One day after Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass hosted a ceremony to celebrate the installation of the Olympic and Paralympic flags at L.A. City Hall, representatives for several local Korean American organizations signed a letter indicating they’re on board with a recent decision by city officials to relocate a Korean artifact from City Hall to make room for a new Olympics-themed exhibit.
The decision to relocate artifacts that had been gifted to Los Angeles from sister cities in Korea and Japan recently stirred up controversy among some members of the local Asian American community who called the move “disrespectful” and were upset that they hadn’t been consulted beforehand.
But in a letter dated Friday, Sept. 13, representatives from seven organizations, including the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles and Korean American Coalition-Los Angeles, said that “after careful consideration,” they’ve agreed to the relocation of a turtle ship artifact that the South Korean city of Busan had gifted to L.A. in 1982. The item’s new home will be the L.A. Convention Center’s Westhall Lobby, according to the letter.
“The Los Angeles Convention Center is the premier venue to host at least four Olympic Games including Tae Kwon Do, Judo, and Table Tennis,” the letter stated. “We believe that placing the turtle ship at the new location will enable at least 2 million visitors annually from around the world to view and learn about the Korean cultural artifact leading up to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.”
The letter then requested that the city form an advisory group that would include leaders from the Korean American community “to ensure the proper construction and maintenance of the new exhibit.”
In August, some members of L.A.’s Korean and Japanese communities criticized city officials for relocating a model of a turtle ship from Busan and a replica of a Mikoshi shrine and other items from Nagoya, Japan that had been gifted to the city of L.A. decades ago. They demanded that the items be returned to their original locations.
The items were removed from an area outside the mayor’s office at City Hall to make way for an Olympics-themed exhibit that includes a display of the Olympic and Paralympic flags as the city ramps up promotion of the 2028 Summer Games – when L.A. will host the Olympics for the third time and the Paralympics for the very first time.
But Scott Suh, a spokesperson for a coalition of Korean and Japanese groups upset with the artifacts’ relocation, called the move “insensitive.” During a press conference in August, Suh said the items are meaningful not only because they represent a part of Korean and Japanese history but also L.A.’s diplomatic relationships with the cities of Busan and Nagoya.
“These are not just simple displays. These are diplomatic artifacts,” Suh, who is also a former president of the Wilshire Center-Koreatown Neighborhood Council, said during a press conference last month.
Suh said that although he was invited to a meeting that Bass had two weeks ago with the other organizations that signed Friday’s letter, he declined to attend “because there (was) no point.”
On Friday, Suh indicated that the coalition he represents remains unhappy that the artifacts were relocated and plans to hold a press conference to repeat its opposition.
Meanwhile, Peter Langenberg, a member of the Los Angeles Nagoya Sister City Affiliation board, previously said he and others representing the local Japanese community met recently with L.A. Deputy Mayor Erin Bromaghim. Langenberg said Bromaghim apologized for city leaders not consulting with members of the community before deciding to relocate the artifacts and pledged to do a better job of communicating in the future.
Langenberg cited concerns that the artifacts could get damaged each time they’re relocated, but he also acknowledged that more people are likely to see the display at the Convention Center as opposed to City Hall.
Jieun Kim, deputy director of Korean Language Communications for the city, previously noted that the artifacts will undergo restoration as part of the relocation. According to the mayor’s office, this will be the first time in nearly 20 years that the turtle ship from Korea will undergo conservation work. It will also be the first restoration effort for the items from Japan.
“The gifts are undergoing full restoration and conservation, some of which for the first time in a few decades, and will then be showcased in locations with more exposure to members of the public than at City Hall,” Kim stated last month.
Related Articles
LA Mayor Bass declares 2028 Olympics as a ‘Games for All’ at City Hall ceremony
Beacon, the beloved therapy dog of USA Gymnastics, is recovering from an unknown illness
LA’s tourism workers again demand wage hikes ahead of 2028 Olympics
LA28’s rainy Paris rerun: Bass again accepts flag for LA’s next games, this time for paralympics
LA Mayor Bass to travel to Paris for Paralympics closing ceremony