Joel Kim Booster
Joel Kim Booster (born February 29, 1988) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his "Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents" stand-up special. Early life. Joel Alexander Kim Booster (born Kim Joonmin) was born in Jeju Island, South Korea and was adopted by an American couple as an infant. He was raised in Plainfield, Illinois in a "conservative, white, Evangelical Christian family" and was initially homeschooled. He went to public school for the first time when he was 16, which he described as his "first time being around non-religious people." He  knew he was gay from childhood but kept it a secret. His senior year in high school, his parents found out he was gay by reading his diary where he had described his sexual encounters with other boys. Kim Booster moved out and began to couchsurf until he stayed with a family friend. He studied theater at Millikin University for his bachelor's degree. Career. Living in Chicago, he took a job as a copywriter and began to perform in theater and write jokes after work. Kim Booster began his stand-up career in an unconventional fashion by opening up  for plays in Chicago's theater scene. He moved to New York in 2014 to pursue a career in comedy. He performed a set on "Conan" in 2016. He then appeared in his own "Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents" special in 2017. Kim Booster has also written for the shows "Billy on the Street", "Big Mouth", and "The Other Two". On November 3, 2018, he released his debut stand-up album, "Model Minority". The material covers racism in the gay community, growing up Asian in a white community, and his own non-adherence to stereotypes about Asian Americans. Kim Booster  has acted in various roles such as with Susan Sarandon in "Viper Club", a YouTube original film, Netflix's "The Week Of", on Hulu's "Shrill" starring Aidy Bryant. He co-stars as Jun Ho in the NBC comedy series "Sunnyside". In 2019, he co-hosted a digital series called "Unsend" with Patti Harrison on Comedy Central. Kim Booster is a regular panelist on the NPR show "Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me!" and has appeared multiple times. Kim Booster appeared on the December 8, 2020 episode of "The George Lucas Talk Show" with fellow guest Eliza Skinner. Kim Booster  also co-hosts podcast "Urgent Care with Joel Kim Booster + Mitra Jouhari" with comedian Mitra Jouhari under Earwolf. Booster wrote the script for the upcoming gay romantic comedy film "Fire Island". Personal life. Kim Booster is gay and often talks about his sexuality in his stand-up. He has stated that he knew he was gay before he knew he was Asian. On July 21, 2020, Kim Booster announced he has bipolar disorder. He is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America Accolades. Kim Booster was called a Comic to Watch by "Variety" and one of "Vulture"s  20 Comedians You Should and Will Know, and was named a "Forbes"' 30 Under 30 in Hollywood & Entertainment.