Notable for voicing the character Fa Zhou in the Disney feature Mulan, he also appeared in a number of films and television series, including The Samurai and Hawaii Five-O. Also a stage actor, he was in the cast of the first Broadway production of Pacific Overtures.
After studying at both Yonsei University (Seoul, South Korea) and the University of Southern California, he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
He established a Korean-American theater company called the Society of Heritage Performers.
He spent his early years in Japanese-ruled Mokpo, Korea, and later settled in the United States.
He and Chris Tashima both performed with a Los Angeles-based, Asian-American stage ensemble known as the East West Players.