This cultural Korean mural is found in Koreatown, Toronto.
It is a very long mural, and very high up.
Also the wall becomes stucco, at some point, so these are not the best pics I ever took.
Showing it from left to right, in sections and close-ups.
Pics taken by Resa – October 8, 2020
Toronto, Canada
A Toronto Company did this mural. They have not given any credit to artists.
Graffiti Lux Art & More 
A future explained on the other side of the planet. These works of art are a ‘wish’ to some extent. Delicious in others. A fine spot, young Resa. Regards, TOFOFK
Yes, yes…. a fine spot… yes
But what is this TOFOFK?
I mean it has a good phonetic ring if I read it correctly.
Toff – Off – kay
The Old Fool Of Fuckay? No, no it’s got to be 2 words at the end.
Let’s see!
The Old Fool Of Floundering Kippers?
Let me know if I got it!!!!
That is a finely painted mural. Break them bricks.
Hmm, break them bricks? Well, I don’t want to get in trouble. Couldn’t I just poke them a bit?
Like the karate dude in the mural breaking a brick or board with a side kick.
Definitely wood… been there!
Done that too.
Cool!
I took Kyokushin – made it to brown belt before I injured my foot…
We, the family, did karate, we got to the belt before Brown, and kick boxing. I loved kick boxing. In those days I was really fit and could spar with the pros in 5 minute rounds and basically get the crap kicked out of me, but I was one of the few fit enough do 5 minute rounds, so I was great practice for the pros. Then they got the idea I should fight in a tournament. In karate you fight against people in your belt level. I learned that in kick boxing it’s the luck of the draw, so I would most likely end up in the ring or cage with one of the pros. I said no thanks to that. I would spar, but I knew from bike racing that competition is a whole other level.
Cool!
I worked with Billy Blanks, twice. He played a kick boxer in one of the movies. He played a kicking & boxing street fighter in the other. He teamed up with a fighting cop played by Rowdy Roddy Piper. I made a special bracelet out of latigo leather to hold Roddy’s broken wrist together. In the kick boxing movie I had to seriously tape Billy’s ankle and arch so when he landed from a jump, his bones wouldn’t shatter…… again.
How cool! I used to do Billy Blanks’ kick boxing videos!
He’s a very nice person!
I believe it
That’s pretty serious work keeping the stars together. No stunt doubles?
Not for those guys! They had a stunt co-ordinator for the fights in the Billy/Roddy movie (“Back In Action”). The other movie (“Balance of Power”) was about a Kick Boxing championship. They brought famous martial artists in from all over the world. Billy and the fighters designed their own fights.
I did the costumes.
They were both very early design projects for me.
Those projects got you out the door fighting!
True! It was quite neat watching all the competition fights.
Oh hell Naw!! All four of us did karate and one got to green – because brown meant a written exam and he said no way (before brown in Kyokushin) while the three of us made it to brown. Pretty cool.
In the Kempo system, there were something like 3 levels of brown belts before black belt if I remember correctly.
Oy… Hard work, no matter what 🙂
I totally missed he obvious here!!!
Boy, I sure have a knack for missing the obvious! LOL! I was thinking something about paint breaking bricks. You know, like some cool hip street artist talk, like when they compliment each other on paintings they say “Man you really killed that wall”.
Hahaha!
Or like braking a leg in the theater.
That I get!!!!
I love this, the artwork is so precise and clear. It’s so very Asian…I love it 😍
xoxoxo
I was holding on to this mural. I’m holding on to more art. I’ll post them slowly over the next 2 months. Then, I hope I’ll be able to get around more, as there will be no lockdown.
I’m aching to take transit to a different part of the city. As it now, I’m not allowed.
Happy you like his, dear Holly!! xoxoxo
I do love this, it’s one of my favorite. Love Nipponese Art. So minimal yet speaks so much. Good choice sweet girl.
xoxoxo
xoxoxo – sending RR in her Picasso gown in a minute!
