Issue 03: F.O.B. Fresh Off the...Self-Love Club with Hyesu Lee
Replacing self-loathing with self-love. All accents and stinky foods welcome.
Hi KP!
This week, we welcome Hyesu Lee. You might have seen Hyesu’s cheerful, funny, colorful, and sunshiny illustrations - maybe in the subway murals of Cleveland, mega-size subway posters in New York City, or at an Art Lab of the Apple Store in Brooklyn. Or you might have just picked up her newly published book Self-Love Club, which we certainly did and fell in love with! Hyesu is as lovely and thoughtful as you see in her illustrations not to mention funny! We are certain that you will enjoy the interview with Hyesu and join her self-love club before you finish reading it because as Hyesu said, “anything warm and cheerful is contagious.”
Flavor of the Week: KP Q&A with Hyesu Lee
Hyesu Lee was born and raised in Seoul. She graduated from the University of Arts London with a BA in Illustration, then moved to New York City where she earned an MFA from the School of Visual Arts. She now lives in Brooklyn, carrying on her life as an illustrator, artist, muralist, and educator. Hyesu’s art has always been driven by a curiosity about how people connect. She has collaborated with various clients across many platforms all over the world - creating illustrations for brands, magazines, product packaging, and public murals. Her belief is that anything warm and cheerful is contagious. Find out more about Hyesu’s wide range of works at heyheysu.com and follow her on IG @heyhyesu.
Introduce yourself more personally in 2-3 sentences.
Call me Hey! Hyesu. I’m your friend who loves to make memories together and is willing to do silly things together and have the best laugh with you. I won’t be there with you for a party after 9 pm but I will be always there to catch you when you feel like falling.
Where are you from?
I’m originally from South Korea and now I live in Brooklyn.
No, where are you REALLY from? (Haha!)
I’m Korean, fresh off the boat although I’m not as fresh since I’ve been living abroad for a while. I was born and raised in Korea till my early twenties, I first moved to London in the UK to study Illustration in an undergrad there and then relocated to NYC (again) to go to a grad program and never left NYC so I’m from in between!
What’s your sign?
I’m Scorpio and I like it because it sounds mysterious although I’m the simplest person.
How would you describe yourself in five words?
flowing, positive, silly, inwardly, fidgety
What do you love about being Komerican?
First of all, I love the term KOMERICAN!! I’m honored to be a part of it. Now I am happy and proud to say I love being Komerican, which wasn’t always the case. I always felt like an outsider trying to fit in but obviously it didn’t happen. But what does it even mean to be “fitting in”...? It’s much more interesting when everyone is a different shape that makes a whole pie.
A big part of my connection to Komerican is food! Also “정", I don’t know what is the right word to translate in English.
And of course, what are your favorite Korean foods?
Ohhhhh, this is impossible because there are too many of my favorite Korean foods. 김치 찌게, 된장찌게, 부대찌게, 떡복이, 순대, 오뎅, 해물 파전, 짜장면, 갈비탕, 갈비찜, 김밥, 너구리 라면, 떡국, 오징어 볶음….I think every food!
What was your childhood like and what has it taught you?
My childhood was interesting. We moved a lot due to my dad’s work so I remember trying to readjust very often. As a result, I didn’t get to make a lot of friends nor be able to stay in touch with the friends I made. So I naturally learnt to entertain myself, I mostly spent my time drawing and talking to my dog. It sounds kind of sad but don’t worry I had a great time!
Can you share something exciting that you’re working on now?
I’m going to start painting a mural for the Korean Cultural Center’s new building next week. Murals are always exciting but this one particular will mean a lot to me. I’m also thinking about working on my wardrobe because I was too busy to use my energy to choose my outfits so I’ve been mostly living off of my sweatpants and shirts, which is also great but I want to look a little less like a couch potato in 2024. Haha!
What do people underestimate about you?
