Justine Kim - Designer & Host of Becoming

Justine Kim

Justine Kim is the host of “Becoming” a podcast about womxn, work, and how they’re finding their why’s. She is a recent graduate of the University of Southern California (USC) where she studied Business Administration, French, and Design. Justine became a Venture for America fellow in May 2019 and has been working as a Content Marketing Manager at Sift, a Detroit based SaaS startup working to keep organizations connected.

As a fellow, she helps lead VFAsians, VFA’s Pan-Asian affinity group, and VFA WMN, VFA’s affinity group for womxn. In her free time, she loves reading, watching anime, and going on hikes with her cat.

I’m so excited for you to connect with Justine, check out her work and podcast, and follow along as she continues to blend her interests - from business development, social entrepreneurship, marketing/branding, and human-centered design to a career that lies at the intersection of the world’s greatest needs and my greatest passion.

I'd love it if you'd introduce yourself, what you do, and what you're working on.

Hi, I’m Justine Kim. I’m a podcast host, marketer, designer, and a current Venture for America (VFA) fellow. I am the host of the Becoming Podcast which is a show about womxn, work, and how they’re finding their whys. I am also an Oregonian, an avid Kpop fan, anime watcher, embroidery artist, and lover of cats (my six month old cat Tobio is my life).

How did you get started?

I started my podcast in February of last year. The idea first started when I was attending the University of Southern California (USC). During my time in college, I was given a lot of opportunities to be a moderator, interviewer, etc. and found that I really enjoyed helping “translate other people’s stories” or being a story-translator as I like to put it. Asking people thoughtful questions, hearing their stories, connecting the dots, and learning from them. I loved it.

My senior year, I was able to do that frequently with an organization I helped found that was all about supporting womxn on campus in their personal and professional development. In that role I was moderating a lot of panels coordinating speaker events workshops that featured womxn in LA. What I found through that experience is the importance of uplifting womxn’s voices and stories, but I wanted a way to document these conversations that I was having and really focus on someone 1-1. That’s what started the seed of the idea of having a podcast. I knew I wanted to womxn and I knew I wanted to talk to founders (of businesses, movements, etc.), but I had no audio editing experience or knowledge about what went into producing a podcast. My natural inclination is to plan everything before I start, but to push myself to start I just recorded my first interview with a mentor at the time. It wasn’t perfect. I didn’t even fully have the concept of my podcast fleshed out, but that’s what got me started.

What inspired the work that you're doing?

I spoke on this a bit in the previous question, but this enjoyment for interviewing and translating womxn’s stories intersected with me graduating and joining an entrepreneurship fellowship. Like many recent-grads I was asking myself a lot of questions around identity, work, and purpose. I wanted to know how other womxn were answering these questions. I eventually decided upon focusing on womxn founders for my first season because of my interest and current involvement with startups and founders. So I think the intersection of those two things, me really enjoying using my skills in moderation and interviewing to uplift other womxn’s stories and the phase of life I’m in as a recent grad and currently an entrepreneurship fellow a podcast seemed like the perfect medium to continue having these conversations, to learn, and to also continue on my journey of personal reflection.

What is your biggest passion? Do you feel like you're living your passion and purpose?

I’m not sure that I have one main passion or purpose. I push back against the concept of having a single purpose or passion in life, because it feels very black and white. You either find your purpose and you’re living it, or you fail to find your purpose. So, I would say that one of my passions is uplifting voices that are often pushed to the side, dismissed, or repressed. For me, that has manifested throughout my life in creating spaces for and advocating for Asian-Americans and womxn.

What is your joy blueprint? What lights you up, brings you joy, and makes you feel the most alive?

I like that phrase joy blueprint. I have high standards for others but I think that I’m the hardest on myself. When I feel the most joy is when I’m being kind to myself and when I’m around people who see me for who I am. This might sound weird but for me it’s also about boundaries. I love a good boundary. The times in my life when I’ve felt the most stressed, overwhelmed, etc. have been when I’ve allowed myself to cross boundaries that I’ve set for myself or let others cross boundaries that I’ve set. Whether it’s in work, relationships, health, and more. Those boundaries influence how I treat myself, and how others treat me. Outside of that, dancing gives me a lot of joy, spending time with my cat gives me a lot of joy, and being able to use my creative energy whether it’s through my podcast, drawing, designing, that gives me joy.

How do you live intentionally? Are there tools/resources/practices that you rely on to help you stay mindful and grounded?

I’m a big fan of journaling. I’m a very introspective and reflective person, so journaling just lends itself very well to that. I don’t have a very set way I go about this, but a few questions I like to ask myself include: What gave you joy today? How did you focus on someone other than yourself today? What have you learned about yourself today? Seeing the responses to these questions change over time has been a great way for me to track how I’m treating myself, how I’m treating others, and how I’m changing and growing. I’ve also more recently gotten into recording short voice notes on an old school voice recorder, so it’s been great to record my thoughts in a different medium. Other than that, there are certain routines throughout my day that make me feel grounded. Drinking green tea with matcha honey (very specific I know) in the morning, listening to a podcast while checking emails, having lunch with my sister (now that I work from home), playing with my cat at the end of the day, working out, reading a book before I sleep. These are all things that give me joy and make me feel ready and grounded for the day.

What would your younger self think about what you're doing now?

I think my younger self would be shocked! My mom likes to tell me that she never expected me to do the kind of things I do looking back at my younger self. I was a quiet kid. I took things at my own pace. I don’t think I would have ever thought that I would enjoy interviewing people, and producing my own podcast. I think my younger self would be proud to see that I saw something I wanted to do, took it in my own hands, and did it. On another note, looking back, I let a lot of things slide. I let people cross boundaries, I wasn’t secure in my own authority and leadership, and I didn’t call people out on ways I was treated because I’m Asian and because I’m a womxn. Now, I’m glad to say that I have come a long way in all of those things, in advocating for myself and being secure in who I am, and younger me would be glad to see it.

Do you have a go-to mantra or affirmation? 

Where you’re at is where you’re meant to be. Don’t worry too much about the future. Live in the present and enjoy it.

What is your biggest dream?

My biggest dream is to start a social enterprise. Related to that is I’ve always wanted to try moving to a completely new country and either work there or do research or both. It feels like an impossibility now since COVID, but hopefully still a possibility for the future.

To learn more and connect with Justine and Becoming visit her website justinegkim.com and anchor.fm/justine-kim and on Instagram @becoming_thepodcast and @justine.g.k on LinkedIn here and you can find Becoming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts

Joy Corner is an interview-style blog series brought to you by Seek The Joy Podcast. Our mission continues to be a desire to share your stories, truths, joys and inspiration in your words. We invite you to join our corner, and share your joys, passions, and moments of inspiration as we continue to seek the joy, together. Join this series here