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www.groovekorea.com / March 2014 50 MuSIC & ARTS Edited by Emilee Jennings (emilee@groovekorea.com) Jesse day is here to stay his plan — to conquer the world of asian entertainment Story by Emilee Jennings / Photo by Dylan Goldby J esse Day is warm, friendly and charismatic, but don’t let his innocent smile fool you — this 30-year-old Canadian means business. Jesse wanted to become a TV star and the Asian market drew him in, so he came and gave it everything. There was no plan B, C or D, only a plan A. “I started this career with the mindset to be in it for the long haul — I don’t believe in backup plans. There’s always a market for whatever anyone wants to do once they really push for it and have a strong conviction.” Now he is a TV presenter and emcee by day and rapper by night; throw a bit of martial arts into the mix and it’s clear how hard Jesse is willing to work. “I’m not hung up on trying to become famous or anything like that,” explains Jesse. “I just like doing stuff in front of the cam- era. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life and for career longevity it’s good to become recognized.” His first attempt at living in Asia was a stint in TV and the hip-hop scene in China. Then he ventured to Korea, and decided he could never live in Canada again. “I feel I belong in Seoul. I have since the moment I arrived here. I knew I would be here forever, even when I first got here and was broke with no job prospects. It’s something I can’t even describe. This is where I’m supposed to be, in my mind. I’ll be here for the rest of my life.” The Korean life was not all roses and kimchi for him (although there was a lot of kimchi — probably too much kimchi). Coming here was a big risk. He didn’t have any contacts or speak a word of Korean, and with very little money, his only option was to stay in a goshiwon, a small room with a bed and TV. “For- tunately the goshiwon I was staying in had free rice, kimchi and eggs, so I was eating that for breakfast, lunch and din- ner every day. If I was really feeling like breaking the bank I would buy a coffee. I’m really addicted to coffee, so on days when I couldn’t afford coffee I would pour three of the premixed sachets in a cup to try and get a buzz off it.” For the first six months he made daily contact with foreign agencies and began teaching himself Korean. “In the begin- ning I spent all my time searching online for Korean foreign model agencies and learning the basics of Korean. I wasn’t really doing any work and I was strug- gling a lot.” That was until, finally, his first big break in the form of “Fly High,” an English edu- cation show for children. It was a humble beginning. He worked alongside three other actors wearing animal costumes and performing fairytale characters with a twist. “It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot from my costars, especially Isaac (Durst). He told me, ‘Act as if you are a cartoon character and really over-an- imate it.’” He continued to work with them for two years, which meant he could even afford “real coffee” and alternative meals. His first goal in Korea was to get onto “Star King,” a show with Korean stars watching unknown people who have a unique or unusual talent. “I was aware of that show, I knew there hadn’t been a foreigner rapping in Korean on TV yet, so I thought, ‘I got to do this,’ and I trained and trained and trained and trained.” When Jesse secured an audition, he blew the judges away with his Korean rapping. “They put me on the show, which was kind of crazy because I was hanging out with 2PM and these other idol groups all day — it was surreal. And they had me rapping with Outsider, who is one of the fastest speed rappers in the world, so that was crazy.” Jesse was living the disco dream and it all seemed more and more possible, with compli- ments and oohs and aahs from his fa- vorite K-pop idols. Jesse self-studies Korean for 40 min- utes every day. It is a difficult and at times mundane task, but to get more jobs on Korean TV, especially chat shows, he insists he must improve his language skills. “I did a talk show on TV before and it was really difficult for me. There was a panel of guests discussing topics and it was all in Korean. It was a really hard time for me. I got a script in advance and practiced with my manager, but that all goes out the window when you’re in the studio.” He says he’d like to get to the point where he can be on Korean shows like “Radio Star” and “Happy Together.” For now he just works show to show, sea- son by season, and never really knows where his next paycheck is coming from. “There is no stable gig, but there’s no point in feeling anxious about future jobs. Something always comes up.” To secure his career, he tries to make himself as diverse and flexible as possi- ble to create a larger market of oppor- tunity for constant work. He’s rapped in Korean, he’s starred in many a Korean drama, done his fair share of children’s TV and does corporate videos as well as martial arts TV work. “The whole point of being diverse is so that I can have lon- gevity in my career. I just love it all. … There’s the corporate stuff, then there’s the emce side. I try to fit whatever pro- gram or situation I’m in. I plan to be here for the long term.”