Hmm..that’s a good question! I am physically petite so I usually have a disadvantage in crowded public spaces as people often underestimate me. What people do not know is that I’m feisty and I’ll elbow them hard with all my weight if they don’t move. Once I elbowed a tourist so hard she spilled her whole coffee on herself.
Share your proudest moment in the past year.
There were so many amazing moments in the past year!! My proudest moment was having this magical time with my people sitting on the floor of the On the Fringe gallery together on the closing day of my solo art exhibition Self-Love Club last December, talking and exchanging this positive and beautiful energy with one another.
What was your hardest moment in the past year?
I am so lucky to be able to say this, I honestly didn’t feel like I had a hardest moment in the past year. Obviously I had moments of struggles or extreme burnout mentally and physically from time to time but I was able to spring back up like roly-poly toy 오뚝이 because I took one day at a time. Also knowing that everything passes whether it’s good or bad is helpful, then I have something to move forward for and look forward to.
We’ve all been hurt in some form or fashion. What are you healing from?
This is such a great question and also hard one to answer because it’s difficult for me to verbalize. I’m healing from being unkind to my own self for a long, long time. It may sound so cliché, however, I didn’t feel like I deserve anything good such as good friends, success, or love.
How do you love yourself?
So many ways! I love myself by having my dog Dutch. He makes sure to let me know that I’m loved. :) I love myself by taking it easy when needed, doing things that bring joy in my life, reminding myself of gratitude, surrounding myself with people who love me for who I am and I love.
How do you love others?
I should love others more!! I listen to them and allow them to share if they need to. I love them as if they were myself, which is hard because I’m selfish and self-centered and I have a long way to go.
What five things can you not live without?
I need more than five things, oh noooo!
What’s your favorite dance song?
I don’t dance but I’d love to dance more!! My favorite song I like kickboxing to lately is Drive by Black Coffee & David Guetta
What’s your favorite kind of pie?
Oh….I don’t like pie! I KNOW, it’s crazy, right? Let me surprise you even more. I don’t like pizza, donuts or ice cream either. Haha.
H Mart Happiness: What’s your favorite product and why?
“My fav ice cream is 비비빅. I’m a halmuni. lol” - Mina C.
What’s your favorite H Mart product? Leave a comment and share the love!
Crispy Crust: A Touch of Jeong - Uplifting illustrations that delight
Hyesu’s list of her favorite Korean food certainly made me hungry!
Love, Aram
Korean School: F.O.B.
Fun facts, idioms, translations and history
We’re fans of embracing and claiming the term F.O.B., or fresh off the boat, as others before us have done. Why don’t we honor the immense bravery it takes to show up to a new country and just do it!? Perhaps the sting some of us feel about the term is conflated with the self-loathing that many Komericans developed in response to the “welcome” they received in the U.S., rather than a connection to the courage and adaptability that FOBs display on the daily. Let’s celebrate the power in someone leaving all that they know for a chance at a better life in a strange new land — while remembering that strange is a relative definition. Like what is so strange about taking your dirty shoes off when coming inside a clean home? Seems pretty sensible and awesome to us! Respect.
Sweet & Salty: A list of the tastiest treats satisfying all the senses
If you are in the Chicago area, check out the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival from Jan 18-28. With puppet artists and performers coming from all over the world, putting on the scales of shows you never expect from puppets, the festival will expand viewers’ concept of art. Seeing artists dedicated to transforming all kinds of puppets to life in their creation and the art of maneuvering them, this festival will be a unique experience.
Hayao Miyazaki came out of his (professed) retirement to make The Boy and The Heron and I am ever so happy and grateful that he did. What I especially love about this movie is that as much as it’s deeply philosophical, thought-provoking, and visually stunning, it’s also filled with cute, funny, and idiosyncratic elements that make you just happy and laugh. It’s been in the theater for almost two months, so it might leave soon. I would recommend watching it in the theater if possible, to enjoy the expansive visual and grandeur of the soundtrack fully.