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Proposed Korean American National Museum to stand seven stories

July 15, 2015

The corner of Vermont Avenue and 6th Street in Koreatown, Los Angeles, where the proposed Korean American National Museum will stand.

By The Korea Times Los Angeles staff

A new seven-story design has been chosen for the proposed Korean American National Museum (KANM).

According to the museum committee Tuesday, the building will be a multiplex comprising a movie theater, an auditorium, exhibit halls and apartment units.

Gruen Associates, the architecture firm that helmed Los Angeles landmarks like the Museum of Contemporary Art and the renovation of the Hollywood Bowl and the Los Angeles Convention Center, has taken on the project.

The first floor will be dedicated to culture, including an auditorium, a movie theater, a library, exhibit halls and a cafe, while the 6,000-square-foot second floor will be an open space for events.

Apartments will make up the third to seventh floors, with about 103 planned units.

Construction on the site, located at 601 S. Vermont Avenue a block from the Korean Consulate General, is expected to begin soon, it said.

“The museum will be a cultural space not only for the Korean American community but for all Los Angeles residents,” the committee said.

Eui-sung Yi, director of UCLA’s The Now Institute and design principal at Morphosis Architects, was brought on board earlier this month to act as design adviser.

KANM, which will be the first museum of its kind in Los Angeles — a city that houses the largest Korean population outside of South Korea — aims to spread Korean American history and culture through preservation and education.