Hi Resa, it’s a shame the artist’s name wasn’t credited, this mural is amazing. I saw the thumbnails for your post in the WP Reader and I thought they were regular real life photos not mural pictures you had taken. I like the way the artist brought the Lotte Hotel Tower and the iconic CN Towers together reinforcing the links between the two countries. Great pics as always.
Hey Tyeth,
Excellent spotting the Lotte Hotel Tower and the iconic CN Towers. Lol! In my mind, I thought – Hey, they have a CN Tower, too!
IF I ever went to Seoul, I’d want to stay at the Lotte Hotel Tower .
I just checked it out & it’s fabulous!
Thank you for your lovely comment on my photos!
It is wonderful! So full of life, so exotic. It wakens the yearning of travelling to Asia…
Stay safe, dear Resa!
I quite like the mural, but I have no desire to travel to Asia. It’s too far away. However, you are a lot closer.
Well, no travelling anywhere for the time being! You stay safe too, dear Martha!
Such a shame they don’t credit the artist. Beautiful work… and I can imagine how hard it must have been to photograph it, but you’ve done a great job [of course!] ! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
I really think they should credit the artist, too!!!!
Happy you like the pics!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoocoxoxoxoxoxo
Beautiful murals. Thank you for sharing, Resa! I found this article about it: https://globalkorean.ca/news/3987/
I was thinking about you today because I heard a story on the radio that Mural Arts Philadelphia is painting a mural on the wall in City Hall where couples stop to take selfies after they get married. They expect to have it finished by Valentine’s Day.
Thanks Merril!
I checked out the article. Very cool!
Philadelphia has a LOT of murals. It would be worth a trip there just to see and document them.
This couples after they get married selfies mural sounds neat. Of course I’m thinking why not couples who have been married a long time? It could be like… renewing vows!
That’s true. I think it’s just that it’s in City Hall where people get married. Philadelphia DOES have a lot of murals.
Ah, City Hall would make sense. That way, if you really wanted the selfie, you’d have to get married. 😉
It’s a wonderful thing that Philadelphia is mural rich!
How old are these murals? I’m wondering if the colors have been muted by the elements. Interesting compositions nonetheless.
Hi JT!
This mural is less than a year old, so those must be the colours they picked.
OR maybe the type of wall it was painted on sucked up a lot of pigment. That could be, as it’s a stucco wall, very toothy, and chalky.
Perhaps they used muted colors to suggest age. I like compositions with muted colors … it’s just that most murals are vivid. (at least out here in my neck of the woods)
What a pleasure to you, Resa to take photos of those wonderfil Korean mural .
And your photos are so sharp ! Compliments Resa.
Love ❤
Michel
Thank you so much, Michael. I do my best with the photos.
I love art in the street, and do my best to share it as well as possible. ❤
and you do it very well, Resa..
Another beauty. Tells a story and people and their culture. The colors are lovely and it’s a wonderful mural.
That’s the neat thing about many murals, they do tell stories.
So happy you like it, Gi!
Amazing. So detailed I keep going back for another look at each one. xx
Cool!
There’s a lot of art I didn’t get to shoot this year due to the idiot who came to visit us all.
I’m happy I got this one. Hubs drove me to a spot in the city and dropped me off. It was 3.5 hours walking to get home. I found this on the way.
I can hardly wait for spring, to get out for LONG walks.
I think my legs have begun to atrophy.
Legs? Atrophy? Need to get you up a few mountains. No cars there, tell Hubs. x But this one, this mural is brilliant xxx
We have a Chinatown but not a Koreatown. I like the details on the mural! That must have taken a long time to complete. Dedication!
I think it took months to paint this neat mural.
Interesting about “ethnic towns” within a city. Yes, we have 2 Chinatowns, 1 Koreatown, a Little Italy, a Little Portugal, a Little India, Greektown, Little Poland and Little Malta.
It’s cool because one gets a real flavour when they go to each area. Yet, it seems divided, somehow.
Wow, thanks for sharing about the different “towns” within Toronto. I’d love to visit one day, post-Covid. I hope to meet you in person when there!!
I’d love that!
🙌!!
