By Julia Kim
Staff Writer
Junior Judy Hong walks the aisles of Hmart, and it isn’t rare that she often gets friendly “hi’s” and “hello’s” from strangers.
She has now tied her loose connections with the Korean community of Dallas. And it’s not that she hasn’t been linked, but after her appearance on the cover of NewsKorea–one of several Korean newspapers reporting in the Dallas sprawl–during the weeks of both March 26 and April 30, her image has been captured by a relatively large number of Koreans in the area, not to mention her single album to be released in June.
It began with an advertisement on the cover of the prevalent newspaper, introducing a Korean singing competition: Dallas Star King.
“I just wanted to have some fun,” Hong said. “This [the competition] gave an opportunity for individuals to make their own album. It was a chance to go from amateur to pro and gave me [the chance] to connect to the Korean community.”
After Hong saw the notice, she called in to participate. On March 25, at the recording booth for NewsKorea, Hong both sang “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus and “Popular” from Wicked and completed an interview. Videos of her and the other contestants were posted online on NewsKorea’s site (www.wnewskorea.com) for public viewing and voting.
“I participated with my friend,” sophomore competitor Allison Kim said. “We had to ask a lot of family and friends for support because a lot of it was based on public support.”
Twelve of 26 competitors were selected to advance to the next round of the competition–a live sing-off on April 24. Judges selected the 12, taking into account the number of views, number of comments, and ratings to compute the final score.
“The best thing about the competition was [connecting] with the other contestants in the back room [on the Saturday],” Hong said. “There were people of all different ages, and I really got to know the people there. Just recently, I talked with one of the other girls and we’re good friends now. The next week, I was invited to perform as a guest singer for Art Saturday.”
Four participants were awarded. Hong was announced as the grand winner, selected to record her own an album and a monetary prize of $500.
“I was very shocked when I was awarded first,” Hong said. “It was pretty awesome, [not to mention] unexpected because Korean people are really good at singing. My parents began putting their cameras away after third place was announced, so it was a surprise. [Dallas Star King] helped me with my confidence. This is not much, but combined with everything else, it will be beneficial. It’s just another step in the right direction.”
Hong will begin recording her single album–consisting of several songs this summer, most likely in June. She will also have a photo shoot for the album cover.
“We’ve decided to push it off into summer,” Hong said. “They’ll [NewsKorea] make a song for me that I’ll sing. But they recommended the others be revivals of previous songs, but it’s all really up to me. It’s difficult for a new individual in this industry to [come across a lot of success] which is why they made the suggestions.”
Hong began her musical–theatrical– career as child in a church play.
“I liked singing and the attention [that you typically get as the lead role],” Hong said. “It was some play like ‘Old Macdonald had a Farm,’ and I played the main character in the [performance].”
Following her start, she claimed a part as a reindeer in her fifth grade graduating play, “Santa’s Ho Down.” And in eighth grade, Hong got the lead role in High School Musical, a major change from her previous supporting roles, after participating in the theatre program at Coppell Middle School West for three years.
“It was awesome that I got the lead role because I finally felt important,” Hong said. “It was my time to shine because I was always a supporting role.”
This year, Hong is involved in and president of Brava!, an all girls’ show choir, directed by assistant choir director Sarah Meador.
“Judy is very hard-working,” Meador said. “She’s a great singer and usually has a lot of solos; she also has great leadership skills. I’m very proud of her, and this is a great opportunity for her to be heard.”
