Celebrating Culture Through Art

Isabelle Hahn

If you’ve been to The Source OC located in Buena Park within the past few weeks, you may have spotted the brightly colored bus stop embedded in the wall with paint. Step closer and you might notice the QR code in the lower right corner, leading to a visual essay celebrating Korean culture, written by Isabel Hahn (CW ‘22) titled “Red Bean Shaved Ice and Other Musings”. Over the summer, Kristie Lee (VA ‘22) and Hannah Kang (VA ‘22) reached out to Hahn inquiring about a collaboration. 

The Source made its debut as a predominantly Korean-branded mall in 2006, built by a Korean family-owned real estate company. Through its opening, many Asian brands were introduced to the United States for the first time. As a Korean-American, artist, and student based in Southern California, Kang spotted other murals created by students, which “inspired [her] to work with Kristie and also represent OCSA outside of the campus.” With more than fifteen murals around the OCSA campus, bringing the iconic artistic element to an outside wall where there is a blank canvas is an opportunity to represent a unique perspective on the Korean-american experience. Visually, there are various elements incorporated into the mural such as “the choson folding screens, cranes and pine trees, the transitional architecture on the bus stop, and also the little posters” which represent Korean culture. While these are typical elements of Korean culture that many people can relate to and recognize, Isabel delves into her childhood and takes the small, intimate moments, turning them into beautifully articulated memories. “Red Bean Shaved Ice and Other Musings” starts off with the memory of disliking the taste of red bean shaved ice but then growing to like it over the years. This reminiscing evokes a nostalgic feeling with the longing of childhood, the celebration of a uniquely Korean experience, and the wisdom that comes with growing up.

As a last word from Isabel: “when you’re writing or creating something, what you create doesn’t always have to be big, inspirational or monumental events and anything can be created into art. Look into your own culture and own identity, and you'll see that there’s a lot of different really special things in your life, and you should celebrate that through your craft.” Arguably, celebration brings people together more than anything else, and the unifying of art and writing presents this joy in an empowering way.