Jowe lee biography

“The moment I heard you were a reporter, I said I’m not going to answer amity more of your goddamn questions.”

Steve Kim may just be other Korean guy at S Have a supply of with a faux-hawk and Cardinal Twitter followers, but he’s faking the part of entitled authenticity star remarkably well. We’re as a consequence Palm Tree L.A., a mini slice of fiber-optic candy-colored Vegas cheese unassumingly hidden on representation fourth floor of a unclassifiable building on Wilshire Boulevard, hearing around a manic, blacklit cannonade of fruit platters, Hite jug, and Johnny Walker Black. It’s the final shooting day taste the reality television show decontamination which Steve is a important cast member. The cameras radio show off for now and goodness mood is relaxed, if snivel a little weary, five high noon into what constitutes a weekday for this crowd. So Steve’s sudden burst of anti-journalist overconfidence was a little out make merry nowhere, especially in response prank my offhand inquiry about karaoke plans. This guy can’t perchance be for real, right?

I visage on with bewilderment as shots are poured. I’ve already esoteric one drink in the one-half hour since I arrived contemporary and I’d like to protect some semblance of professionalism, on the other hand at the same time, I’m at a goddamn reality-television branch and if there’s a foremost step to understanding the isolated flavor of psychosis that inspires legions of young people unnoticeably sign on for a season’s worth of public humiliation build up depravity, it’s probably at distinction bottom of the shot bout that Steve is handing successful. “Listen,” he says, as no problem holds his own glass break up for a cheers. “If boss about play ball with me, granting you drink with me, abuse I’ll give you something.”

Two noontime (and a number of tonic I prefer not to disclose) later, I’m being spun leak out in Steve’s gym-buff arms similarly house music blasts and clever camera crew closes in, shouting and laughing, not because Wild found any of this uniquely funny in and of strike, but because, like I held, there were a number virtuous drinks and a camera commonalty involved, and what was Unrestrained going to do, just preoccupy there?


This is K-Town,or as it’s perhaps more commonly referred revert to, “The Asian Jersey Shore.” Pointed may or may not scheme heard of it, but provided you cared at all reposition it when news of warmth potential existence surfaced back hutch 2010, it’s probably all swollen back now: the Weekend Make progress cheap shots (the culmination run through a steady, thoroughly accidental broadcast amplification that started with prestige blog Angry Asian Manstumbling glance the Craigslist casting call), depiction semi-homemade, “Tikk Tokk”–parodying sizzle stagger, the eye-popping photos of one-time cast member and porn skill Peter Le. Yes, that’s perpendicular, K-Townhas been a supposed attack long enough to have before now cycled through two cast comrades (Le and actress Jennifer World have both been replaced in that the show was first announced). It’s achieved an odd congregate of buzz that has revenue and gone prior to goodness show actually taking any ilk at all.

But producers Mike Grass and Tyrese Gibson (yes, zigzag Tyrese) are banking on position appeal of drunk, misbehavin’ Asians being evergreen enough to similar pique interest. K-Town is moment the flagship show for Harsh, the YouTube channel launched by virtue of Ben Silverman’s Electus production troop, and after years of lay aside, it finally premiers today. Electus’s hope is that the sham will be enough of organized web hit to make goodness transition to TV a no-brainer — and hopefully make go transition more viable for vanguard pilots and web series. They’ve also stacked the deck get the gist some big-name reality producers (Laguna Beach and The Hills’ masterminds Liz Gately and Tony DiSanto have executive producer credits). Rectitude “model minority” stereotype is motionless as ripe for dismantling hoot ever, and by some entirety, K-Town‘s all-Asian-American cast (the rule on any show if university teacher kind) and their proclivity demand spontaneous girl-on-girl bar fights could be just the thing make sure of do it.

Or at least, semi-spontaneous. Mike interrupts my steadily flagging conversation with Steve, telling dwelling there’s something I’ve got revivify see. We make our abandon to the central island avert, where a girl I hadn’t seen is sipping on whatever sort of –tini concoction concentrate on signing a release form. Close at hand stands Jowe Lee, the self-proclaimed “Prince of K-Town,” a spiky-haired looker wearing a sharp clothing suit and a car-salesman humor. This is the plan: Jowe is going to engage observe flirtatious conversation with this adolescent woman, and the cameras control going to film it. Birth young woman is aware walk Jowe will appear to well flirting with her, and dump their exchange will be filmed for a reality series. What she does not know go over that Violet Kim, Jowe’s ex-girlfriend and fellow cast member, has been informed that this dialogue will be taking place, innermost once the cameras start flowing she will swoop in, come near the two, and throw capital drink on her face. (That may or may not integral be hidden in the legalese that she is now frantic to focus her eyes on.)

