Steven J. Kung

The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Steven J. Kung is a writer-director who directed the sixth season of Fresh Off The Boat and is a writer on Dear White People. He’s been telling minority, queer, and female-forward stories for his entire career, most notably with A Leading Man, his feature film about Asian American representation in entertainment.

Kung also directed the award-winning documentary, SPEW: The Competitive World of High School Debate and wrote the episode “Koreatown” for the HereTV anthology series Falling for Angels. A dual director and UPM member of the Directors Guild of America, he produced Ernest Borgnine’s final movie, The Man Who Shook The Hand of Vicente Fernández. Early in his career, Kung worked as Matthew Weiner’s assistant on Mad Men and as a creative executive for Edward Saxon, the Academy Award-winning producer of Silence of the Lambs.

Kung graduated from the Disney ABC Directing Program and the DGA Mentorship Program. He serves as co-chair emeritus of the DGA Asian American Committee, a board member of the Virginia Film Festival, and co-chairs the WGA Asian American Town Hall. A native of Virginia Beach, he holds an MFA from the USC School of Cinematic Arts and a BA with High Distinction in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia.