BIO
Vivienne Kwon was born in Seoul, South Korea where she lived for 7 years before immigrating to Jacksonville, Arkansas. After receiving elementary schooling in Arkansas, she moved to Houston and attended middle school. As a child growing up in a low-income neighborhood, she grappled with being the only Korean and experienced bullying and discrimination from her peers and teachers for being Asian. She had always been interested in art and drawing her whole life since being exposed to anime as a child in Korea and pursued graphic design and a minor in art history at the University of Houston for her undergraduate degree. Despite much disagreement from her family for pursuing art, she went on to pursue her graphic design career and moved up in her roles to oversee branding for various companies, winning awards for her work and eventually starting her own creative company, ykcreative. She now runs that company alongside her recent startup, TheAsianSocial.com, a platform that aims to connect Asian communities by providing a streamlined place to find Asian-owned businesses, events, and more. She is currently divorced and has one son. This interview covers her life journey growing up in Korea recovering from the Korean War, immigrating to the U.S., paving a career for herself, and breaking away from a life journey that was outlined for her as an Asian woman by her family. She speaks about how she found herself and the courage to pursue her passions throughout her life.