Kollaboration Seattle

Kollaboration Seattle is an annual talent competition showcase and movement entirely produced by Asian and Pacific Islander (API) young professionals and students from throughout the Pacific Northwest to promote a strong API presence and support in entertainment and media. We are proud to be part of the larger, nationwide Kollaboration movement which now spans across 14 major cities in North America.

Our primary mission and mantra is, “Empowerment through Entertainment”. In addition to encouraging the diverse talents of API youth, Kollaboration seeks to empower:

1. API youth by providing them with a creative outlet and leadership training that serves as an alternative to gang-activity and delinquency for those at-risk
2. API families by offering a platform for communication that bridges the gap between 1st generation parents and latter generation youth
3. the API community at large, by raising awareness for other critical community issues and NGOs.

It is evident that APIs are often categorized into a certain image. APIs may find it increasingly difficult to get jobs outside the “model minority” or “foreigner” role. Such barriers often result in the lack of APIs in mainstream entertainment industries. Thus, APIs are not only unfairly portrayed but also disproportionately underrepresented in the mainstream media.

Therefore, our youth are left with few visible role models and a narrowed pool of aspirations.

Through generous sponsorship, Kollaboration endeavors to bring about a paradigm shift of perceptions and to pave the way for future APIs to accomplish their goals and dreams that may be entertainment related.

In contrast to our mission statement of “Empowerment Through Entertainment,” the ultimate vision for Kollaboration is “Entertainment Through Empowerment,” envisioning a future when our organization represents a movement of innovative and creative artistry with all races and ethnicities.

Brief History

Kollaboration was founded in 2000 by Executive Director Paul “PK” Kim. Under the guidance of Executive Producer Roy Choi, Kollaboration officially incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in 2006 and has emerged as the premier Asian and Pacific Islander talent showcase in North America. Each show traditionally features performing artists of all types, with musicians, vocalists, dancers, lyricists and more competing for a $1000 grand prize.

Since its inception, Kollaboration has had the honor of working with a dynamic network of esteemed individuals of the entertainment industry, such as John Legend (Singer, Grammy Award Winner), Teddy Zee (Producer, The Pursuit of Happiness, Hitch), John Cho (Actor, Star Trek, Harold & Kumar), Tom Anderson (Founder of MySpace), Ken Mok (Executive Producer, America’s Next Top Model), Joseph Kahn (Music Video Director, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, U2, Backstreet Boys), Drunken Tiger (Rapper group, Korean Hip Hop) and more.

Furthermore, Kollaboration has headlined a number of celebrity performers including Far*East Movement (#1 Billboard Top 100 Singer, ‘Like a G6’), BoA (Singer, Korean Pop Star), Dumbfoundead (Rapper), Ed Cho (Comedian), KABA Modern (MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew), Quest Crew (MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew), Poreotics (MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew) and others.

In 2011, Kollaboration held its flagship show at the world famous Nokia Theater L.A. Live. All Kollaboration city winners were given yet another chance to compete for the last competitor position for the flagship show through an online voting contest of their winning performance. Lion’s Ambition, the Grand Prize winner from Kollaboration Seattle, had the honor of performing alongside seven other competitors for a 2000+ audience. Many Grand Prize winners also have had the opportunity to perform as opening acts for other artists’ concerts and much more.

Founder Paul “PK” Kim was also recently invited to the White House as part of the AAPI Initiative “What’s Your Story” campaign as one of the nine Champions of Change community leaders, recognizing his work with the Kollaboration movement.\

About Paul “PK” Kim

Paul Kim, popularly known as PK, was born & raised in Burbank, California. As a stand-up comedian, he’s traveled across the nation to perform at over 80 universities and has been a regular host at the World Famous Laugh Factory in Hollywood for the past eight years, successfully bringing over 10,000 attendees to the club- many of whom had never seen stand-up comedy before in their lives.

Apart from his career in stand-up comedy, PK has made numerous contributions to the community as a whole. As the founder and former Executive Director for 10 years of Kollaboration, PK helped establish a movement that has now expanded to 14 cities and draws over 20,000 people to its shows annually. He is also the co-founder of LiNK, Liberty in North Korea, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing awareness to the needs of North Korean refugees. In recognition of his contributions to the community, PK was recently invited to the White House to be honored as a Champion of Change for his leadership within the Asian American community.