A Gentle Tiger on the Streets: Jieun June Kim and the Art of Making Memories

• Fading city corners and the worn exteriors of houses slated for demolition are spaces of new memories for her.
• An artist who paints 'our' stories by fusing the imagination of Korean folk art with the colors of a multicultural city.
• Jieun June Kim's boundless art world permeates beyond the canvas, onto the streets, and into people's skin.

The streets of Toronto, Canada—often considered one of the most multicultural cities in the world—are like a giant canvas where the languages and memories of countless immigrants intertwine. Upon the surfaces of this colorful city, Korean-Canadian visual artist Jieun June Kim is tracing a uniquely radiant and warm trajectory. The reason her work captures the attention and hearts of so many isn't simply due to its vibrant colors. Rather, she breathes life into invisible spaces easily erased by the logic of urban development—marginal spaces like old houses facing demolition or garbage disposal areas in the back alleys of markets. By infusing intense colors and meaning into these ephemeral places that others might pass by without a second glance, her work holds a magical power that transforms "places to pass through" into "places to stay and find comfort."

For Kim, who was born in Korea and laid her roots in Toronto, the act of painting across Canadian streets is a beautiful manifestation of profound diasporic sentiment. As an immigrant who has left her "Home," a home to her is not a fixed structure but a fluid memory and sensation. Her mural work on the exterior wall of a house slated for demolition was a ritual and a blessing, overlaying a soon-to-disappear physical home with the eternal memory of art. Through her brushstrokes, she is offering a visual response to the world: "A house may disappear, but the memories and identity that resided there never will." By bridging the wistful gap between the longing for her departed homeland and the unfamiliar land where she has newly settled with vibrant colors, she is reconstructing every corner of the city into a new "home" that can become a sanctuary for someone's heart.

Motifs like tigers, birds, planets, and the universe frequently appear in her murals. This closely aligns with the style of traditional Korean folk painting (Minhwa). If one were to define her work in a single phrase, it would be "Neo-Minhwa embracing the modern city." Just as traditional Korean Minhwa served as a warm talisman in the daily lives of ordinary people—warding off evil spirits and wishing them good fortune—Jieun June Kim's murals are a gentle message of protection extended to the everyday citizens and immigrants navigating the multicultural city. In that sense, if she were to be given an artistic moniker, "The Friendly Tiger on the Street" would be perfectly fitting. In Korean culture, the tiger has long been a spiritual, steadfast guardian that wards off misfortune. She also works as a tattooist under the name "Horang Ink" (Tiger Ink). Etching each person's unique story alongside a fiercely protective guardian into their skin, extending her art beyond canvases and walls, she resembles a friendly and mystical tiger protecting and embracing its neighbors in the heart of a cold city.

Among international artists, Keith Haring is undeniably one that comes to mind when looking at her work. Both share common ground in escaping the confined spaces of galleries to use street walls as their canvases, aiming for public art that breathes with the masses, and utilizing simple yet intense, vibrant lines and colors. However, while Keith Haring addressed the social issues of his time through pop-art symbols and simplified iconography in a somewhat universal and direct, campaign-like manner, Kim's work shows a distinct difference in that it is deeply grounded in the personal identity of the "diaspora" and a clear cultural narrative of her "Korean heritage." Furthermore, she does not stop at simply painting for others; she places great importance on collaborative work that draws out the voices and agency of the participants, such as discussing themes and painting together with local youth, as seen in the "PROTECTOR" and "ACROSS DIMENSIONS" projects near St. Lawrence Market.

Perhaps the most natural comparison to her work is the anonymous Minhwa artists of the Joseon Dynasty, who quietly picked up their brushes for the well-being of their neighbors without leaving a name behind. It is the philosophy that Minhwa should represent people's wishes and aspirations within their everyday spaces. Even though the canvas has changed from paper to old brick walls in Canada and the human skin where tattoos are drawn, the essence of that kind-hearted intention—to connect people to people and make each person's life more colorful and secure—is perfectly resurrected at Jieun June Kim's fingertips, transcending time.

Where exactly are the works of this warm and profoundly meaningful artist housed? Her paintings have been consistently introduced through domestic and international galleries, various exhibitions, and art events since 2010. However, her true masterpieces are not locked away in a gallery's vault. They are found in the alleys catching the eyes of passersby around St. Lawrence Market, on the worn exterior of a house on Barton Ave waiting for demolition due to redevelopment, and expanding her visual language onto people's skin through tattoos. The urban street corners where people's footsteps land and the skin where their heartbeats pulse are, in fact, her proudest art museums.

As a Korean-Canadian artist, Jieun June Kim would not want her work to be remembered merely as "prettily painted walls." She likely hopes her art will serve as a warm bridge connecting people of different backgrounds within a multicultural city. She wants to show what beautiful synergy can be created when the proud heritage of Korea, where she was born and raised, meets the diversity of Canada. She would wish for the countless immigrants and minorities passing on the streets to look at her murals and feel a deep sense of comfort and belonging, thinking, "This city is my home, and I am not alone." True to her hopes, Jieun June Kim will remain beautifully in all our memories for a long time, not merely as someone who colors spaces, but as a great communal healer who connects disconnected hearts and breathes warm vitality into fading memories.