‘Emily in Paris’ Star Ashley Park Simply Debuted an Exhibit Devoted to Korean American Heritage—Right here’s What to Know

Earlier than actress Ashley Park jetted off to Paris and Rome to star as Emily in Paris’ Mindy Chen, she was a New Yorker for a decade, and sometimes carried out on Broadway—most notably, she earned a Tony nomination for the function of Gretchen Weiner in “Imply Women.” However regardless of her world success on stage and display, she admits there was at all times a cultural disconnect in her life.

“Rising up as a Korean American, I separated my Korean life from being American,” the 34-year-old star informed Journey + Leisure. “My Korean heritage was at church, by means of my grandma’s cooking, or at dwelling, and it usually felt like I couldn’t be American if I had that in my life.”

However now she’s returned to New York Metropolis, proudly showcasing her roots whereas debuting a brand new immersive set up,“Chroma: Tales Between Hues,” on the Genesis Home, a Korean cultural hub with a restaurant, teahouse, and cellar stage alongside a showroom of automobiles from Hyundai’s luxurious automotive model.

Leaning on Park’s knack for storytelling, the exhibit consists of six installations impressed by Korean folklore and the obangsaek (the normal Korean coloration spectrum) of blue, purple, yellow, white, and black.

“What I really like about Korean folklore is the morals of honesty and empathy,” she mentioned. “I actually affiliate it with my grandma and my mother and father as a result of they raised me with these morals.”

Whereas audiences could also be most conversant in her transferring rendition of “La Vie en Rose” from the primary season of Emily in Paris and her Grammy-nominated efficiency on “The King and I” soundtrack, the primary music Park remembers listening to from her personal childhood are Korean people songs, which had been usually paired with conventional folktales.

By means of the method of curating the exhibition, she feels she was in a position to join together with her tradition much more deeply. “Genesis Home was so nice at having me replicate alone relationship with Korean heritage and determine what sure colours evoke for me and what recollections these have for me,” Park mentioned. “I discovered that the extra particular one thing is, the extra common it may be, as a result of all of us really feel the identical issues.” 

As company step into the exhibit, they’re given a information to assist them navigate by means of the colours, beginning with black and white, which symbolize vulnerability and resilience. They then step right into a yellow world (representing integrity) that was impressed by the fable, “Gold Axe, Silver Axe.” Subsequent comes the purple world of unconditional love from the folktale, “Cowherd and the Weaver Lady,” about two cosmic lovers who reunite annually. 

Transferring by means of the set up, company are then enveloped by the blue hues of empathy that element the story of the “Hare’s Liver.” In a last, emotional exhibition, the 5 colours come collectively, which demonstrates the concord of the hues—and the world we stay in. 

“I am hoping that every one folks, whether or not they perceive sure languages or not, are leaving with the identical type of sense of reflection,” she mentioned. 

To Park, along with with the ability to discover all of the complicated themes in her exhibit, having all of it happen in the midst of Manhattan additionally felt very vital to her.

“We’re within the mecca of the whole lot on this stunning constructing, and never solely am I in a position to share my Korean tradition, but it surely’s in such a contemporary, contemporary approach,” she mentioned. “They’re taking such a futuristic and imaginative approach of expressing the tradition that’s accessible to everybody … It’s the other of what I—and possibly many people have been doing—rising up and making an attempt to cover our tradition. Not solely are we sharing it, we’re making it welcome.”

After the pop-up exhibit, company can try Genesis Home’s on-site restaurant, which spotlights Korean delicacies—a beloved (and scrumptious) fixture of Park’s early life.

“My grandma’s an unimaginable cook dinner and we’d at all times have some type of stew, like seolleong tang or doenjang jjigae,” she mentioned. One dish that’s notably significant to her is miyeok guk, a seaweed soup historically eaten by girls after childbirth. When she battled most cancers as a teen, she had the soup fairly a bit. “I ate a whole lot of miyeok guk after I had leukemia, as a result of it is actually good for anemia,” she mentioned.

As of late, she usually craves bibimbap and kimchi, and he or she loves that the latter could be discovered in all places—she hopes to quickly learn to make them herself. “I used to be truly simply speaking to my grandma as we speak about how I would like to begin studying to be assured in making the meals,” she mentioned.

Nonetheless on her agenda as properly: a correct go to to Korea. “I would like to have the ability to go for some time—hopefully someday,” she mentioned.

However for now, she’s simply proud to share this slice of her heritage with the world. “I’ve by no means seen something like this, with floor-to-ceiling LED lights, your whole being is embodied on this present,” she mentioned. “There’s a relentless motion and tempo in New York Metropolis, however the time you spend down there’s a time of reflection—I don’t suppose New Yorkers give themselves the time to suppose and really feel.” 

“Chroma: Tales Between Hues” is free and open to the general public from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays by means of Sundays. Will probably be on exhibit till Dec. 14, and is positioned on the cellar degree of the Genesis Home at 40 tenth Avenue within the Meatpacking District.