6 Questions with Jae Jin
This interview was originally published in the January 19, 2018 issue of The Slant. Want Asian American news, media and culture delivered to your inbox every Friday morning? Subscribe today!
Jae Jin is a two-time cancer survivor and Ivy League MD/MBA candidate-turned-singer-songwriter and actor. Boasting a wide range of credits, including music featured in House of Cards, Jin recently won the 2017 WeWork Creator Award, and his album KAIROS had three tracks pinned up for Grammy considerations in 2016.
We caught up with Jin over e-mail.
1. What did your parents want you to be?
My mother is an immigrant from South Korea who brought me in her arms to give me a better life. I don’t think she’s ever forced any particular career on me, but she impressed upon me at an early age the importance of providing for oneself and one’s family and working hard to achieve success in the world.
Thus, I initially settled on a career in both medicine and business based upon a combination of my life experiences as a two time survivor and as a leader in my community. That being said, a few years ago, I became every Asian parents’ worst nightmare by leaving the comfort and security of a MD/MBA career path in order to embrace risk and pursue a career in music.
2. What gets you excited to create your work?
Work now means creating art through music or through acting and writing (music and screenplays). I’m influenced by the people I cross paths with and each of their incredible and interesting experiences truly allow me to respond to the human experience through art.
3. What do you do when you hit a creative block?
Creative blocks are a natural part of every process. In order to be successful, you must push forward through obstacles as you pursue excellence in your craft. Then, when that moment of inspiration finally hits, you’ll be ready to create. You can’t plan around creative blocks so if you only push forward when inspiration hits, you may lose the chance to grow and move forward.
One thing I try to do is to intentionally schedule time each and every day to write. There are days when all of the writing I do may not be used, but I still consider that work to be fruitful because it pushes me toward excellence.
4. What’s something you’ve been really into lately?
For about two years, I’ve been writing at least 5 handwritten cards or postcards and mail them out every week. My family usually gets at least one postcard from whatever city I’m in (they have a huge pile now) and I send the rest of the cards to friends, extended family, and sometimes even supporters of my music. It’s a lost art — handwritten notes and letters — that I want to keep afloat.
5.When did you first feel successful?
As it relates to this journey, two things come to mind. One, is the first time I bounced back from a failure and made progress. Oftentimes, we stop or just quit after the first failure — or the second or third. But failure is a requirement so you can value success. When you break through and bounce back, it’s an undeniable feeling that you’re on a path that you were destined to take.
The other is a very specific moment being awarded a 2017 WeWork Creator Award. In the three years of trying to sustain myself as a professional artist doing what I love, it was the first milestone that gave me a true sense of accomplishment. One of WeWork’s slogans is “Do what you love” and through this award it reminded me that this was a real possibility.
6. Bonus question from Cassandra Lam and Karen Mok: What is a narrative you wish you had known about or been exposed to growing up and why?
I read a narrative short story not too long ago called “A Tiny Feast” by Chris Adrian. It was poignant. Basically, an immortal Queen and King, Titania and Oberon, find out that their adopted boy has cancer. And because they have never experienced sorrow or illness before in their immortal life, they are at a loss as to what to do or feel. I won’t go into detail about why this is so poignant to me, but do yourself a favor and go read it if you haven’t. It’s available online via The New Yorker.
Jae Jin is playing at The Bitter End in NYC this weekend, featuring his newest EP, “Baltimore Boulevard.” Listen to him on Spotify, read up on more of his story here (no really, read it! He was the second patient in history to undergo experimental chemo twice!) or listen to his cover of “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” 4,000 times like one of our editors just did.
