Meet J Han

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful J Han a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi J, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

Throughout my creative journey, I’ve had the privilege of being surrounded by a community that is unapologetically loving and passionate.

My mother and father immigrated to the United States from Taiwan and South Korea, respectively, and have passed resilience onto me through blood. Their stories and sacrifice have shaped me into the person I am today, and they imbue the stories I want to tell. I believe they are the strongest people I know, and their resilience has given me the confidence to tackle things head on, in spite of whatever is thrown my way.

I’m also eternally grateful for my friends and siblings, who constantly inspire me to become the best version of myself (both as a person and as an artist). The community we have built together has been patient when I’ve faltered, created a safe space to rest when I can’t go on, and has unrelentingly showed me there is still magic in the world time and time again. It’s thanks to them that I can love fiercely and unafraid! Alongside them, my desire to create only burns brighter.

Finally, a key component of all the work I create is its capacity to spark change. To do that, you have to remain resilient in believing that change is possible. I truly believe the world can be better, I believe we can create radical change.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’m a writer, photographer, and filmmaker! As a freelancer, I’ve shot for New York Fashion Week, contributed my photography to commercial work for NBCUniversal, and written/shot both documentary and narrative films.

All the creative work I do revolves around storytelling—I want to bring people’s lived experiences to light and love working with a crew to share that vision. One particular project that is important to me is the documentary I worked on with a small team in South Korea. We interviewed several naengmyeon (cold noodle) restaurant owners about their hopes for South and North Korean’s reunification and their dreams to one day see their families united again. Working on that documentary was a really intimate experience, and it was my first time back in South Korean in 13 years.

Alternatively, most recently, I was assistant director and assistant camera for a musical film about cannibals and love. There is no end to stories waiting to be told, and I’m always excited to tackle the next project.

Art exists to me in the form of community, the people I work with, write with, interview, and share work with. Now that I am back in the Bay Area, I’m looking forward to continue working on more films, photography, and creative projects with the community here!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

#1 Embrace growing pains

If there’s something I’ve learned over the years, it’s that I am often my worst enemy. Trying out new roles, meeting super cool new people, and battling an (un)healthy bout of imposter syndrome has (and still continues to) riddle me with anxiety. There’s a price to learning, and it’s these growing pains that sometimes make you feel weak in the knees and have you sick to your stomach before tackling something out of your comfort zone. But sometimes all you need to do is take a leap of faith; chances are, all the little nightmare scenarios are just in your head. Failure and rejection are hard, but along the way you adapt, learn new skills, and meet some of the most lovely people you will ever encounter in your life.

So what if your knees ache a bit? You’re reaching new heights. You’re experiencing those growing pains together.

#2 BE LOUD!

If you have any input, give it! The greatest ideas come about through conversation and collaboration, if someone won’t extend the mic to you then sometimes you’ll just have to speak up. It’s a long process learning to trust yourself, but if others are trusting you as part of a team or crew, then you owe it to them too.

Be loud about your suggestions, be loud about wanting to work with people, and be loud about your appreciation. Don’t be shy about love and make sure the people around you know it. Along the way you’ll find people who will speak up for you too.

#3 Storytelling is a game of empathy”

This is my favorite quote from Hiro Murai, a director and DP that I look up to immensely and know a maybe slightly unsettling amount about. All my favorite pieces of art have impacted me strongly because of a story, an emotion, an experience that they strive to tell. It’s something that I constantly remind myself of during any creative process; cool composition is great but intentional composition is a conversation. In the end, storytelling is a bridge to better understand each other and the crazy world we live in; it’s empathy. My favorite part of art is collecting a piece of someone’s life as an audience member, or watching someone else take something with them from my work. Art breeding conversation is the heart of everything I do, and what I love about people.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I’m always looking for people to collaborate with, whether that be photography, filmmaking, or writing! A core part of my love for creative work is the community and the stories that are waiting to be heard. I have a soft spot for anything slice-of-life, comedy, or redemption arc-related.

Whether it’s just to hang out, brainstorm, or to take on a new project, I’d love to chat! The easiest way to reach me is through Instagram @jujujujuhan.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @jujujujuhan @jhanzhiji