Ken Jeong, a doctor-turned-actor, was on the critically acclaimed “Community” and played gangster Leslie Chow in “The Hangover” movies before starring in his own ABC comedy series, “Dr. Ken,” now in its second season.
He travels often between New York and Los Angeles for work, but in April he made his first trip to Korea in five years. His favorite part? Meeting the U.S. ambassador.
“Everyone at the embassy, all the Americans, spoke much better Korean than me. It was beautiful. It inspired me to do an episode where Dr. Ken is shamed by a patient, an elderly Korean lady, into going back to Korean school. It’s like, ‘Mom?’”
While in Seoul, South Korea, he stayed at the Conrad.
“It was amazing. It was modern, yet it still felt Korean, like the city of Seoul. Then I went to Taipei in August for ‘Fresh Off the Boat’” — he was a guest star on the season premiere. “Those are the two Asian-American ABC shows, and I was able to piggyback off their success and travel abroad for free,” he said.
He made his first trip to Disney World earlier this year.
“My wife, Tran, and I have twins, Alexa and Zooey, who are 9, and we took them for their birthday. I’m not a roller coaster guy, but I go with them — if I didn’t have kids I would never go. And the fact that my kids aren’t scared and I am, that they’re not as anxious as me, that makes me happy.”
Every Christmas, he and his relatives go skiing. “I go back and forth on being scared of skiing. I like a quiet hill, where there’s not a bunch of snowboarders running into you.”
Here’s what he packs on every trip.
A dozen chargers:
“I am one of those ninnies who, if my phone is less than 90 percent charged, I freak out. So when I’m traveling with the family, I’ll pack at least a dozen chargers. I bring four portable battery chargers for the plane. But then I need my wall chargers for the hotel! So I bring four wall chargers, four battery packs, and then four USB chargers to charge the portable battery packs. In my carry-on I have a separate bag just for my chargers. I’m a mess with the chargers. I’m getting a panic attack just thinking about it.”
Travel-size toiletries:
“I never take a regular-size toothbrush or other toiletries. I always take the travel versions, so I can feel like a wild man and just throw everything away; then I don’t have to take it on the return flight. I’m crazy; I’m in the hotel just tossing it all on the floor. That’s how Aerosmith got started, I’m sure. With portable toothbrushes.”
Portable hot spot:
“I bring it everywhere, and I always use it on the plane before we take off. It’s got better reception than using 4G, but only about 10 percent. It’s my competitive nature. Why does my Gmail need to be 10 percent faster than everyone else’s? Does that make me a winner?”
Phone for podcasts:
“I don’t watch movies on the plane; I listen to podcasts. I love Marc Maron’s podcast. I’ve been getting into Anna Faris’ podcast, ‘Anna Faris Is Unqualified.’ It’s great. I listen to David Axelrod’s podcast.”
Cough drops:
“When I’m going on work trips and doing a lot of appearances and interviews, I’m always worried my voice is going to be hoarse. And when I’m on set, I’m entertaining the audience in between the scenes, because I like to ham it up. So you’ll always see at least two bags of Halls honey cough drops. I’m heavy on chargers and Halls.”