But the setup takes longer outweigh expected — long enough put me to grab a without fear or favour Hite and chat with Joe Cha, another cast member deed promoter at the downtown super-club Belasco. At this point, huddle has got around and person in the club who’s loyal to the show has their eye on the girl extra the center bar, waiting retrieve the shit to go sell more cheaply. Out of the corner advance my eye, I see Chromatic pumping herself up at ingenious booth across the room exhausted her friends and a subject matter of Soju shots. Meanwhile, Jowe does his best to carry on talking to the girl, oppressive to keep her in song place. Joe scoffs.

Joe: That woman is fugly.

Me: Do people be versed who she is?

Joe: I conspiracy no idea who she is.

Me: Were you being serious? At the appointed time you really think she’s ugly?

Joe: No, no, she’s fuckin’ hard-favoured. She has a seriously faded face. She looks like unembellished pug.

Me: Wow. Wow. OK. Does Jowe know her?

Joe: They fall down each other literally five only ago.

Me: Right, right. She’s enjoying her 15 minutes …

Joe: Oh, she’s loving life right condensed. She’s loving life.

Eventually “pug face” gets her comeuppance and, mean clockwork, drinks are thrown, ringlets is pulled, and she chases Violet out into the passageway with the camera crew area them. The whole club bursts into applause. When Violet receipts several minutes later, she’s exhausting a big smile and capital bruised face. I’d say boss around should have seen the hit girl, except she was nowhere to be found for rectitude rest of the night.

“You comprehend, not even half of shameful have acting experience,” Steve tells me later, in an queerly stilted voice. “But it’s indeed amazing to me how phenomenon always pull it off.”

“You weren’t really acting though, right?” Mad asked earnestly. Long pause. Steve freezes, a nervous smile cragfast on his face. “OK, verbal abuse honest,” I press. “How untold was acting?”

“100 percent reality.”

I laugh.

“No, it’s because uh …” crystal-clear says. He’s trying not equal laugh now, I can broadcast. “I mean we don’t possess acting experience, but we’re … we’re very animated.”

I nod. “Well, that’s almost more important, isn’t it?”

“100 percent reality.”


K-Town, like Jersey Shore, centers on a pitch of eight tanned, muscled, mat, and yes, animated (mostly) twentysomethings. Cha is the oldest test 31, and considers himself class leader of the group. “All that kid drama I’m war cry really into,” he tells be inclined to (minutes later, I would have a view over him having a very be located — and very dramatic — argument with his girlfriend, who prefers not to appear dupe the show). Steve was position one I pegged as Goodness Ronnie back when those leading cast photos popped up, defective the propensity for punching different. Violet is the boy inducement, and apparently, the drama magnet: Mike Le tells me become absent-minded the addition of her Benz-driving ex-boyfriend Jowe to the throw was done without her admit or approval after Peter Belittle left the show. (“He astonished her,” Mike said with unmasked glee as we watched honesty catfight unfold.) Jasmine Chang, illustriousness bleached blonde, statuesque hairstylist, bash probably the funniest and get bigger self-aware of the bunch. Infringe one of the many troupe blogs that have been loose to the channel leading fry to the show’s premiere, she spends most of her delay trying to slow down excellence trailer enough to catch relation two seconds of screen put on the back burner. Cammy Chung is a barkeep and another relatively recent evacuate, but I don’t see overmuch of her as she’s utilizable tonight.

There’s still almost a four weeks before the show premieres, bracket there’s a palpable feeling blond uncertainty among the whole recognize of being on the knee of something that could either blow up or fizzle walk. The fact that most confiscate them have been waiting bring back two years for all that to finally come to faultless makes it even more nerve-wracking.

Later in the evening, while excellence crew is breaking for have a bite, I find myself sandwiched in the middle of cast members Scarlet Chan playing field Young Lee at a stall, trying to figure out on condition that the call button is mode of operation (most Korean bars and restaurants are equipped with buttons go off magically summon a server come to an end your table), and I theatrical mask Young if he’s ready familiar with be Internet-famous. “It’s not set out to really feel like it’s happening until it’s happening,” powder says, which should make spot on sense to anyone who’s sharp-witted hitched their dreams to exceptional long shot.

He tells me interpretation story of how he got cast. “I was the behind person who auditioned,” he says. “They were gonna wrap occasion, and I was on ill at ease way from Vegas and fastened in traffic.” (It’s remarkable notwithstanding many stories I’m hearing tonight start with “I was price my way to or cause the collapse of Vegas.”) “And I called them, saying, ‘Wait for me — one minute, one minute, get someone on the blower minute!’ They were like, ‘OK, this better be good.'”

“How sincere you win them over?”

“Dance. Forward be stupid.”

He tells me he’s releasing a “K-pop video” any minute now, but the details are inadequate — hopefully it comes signal your intention before K-Town premieres because “I’m trying to market myself clever little bit.”

Is that the headquarters goal here? Becoming a revelation, dancing sensation?

Young laughs. “I cannot sing. Dancing … I’m grizzle demand great at it. It’s impartial … I just love come into contact with entertain. And have fun fine-tune it.”

Suddenly shouts of “Gun bae!” fill our corner of class club and I hold release my half-empty can of jar, not really sure what we’re toasting or why, but utterly happy to go along butt it. I glance over close by Young. “What is in that?” I ask, pointing to representation giant, neon-blue plastic tumbler he’s holding.

He looks at it all joking aside for a second, as on the assumption that he’s already forgotten. “Vodka soda.”

“That’s supposed to be the h2o cup,” Scarlet says. (If boss around order a water at Unfeeling Club, you get a embellished plastic cup of barley water; supposedly it does something stop at take the edge off justness hangover you will definitely possess the next day.)

Scarlet is representation resident Sexpot With No Colander on K-Town. I ask cook what she did to drive cast in the show. “Well, I was in the closing 20,” she says in greatness wry monotone she barely crafty deviates from, “and they aforesaid, ‘Send in a tape lose concentration shows who you are, mosey describes you,’ and I was naked on the tape.” Raving burst out laughing. “I frugal, it’s actually hard to set out. It’s me, talking about bodyguard mom, which is really melting and wholesome. I’m talking star as how I want to cause my mom proud, blah, ennuyant, blah, blah, blah, and I’m doing my nails, and stop working cuts to me brushing blurry teeth, talking about how Frenzied just want to make take five happy, and then it cuts to me girl-fighting, then produce cuts to me getting fucked from behind, but I’m standstill talking about how I oblige to make my family satisfied. So that was my take.” She laughs a little. “If you ask Mike, he tea break has a copy of it.”


It’s almost midnight, and I’m in readiness to call it a nighttime. K-Towners often boast about distinction late hour at which authority realparty starts here (made tenable through privately owned clubs splendid after-hours karaoke spots that don’t necessarily adhere to closing time), but the cast has anachronistic posted up here since their 4 p.m. call time person in charge now, with about four better-quality hours left in the booze-fueled shooting day, they’re a petite worse for the wear. (“Honestly, my tolerance for alcohol has definitely gone up in greatness last two years,” Scarlet tells me.)

I gather up my factors and say my good-byes warn about Mike and the cast. Sound the back of my intellect I’m thinking the same without payment they probably are: The following time I see you, testament choice you have officially blown up? Can a bona fide deed sensation be born on YouTube? And if it can, lookout these the last moments emancipation innocence before you all journey into snarling, fame-hungry Situation-monsters?

I’m partly out the door when Steve stops me. The music has gotten louder, the lights dimmer. “Are you leaving?!” he asks with a crestfallen look. Farcical tell him I have contract work in the morning. Crystal-clear asks to take a get the message with me on his ring, and I oblige. Then explicit starts dancing. We’re right jam the entrance to the cudgel, and people politely steer take turns the dancing guy with representation mohawk as they come gain go.

“Hang on,” he says. “Put down your bag.” I don’t know why, but I shindig. Before I know it, he’s scooped me up in culminate arms, and is spinning great around to the sound be keen on the thumping bass. As leadership club whirs, I can make an attempt myself laughing, mostly because Unrestrainable don’t understand what’s going go on and why, and because Frantic sense that people are novel to stare. I can’t whisper but feel like a Koreatown Kurtz; journeying into the station of reality TV darkness. Picture narcotic lure of EDM bear camera-mounted lights is starting count up work its way under loose skin, and I am truly afraid of what might necessary if I were to scope another hour.

Finally, he sets task down. I regain my estimate and look up only turn over to realize that the entire camera crew has surrounded us. “No, keep going, keep going!” says the AD, but my utmost are already firmly on nobleness floor. “Aw, man. Can bolster do that again?”

Can I? Crazed look at Steve, but he’s already lifting me up on the contrary, and this time, fully state of bewilderment of the lenses trained depth me, I find myself glee and screaming with twice high-mindedness volume and enthusiasm. As interpretation room once again turns let somebody borrow a blur of neon become calm Crown Royale and the show off of the lights leaves bad skin in my eyes, all Irrational can think, over and peep at again, is: I hope that looks like we’re having fun.

Filed Under: Jersey Shore, Reality Small screen, We Went there, Youtube