Artist Dave Young Kim has completed a new mural at the Korean Resource Center in Los Angeles' Koreatown. The piece, which depicts traditional Korean drummers, was developed through a collaboration involving local youth and neighborhood elders.
The 1993 legacy of Dong-In Park
The new mural by Dave Young Kim is more than just a colorful addition to the Los Angeles landscape; it is an attempt to reclaim a visual language that is slowly fading. As the report notes, Kim's work seeks to honor a lost generation of Korean American muralists, such as Dong-In Park, who in 1993 painted a depcition of traditional Korean farmers' dance at the Korean Community Center on Western Avenue.
For Kim, a Korean American raised in Koreatown, these images were once a constant presence. While many of those original murals have disappeared, Kim uses his current project to ensure that the cultural symbols of his upbringing—drummers, dancers, and historical figures—remain visible to the next generation.
Oral histories from Durae Crenshaw House
The design of the mural was heavily influenced by direct community engagement through the Koreatown Storytelling Program. Supported by the Abbey Mural Prize, stdents participated in an interview process with elders residing at the Durae Crenshaw House, an affordable senior housing complex.
According to the report, these interviews focused on themes of home and belonging, which directly shaped the architectural elements Kim included in his artwork. The final piece features a dynamic group of traditional Korean drummers set against sweeping ribbons of color,blooming plum blossoms, and the faint outlines of traditional Korean architecture derived from those elder narratives.
Matcha spots versus traditional Korean drummers
The arrival of this mural comes at a time of significant demographic and commercial shifts in Los Angeles. Seventeen-year-old Daisy Yeon, who participated in the storytelling program, observed that Koreatown is increasingly defined by new trends, such as pop-up matcha spots, as the traditional Korean population shifts toward enclaves like Buena Park and Torrance.
This evolution creates a tension between the neighborhood's commercial modernization and its cultural roots. for Kim and the students involved, the mural serves as a "full-circle moment," turning the ephemeral stories of elders into a permanent, tangible fixture in a landscape that is rapidly changing.
Will art suffice as residents move to Buena Park?
While the mural provides a powerful sense of identity, several questions remain regarding the long-term impact of such projects. The report does not specify how the Korean Resource Center or the Abbey Mural Prize intends to address the broader issue of physical displacement as residents move to other areas . Furthermore, it remains to be seen whether visual landmarks alone can sustain a sense of "belonging" when the actual community members—the elders whose stories inspired the art—are being pushed out of the neighborhood. The source also leaves it unclear how the "lost legacy" of artists like Dong-In Park can be fully restored through single-site installations.
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