타향살이
6 x 8” digital illustration, Epson art printer; accompanying the essay “Memory” by Andy Marra
“타향살이 depicts two people embracing each other, with the low mountains of the Korean peninsula in the background. One of the figures is wearing a nojang mask (노장탈) which is a mask of a monk character who has to leave his temple behind in the Korean mask theater. The nojang mask represents the “outsider” social status that is often put on diasporic Koreans. Traditionally, the nojang mask is designed to have a sad expression but in this piece, the mask smiles. This illustration is about a moment of solidarity for two diasporic Koreans. This is for Koreans who are away from our motherland forging our own meaning of jeong around the globe.”
Kyung Ji Chyun is an illustrator and designer based in New York City. She is originally from Seoul, South Korea and moved to San Francisco Bay Area at the age of twelve. She was raised by her journalist mother Sue Chang, and grew up deeply respecting journalism.
Kyung graduated from California College of the Arts with a BFA in Illustration, and studied Illustration as Visual Essay at School of Visual Arts graduate program. In 2018, she joined the Wall Street Journal as a layout designer. She runs a digital op-ed publication on Medium called Aware Journal as the editor-in-chief and creative director. She is a core team member of the Korean American Artist Collective. She’s also a freelance illustrator, with past clients including UC Berkeley Islamophobia Journal, Fast Company and The Wall Street Journal.
Andy Marra (she/her/hers) is executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF). Prior to TLDEF, she spent five years leading external communications at the Arcus Foundation; managed public relations at GLSEN, a national organization focused on LGBTQ issues in K-12 education; was co-director at Nodutdol for Korean Community Development; and served as a senior media strategist at GLAAD. Andy currently serves on two boards including Freedom for All Americans and Just Detention International. She has previously served on the boards and advisory councils of Chinese for Affirmative Action, the Funding Exchange, Human Rights Campaign, and the National Center for Transgender Equality. Andy has been honored by the White House and the City of New York for her contributions to the LGBTQ community, profiled in The Advocate’s “Forty Under 40,” and listed as one of The Huffington Post’s “Most Compelling LGBT People.” She is also a past recipient of the GLSEN Pathfinder Award, the National LGBTQ Task Force Creating Change Award, NQAPIA Community Catalyst Award, and the Colin Higgins Foundation Courage Award.