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Architectural plans for LA Korean American National Museum unveiled

July 22, 2015

The proposed Korean American National Museum, to stand at 601 S. Vermont Avenue in Koreatown, Los Angeles

By The Korea Times Los Angeles staff

The architectural master plan for the Korean American National Museum in Los Angeles were revealed Tuesday inside Koreatown’s Oxford Palace Hotel.

The seven-story building will be located at the corner of Vermont Avenue and 6th Street in the heart of Koreatown and boast exhibit halls, a 6,000-square-foot outdoor space and an auditorium for the museum as well as 103 apartment units on its top floors.

According to the museum committee, the 30,000-square-foot museum will take up the first two floors.

When completed, the museum will be the first of its kind in the country.

Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson, second from left, Bright Future Foundation Head Hong Myung-ki, and Korea Times CEO Jae-min Chang, far right, view the architectural plans of the proposed Korean American National Museum, to stand in Koreatown, Tuesday inside the Oxford Palace Hotel. (Park Sang-hyuk/Korea Times)

Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson, who helped secure the site in 2013, pointed to the proposed museum as an example of city culture diversification.

The project will be overseen by Gruen Associates, a noted architecture firm responsible for Los Angeles landmarks like the Museum of Contemporary Art. UCLA The Now Institute Director Eui-sung Yi will advise museum design.

Yi said the museum’s exterior would adopt a Korean floral wall to tie together Korean tradition and the current Korean American community.

“The museum will represent 2.5 million Koreans in the U.S. and give us a picture of 113 years of immigration history,” said James Ahn, President of the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles. “The Korean American community will look to the future through our past.”