Choosing Yourself: How Min Ju Kim Is Redefining Sportswear, Storytelling, and Success on Her Terms
When Min Ju Kim walked away from the golf course, she was not abandoning a dream. She was claiming a new one. At just 24 years old, Min Ju (who also goes by Kim or Juju) has built not one but three ventures. Each one reflects the same thread: a commitment to breaking norms, challenging expectations, and using her voice and vision to open space for others.
Born in South Korea, Min Ju moved through Vietnam and eventually to the United States by the age of 12. Her early life was shaped by constant adaptation: new languages, new cultures, and new systems to navigate. She pursued golf with the kind of intensity that gets results, ultimately becoming a Division I collegiate athlete. But after graduating and returning home, she realized something that shifted everything. The dream of going pro had never really been hers. It was something she inherited. Something her father hoped for.
Standing on the familiar green of her hometown golf course, she felt it for the first time. The life she had been building was someone else’s vision. And she was ready to choose her own.
That moment sparked the creation of Zasin, a women’s golfwear brand built not just for style but for identity. It also opened the door to Juju on the Gem, a creative styling venture rooted in glam and self-expression. And it gave her the clarity to keep building her freelance digital marketing work under The Kim Standard. Three ventures, one founder, and a belief that her story—every part of it—was worth telling.
The problem is not just clothes. It is who they were made for
Zasin began as a response to a problem Kim knew intimately. As a woman in golf, she saw firsthand how apparel failed to meet the needs of female athletes. Skirts that did not fit right. Shirts that were too tight or too flowy. A design process dominated by male-owned companies that did not understand the difference between function and frustration.
Instead of waiting for a brand to get it right, she created one.
Zasin is her answer to a market that has long underserved women. With a global women’s golf apparel market currently valued at over 3 billion dollars and growing, Kim saw a space not only for profitability but purpose. She backed her concept with research, surveying former and current Division I athletes. She infused the design process with AI and 3D rendering technology to minimize waste and iterate faster. She leaned on her South Korean roots, blending innovation and heritage into a high-performance aesthetic.
Zasin is not a side hustle. It is the long game. A brand born from lived experience, backed by strategy, and anchored in a deep desire to make golf more inclusive both on and off the course.
From the course to the club: the birth of Juju on the Gem
While Zasin tackles the structural gaps in women’s athleticwear, Juju on the Gem operates in a different space altogether. This brand is about adornment as storytelling. Think grills, gems, and unapologetic glam fused with New York’s creative underground energy.
Juju on the Gem started shortly after Kim moved to New York City. She needed to meet people, find collaborators, and carve out space in a new city. What started as a stylistic expression quickly became a networking tool. Kim built connections across fashion, photography, and music, finding her tribe in a city that often feels too big to navigate.
The beauty of this venture is that it is not just aesthetic. It is connective. It is how she met the director of a South Korean golf documentary at a K-pop afterparty. That chance encounter led to her brand Zasin being featured in the film. One idea leads to another. One conversation leads to collaboration. This is how ecosystems grow.
Structure makes creativity sustainable
Kim is the first to admit she is not always great at multitasking. But she is great at planning. As a heavy J on the Myers-Briggs scale, she thrives on structure and forward thinking. Her weekly calendar is designed around deep focus: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for Zasin. Tuesdays and Thursdays for Juju on the Gem and marketing work.
What might look like chaos from the outside is actually a carefully curated rhythm. She honors her own creative cycles. She knows what needs attention and when. That intentionality allows her to pour energy into each venture with full presence, instead of splitting herself in ways that would only lead to burnout.
It is a simple strategy, but one that works. Time-blocking. Weekly priorities. Respecting the work by creating time for it.
Bootstrapping with backbone
When she moved to New York, Kim had a vision but no money. So she did what many founders have done. She found a job. Within three days, she landed a role as a server in a Korean barbecue restaurant in Manhattan.
That chapter taught her more than just how to balance plates. It gave her perspective. It reminded her what it means to do what it takes. And it built a level of respect for service workers that now informs how she sees every business she interacts with.
Kim bootstrapped her way into the early stages of Zasin through that job. It was not glamorous. It was necessary. And it taught her that when you want something badly enough, you will find a way.
Mentorship makes the difference
As with many powerful women we feature, Kim credits much of her growth to mentorship. In particular, she names Natalie, a mentor she met through a startup conference, as someone who opened doors and helped her see the value in her own story.
Finding female mentors who genuinely care, show up without ego, and support your vision without strings attached is not as common as it should be. Kim talks about this reality with striking honesty. She has been to conferences where she did not feel safe. She has had to question people’s intentions. But through Natalie, she found a model of mentorship that was grounded in respect, generosity, and belief.
That mentorship is part of what gave her the confidence to say yes to this podcast. To share her story. Even while she is still in the early stages. Even while it is still hard.
Because the truth is early-stage stories matter just as much as the polished ones. Maybe more.
Choosing yourself is not easy. But it is necessary
Kim’s core belief is simple and powerful. What you do not change, you are choosing.
That idea shapes everything she does. From starting Zasin instead of settling for off-the-rack golfwear, to packing her life into a suitcase and moving to New York, to running a half marathon for a cause she believes in. Her choices are not reactive. They are intentional. They are grounded in values.
She reminds us that motivation is overrated. Habits matter more. You show up for yourself the way you would for a friend, a partner, a client. You keep the promise because you are worth keeping promises to.
She trains early in the morning because she knows waiting until the end of the day means it will not happen. She sets her environment up for success. And she surrounds herself with people who lift her up rather than pull her back.
Choosing yourself does not mean doing it alone. It means being willing to bet on your own vision. Even when it is uncomfortable. Especially then.
Lastly…
Kim is still early in her journey, but her clarity and courage are undeniable. She is building three ventures while building a life that feels like her own. She is challenging the old narratives that told women to stay small or play it safe. She is choosing herself, and in doing so, she is inviting all of us to do the same.
This is what it looks like to be a badass woman in business. Not perfection. Not certainty. But vision, action, and the willingness to keep showing up.
You can find Min Ju Kim on Instagram at @miinjjkim, explore the early stages of Zasin, and follow Juju on the Gem for a dose of glam and creative grit. This founder is just getting started. And we are all watching.
Contact & Resources
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/miinjjkim
Instagram: @miinjjkim
Brands:
Zasin (Women’s Golfwear, in pre-seed)
UGC & Marketing: The Kim Standard
