BY HYUNCHONG HWANG / Kalamalama Staff
My name is Hyunchong Hwang. People call me Helen. I was born and raised in South Korea. I graduated from Daegu high school and am currently enrolled at Hawaii Pacific University. I’m a senior this semester.
I’m majoring in Multimedia Cinema Production, and I love to watch a lot of films and photography. I was able to get experience from taking filming classes and do my own filming projects.
My best memory of writing was the Global Cinema class I took last semester. It was the first time I wrote so many essays.
My best experience of writing could be with Instagram. I am always on my Instagram. It’s like a daily log. I want to create memories and post a lot so later I could go back and remember everything. The memories don’t disappear.
VISITING THE BIG ISLAND
At the beginning of the year, I went to the Big Island with my family.
I stayed there for four nights and three days. It was fun. I had explored some places I didn’t go and places where my brother didn’t go. My brother came to Hawaii just for winter break and showed him around. He hasn’t gone to another island.
We went to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We looked around to see lava and the hot steam that comes underneath the ground. It was very hot and moist.
The next day we went to explore most of the beaches. I saw a bunch of turtles. It was so cool, and I was able to see sharks. I couldn’t take a photo of the shark, but I was able to take some video and photos of the turtles.
After we explored the beaches, we went to Mauna Kea on the way back to the hotel. I was able to see beautiful views and a place where the volcano erupted. It was crystal clear and so sparkled.
On the last day of our trip, we went to Kona and got some acai and poke. There is a good poke place which is a fish market. I highly recommend going there. I went there last year and its always fresh. It’s the best poke in Hawaii.
BRUSHES WITH FAME
I met a few famous celebrities last year. I went to see Eric Nam’s concert. He is an American/Korean solo singer. I met some new people and became friends with them. It was my first time going to a solo concert.
I always wanted to go to a kpop concert, but I couldn’t until last year. The people I met are very big fans. They follow Eric Nam to every concert and always buy VIP concerts. I bought the VIP concert so I could see Eric Nam so close, and it was the best night ever. The lighting, the music, and vibe were so awesome I could remember. At the end of the show, I could take a photo.
At the HIFF event, I also met a very famous Korean actor and a director, Jung Woo-Sung. He comes to the theater and watches the movie Man of Reason. It’s not actually official yet until next year. We watched the movie together and sat almost next to the actors.
After the movie, there was a Q&A. I was too shy to answer but I was able to listen and get experience so I could ask the question next year if they come again to Hawaii. In the end, they told us that there was another movie he directed and will be there.
I tried to buy the ticket, but it was sold out and I tried to email to the HIFF and I got a response to check it now and there were only three tickets. I got three tickets. I went with my aunt and my mom. This time was different.
The Korean actor Jung Woo-Sung didn’t watch the movie with us but attended after the movie ended. After the end of Q & A, I prepared the lei and Korean actor Jung Woo-sung accepted and hung the lei on him. It was the coolest moment, and I was able to take a photo of him. He was so tall and a gentleman. He was the coolest actor and director I met. I started to think if I could be like him to direct awesome movies and become his fan.
Hyunchong Hwang is a senior at Hawaii Pacific University. Follow me on Instagram at @helenstagram25 and @hmo_on_photography.
