking English, he moved to the US to study Vocal Performance at the University of Wisconsin.

He made history in 2018, just 5 years later, with his Broadway debut in The Prom by becoming the first native Korean to perform at the TONY Awards. He later joined the original cast of & Juliet, making another breakthrough as an actor from South Korea to play a non-Asian principal role in Broadway’s history.

Joomin brings a dynamic and multidisciplinary energy to the stage and screen. His diverse credits include performances in the off-Broadway production of KPOP at A.R.T., In the Heights at Axelrod Performing Arts Center, and screen appearances in Iron Fist, Isn’t It Romantic, Pose, and the film adaptation of In the Heights.

Now based in New York City, Joomin continues to expand his artistic reach across theatre, film, and television—committed to representing international artists with authenticity, resilience, and heart. Living in New York and doing what he loves to do is an unbelievably sweet dream for Joomin.

In addition to his performance career, Joomin is a certified vocal coach dedicated to helping others find freedom and confidence in their voice. He combines personal experience with technical expertise to guide dancers, actors, and singers through real transformation—just as he did himself.

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