Cheers to the dedication to a far-away culture in today’s world of mixed cultures. 🙂
Clink!!!!!! 😀 😀
These pictures are fabulous!
Thanks Chris! Well, it’s the paintings that are fabulous. I took pictures of the fabulous!
Your welcome Resa!
I’ll be by later or tomorrow! I just want to finish up answering the comments here.
Thank you!
This is a wonderful mural and for some weird reason, makes me think of a pain by number!
Hmm… maybe you saw an Asian PBN once, and it stayed with you? OR, perhaps the subtle rough texture and edges produced by painting on stucco makes it look like a PBN?
I think it’s the texture of the stucco that gives it that look. It’s kinda cool, I think.
Great find, Resa, and very different from all the others you’ve featured. I like it a lot. Happy Monday!
janet
It’s Tuesday now!
I win the slowest blogger award.
So Happy Wednesday! This should get me ahead. 😉🙃
That’s an unusual one, and huge! A wonderful share, Resa.
It is unusual for Toronto. We have a share of murals here, but way more general street art, garage doors, small walls etc.
I love wall art, and I am thrilled that there are blog pals that enjoy it, too! So, I share.
Stay well!
This is a brilliant mural, Resa. And you captured it brilliantly. I had to find out more about this because I didn’t know that Toronto was the key landing point for immigration from Korea. What a great history. When I did a Google search for this mural, “Graffiti Lux Art & More came up even before the news of the unveiling on August 31, 2019. I thought that there would be a mention about the artist, but alas, nothing was mentioned in the press release. Kudos to you, Resa, for featuring this amazing mural.
How neat that my post came up first! YAY!!!!
We do have a few historical/cultural murals here, but Winnipeg is a treasure trove for those. I need to mop up my blog, and dedicate a better place for the murals of Winnipeg. I’m sure I’ve posted over 100.
They have a Vietnamese history mural that’s very neat. It won Mural Of The Year. https://graffitiluxandmurals.com/2017/06/23/overcoming-adversity-vietnamese-refugees-mural/
I LOVE your blog!!!! Do you have photos of the Nellie McClung mural? That would be amazing to see. Whenever I face any challenge, I repeat Nellie’s mantra: “Never complain, never explain, get the thing done and let them howl!” I feel energized every time a say those words out loud!!!
I shared with Christy. Here is post 1.
Post 2 – it has all the photos of the mural.
https://graffitiluxandmurals.com/2016/12/14/a-womens-parliament/
Here’s post 3. I supplied all of the pics, although I found a couple on line. I made the $50.00 bill with Nellie on it using a photo Ap.
https://graffitiluxandmurals.com/2016/12/16/nellie-mcclung-assessing-her-impact-on-womens-rights-post-3-of-3/
FANTASTIC!!!!
This is incredible artwork, Resa. Thank you for sharing.
You are welcome, Robbie! My pleasure.
So very Korean! I have some family members living in SK. Can recognize the spirit:)
Interesting find, Resa X
How interesting that you have family in SK. I’m thrilled you found the spirit in this piece.
Inese….XOXO
I love murals. Each one is very much like a book.
Agree! I LOVE it when I find a mural! So much to shoot! Lots to post. 😀
So beautiful!! I love the artwork!
Agree! So happy you saw this mural!
Yes! I am, too! 😀
Love this one Resa. The cultural aspect of it was amazing. One of those you feel you can step right into it.
Agree! So glad you got to see this,Daniel.
Trust you and yours are well!
It is well here but crazy times.isn’t my friend. Hope you and yours are doing well north of the 49th
Well as can be, all things considered!
Wonderful! Everyone is engaged in something and the emperor looks quite happy. The soldier in the first pic has mismatched shoes.
Great mural. There is something very romantic about the east- probably because it is historically and culturally so far removed from the modern western society we live in. Funny, science fiction is all about encountering alien races- there are hundreds of alien races on this planet Many of them belong to the same species. (there are also lots of intelligent races of different species too- and we are exterminating many of them but that is a different story). Perhaps we should not be so keen to look to the stars and simply appreciate what we already have before its gone.