‘Emily in Paris’ Star Ashley Park Just Unveiled an Exhibit Dedicated to Korean-American Heritage – Here’s What You Need to Know

Before the actress ashley park traveled by plane to Paris and Rome to star Emily in Paris‘Mindy Chen, was a New Yorker for a decade and often performed on Broadway; Most notably, she earned a Tony nomination for her role as Gretchen Weiner in Bad girls. Despite his global success on stage and screen, he admits there was always a cultural disconnect in his life.

“Growing up Korean-American, I separated my Korean life from being an American,” the 34-year-old star said. Travel + Leisure. “My Korean heritage was in the church, through my grandmother’s kitchen, or at home, and I often felt like I couldn’t be American if I had that in my life.”

But now he’s back in New York City, proudly showing off his roots as he debuts a new immersive installation.“Chroma: Tales between nuances“,” to the Genesis Housea Korean cultural center with a restaurant, tea house and winery alongside a showroom for luxury car brand Hyundai.

Drawing on Park’s ability to tell stories, the exhibition includes six installations inspired by Korean folklore and obangsaek (the traditional Korean color spectrum) of blue, red, yellow, white and black.

“What I love about Korean folklore is the morality of honesty and empathy,” he said. “I really associate it with my grandmother and my parents because they raised me with those morals.”

While audiences may be more familiar with her moving performance of “La Vie en Rose” from the first season of Emily in Paris and his Grammy-nominated performance for “The King and I” soundtrackThe first music Park remembers hearing in his own childhood were Korean folk songs, which were often combined with traditional folk tales.

Through the process of curating the exhibition, she feels she was able to connect even more deeply with her culture. “Genesis House was great at making me reflect on my own relationship with Korean heritage and discovering what certain colors evoke for me and what memories they hold for me,” Park said. “I found that the more specific something is, the more universal it can be, because we all feel the same way.”

When visitors enter the exhibit, they receive a guide that helps them navigate through the colors, starting with black and white, which symbolize vulnerability and resilience. They then enter a yellow world (representing integrity) inspired by Aesop’s fable, “Golden Axe, Silver Axe.” Then comes the red world of unconditional love from the Chinese folk tale “The Shepherd and the Weaver,” about two cosmic lovers who meet again once a year.

Walking through the installation, visitors are enveloped by the empathetic blue hues that detail the Korean story, “The Hare’s Liver.” In a final and emotional exhibition, the five colors come together, demonstrating the harmony of tones and the world in which we live.

“I hope that all people, whether they understand certain languages ​​or not, walk away with the same kind of sense of reflection,” he said.

For Park, in addition to being able to explore all the complex themes of his exhibition, having it all take place in the middle of Manhattan also seemed very significant.

“We are in the mecca of everything in this beautiful building, and not only do I get to share my Korean culture, but it’s also in such a modern and fresh way,” she said. “They are adopting such a futuristic and imaginative way of expressing culture that is accessible to everyone… It’s the opposite of what I (and probably many of us have been doing) growing up and trying to hide our culture. We not only share it, we welcome it.”

After the pop-up exhibit, guests can visit Genesis House On-Site Restaurantwhich highlights Korean cuisine, a beloved (and delicious) element of Park’s formative years.

“My grandmother is an incredible cook and we always ate some kind of stew, like seolleong tang either doenjang jjigae” she said. One dish that is particularly meaningful to her is miyeok guka seaweed soup that women traditionally eat after giving birth. when she fought cancer as a teenagerHe ate a lot of soup. “I ate a lot of miyeok guk when I had leukemia, because it is very good for anemia,” he said.

Nowadays, he often craves bibimbap and kimchi, and loves that the latter can be found everywhere; She hopes to soon learn to prepare them herself. “I was actually talking to my grandmother today about how I need to start learning to be confident when preparing food,” she said.

Also still on his agenda: a proper visit to Korea. “I want to be able to go for a while, hopefully one day,” he said.

But for now, she’s proud to share this part of her heritage with the world. “I’ve never seen anything like it, with floor-to-ceiling LED lights, your whole being is captured in this show,” he said. “There is a constant movement and rhythm in New York City, but the time you spend there is a moment of reflection; I don’t think New Yorkers take the time to think and feel.”

“Chrome: Tales Between Hues” is free and open to the public from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. It will be on display until December 14 and is located on the basement level of the Genesis House at 40 10th Avenue in the Meatpacking District.