A stand-up comic and playwright born in Korea and raised in an evangelical community in the Chicago suburbs, the Brooklyn-based Joel Kim Booster has seen his profile raised considerably over the past few years. His installment of Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents premieres tonight, October 20th and his first album, Model Minority, will be available soon. Booster took a moment to answer our 20 questions questionnaire.
1. You walk into a bar. What do you order from the bartender?
If it’s before 4pm I will order a bloody mary no matter what. Extra spicy. Give me a fucking meal as a garnish. There’s a bloody mary in the West Village that I will spend $21 on because a) I am dumb and b) it comes with an oyster and a lot of other good shit on top. If it’s night time I will probably order a vodka soda because I worry about calories like a lil binch.
2. Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?
Cole Escola is consistently doing the best comedy on both of these platforms. It’s insane he’s just giving this shit away for free. It’s better than anything on television.
3. What’s currently waiting for you on your DVR or in your streaming queue?
Three episodes of The Voice, American Ninja Warrior, four episodes of this season’s absolutely abysmal Real Housewives of Orange County, and dozens of Chopped reruns. I watch a ton of actual scripted comedy and drama right now, but after a long day of doing creative work I find it really difficult to come home and try to ingest real television. So bad reality it is.
4. It’s your last meal — what are you going out with?
Something Italian. I love pasta and red sauce and cheese. I am mildly lactose intolerant so I try to stay away from it, but honestly, give me some fucking gorgonzola on top of some pasta. and I will die a happy man.
5. What websites do you visit on a regular basis?
All the social medias, and whatever links they bring. This isn’t really answering the question, but I have a great lil Chrome extension that sends webpages to my Kindle or my phone and I read all the many tabs I open during the day on the train. I feel like a smart lil boy.
6. What’s the most frequently played song on your mobile device?
“How Far I’ll Go” from Moana
7. If you could go back and give your 18-year-old self one piece of advice what would it be?
Chill out.
8. What’s the last thing you Googled?
I googled Bob Costas because I wanted to make sure how to spell his last name for a joke, and I ended up spending thirty-some minutes going on a deep dive on Bob Costas.
9. Dogs or cats?
Cats. Always cats. Cats don’t work with the police. Cats aren’t narcs. Cats are chill.
10. Best concert of your life was…?
I should probably start by saying… I don’t really love concerts? I get stressed out in crowds, I don’t like standing? So I guess the best concert I’ve ever heard seen was Ben Folds Five and Alanis Morissette at the Chicago Theatre… Because a lot of people were sitting.
11. What book are you most likely to give as a gift?
I’m a big Jane Austen head and I think people don’t give her a chance. I like to give Pride and Prejudice because I genuinely think if you try to read it as an adult you realize how sharp and relevant her writing still is. She’s so funny.
12. What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
Two sets of friends parents went in and bought me a car for high school graduation! I ended up totaling it a year later and it was the worst I’ve ever felt!
13. South Park or Family Guy?
South Park. South Park is 20 years old and somehow manages to be as relevant as it ever was. Family Guy felt stale like five years in.
14. You have an entire day to do whatever you want. What would you do?
Eat an edible. Go to a museum.
15. What movie can you not resist watching if it’s on?
A League of Their Own. It’s one of those movies that’s always playing on USA or TNT and I will never skip past it.
16. The sports team or teams you’re most passionate about?
You didn’t grow up in the Chicagoland area in the mid-’90s without being passionate about the Bulls. Bulls fever even gave me the confidence to play basketball in high school which was a colossal mistake.
17. Where did you eat the best meal of your life?
This will sound so dumb, but Sugarfish right here in New York. It’s a sushi restaurant and everyone I know looks at me like an idiot when I say the best bite of food I’ve ever had was at a sushi restaurant, but until you’ve had it you cannot judge me. It ruined 7-11 sushi for me.
18. The last movie you saw in a theater?
If you thought I wasn’t a piece of trash, get ready! The last movie I saw was Annabelle: Creation which was actually not that bad, and the critics agree. I still haven’t seen It or mother!
19. Who was your first celebrity crush?
Scott Bakula. We were a Quantum Leap family and that man awoke something in me as a kid. My first celebrity “beard” was Jeri Ryan who is sort of indirectly for giving us President Barack Obama. Google it!
20. What would you cook if Nic Cage was coming to your house for dinner?
The only thing I can cook, undercooked pasta and canned pasta sauce.
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