Utility boxes and exterior walls across Los Angeles Koreatown are being transformed into vibrant public art spaces, as local artists turn once-graffitied surfaces into colorful murals that brighten the neighborhood.
The effort is helping improve the area’s streetscape and is also raising hopes that Koreatown can begin a broader cleanup and beautification push ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
Along 3rd Street between Western Avenue and Vermont Avenue, nine utility boxes have been filled with bright, colorful artwork. On 6th Street, the exterior wall of Young Oak Kim Academy features dancheong, a traditional Korean decorative pattern known for its vivid colors and symbolic designs. Near Wilshire Boulevard and Catalina Street, utility boxes also feature images of people from diverse backgrounds wearing hanbok, Korea’s traditional clothing.
Some of the artworks were created by Korean American artists, including Annie Hong, 37, and an artist known by the name “Miki 100.”
In an interview with The Korea Daily on April 29, Hong said she began the project in 2024 after being approached by the Koreatown Youth and Community Center, or KYCC, to create artwork under an anti-hate campaign theme.
“I wanted to create a series that allowed each piece to have its own identity while still feeling connected as one larger flow,” Hong said.
She added that her work aims to show how Koreatown residents from diverse backgrounds are connected as one community.
The project was launched as part of a public art campaign responding to the rise in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
Steve Kang, president of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works and former director of external affairs at KYCC, said the public art project began in 2023 and is now nearing completion.
“It was designed to help prevent hate crimes and deliver a message of community,” Kang said on April 29.
Hong’s artwork also stands out for its use of Korean aesthetics. She immigrated to the United States with her mother when she was 2 years old and grew up in Koreatown, South Los Angeles and Torrance. She now lives in Koreatown again.
Hong also lived in South Korea from 2015 to 2020, and said the utility box designs combine the Korea she experienced during that time with traditional Korean design elements.
“The pieces include both traditional Korean aesthetics and modern elements,” Hong said.
She pointed to a utility box at the northwest corner of 3rd Street and South Kingsley Drive as one of the clearest examples. The piece features a traditional Korean cloud pattern, emphasizing a distinctly Korean cultural sensibility.
Hong said she hopes to work on more public art projects in Koreatown in the future.
“I’m not currently working on a project in Koreatown, but since I live here, I would definitely want to participate if there is another opportunity to create public art in the neighborhood,” she said.
Meanwhile, the city of Los Angeles is preparing for a larger public art initiative. Kang said the city plans to move forward with mural projects across Los Angeles, including Koreatown, ahead of the 2028 LA Olympics.
The projects are expected to help improve the urban environment while adding new cultural energy to neighborhoods across the city.
