Members of the local Korean and Japanese communities are criticizing Mayor Karen Bass and other city leaders for a recent decision to relocate artifacts that cities in Korea and Japan gifted to Los Angeles decades ago in order to make room for a new Olympics exhibit at City Hall as the city ramps up preparations for hosting the 2028 Summer Games.
Some community members say the decision was “insensitive” and “disrespectful,” and they’re demanding the artifacts be returned to their original locations outside the mayor’s office.
The artifacts include a model of a turtle ship, a type of battleship, from Busan, South Korea and a replica of a Mikoshi shrine from Nagoya, Japan – items that were presented as gifts from two of L.A.’s sister cities. The turtle ship was gifted to the city in 1982 and the Mikoshi shrine in the 1960s.
“These are not just simple displays. These are diplomatic artifacts,” Scott Suh, former president of the Wilshire Center-Koreatown Neighborhood Council and a spokesperson for a coalition of local Korean and Japanese groups that are upset that the items were relocated, said during a Thursday, Aug. 22, press conference in Koreatown.
Members of the coalition say they weren’t consulted before the decision was made to relocate the artifacts. They say 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.
The Olympic and Paralympic flags will be displayed along a corridor outside the mayor’s office where the artifacts once stood. According to Bass’ office, besides the flags, the Olympics exhibit will feature items commemorating the 1932 and 1984 Olympics – when L.A. also hosted the Summer Games. In 2028, L.A. will host the Olympics for the third time and the Paralympics for the first time.
To prepare the area for the upcoming exhibit, the city also removed busts of Mexican President Benito Juárez and his wife Margarita – gifts from Mexico. Bass’ office is working with the Mexican Consulate to restore and relocate the busts to L.A.’s historic El Pueblo.
Meanwhile, the artifacts from South Korea and Japan will undergo restoration with plans to later display them at the L.A. Convention Center.
Jieun Kim, deputy director of Korean Language Communications for the city, said in a statement that “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.”
“Along with Councilmember John Lee, we are in the process of convening community leaders regarding the future of these gifts from Mexico, Korea and Japan,” she added.
Citing the Department of Cultural Affairs, the mayor’s office said that the last time the turtle ship from Korea underwent conservation work was nearly 20 years ago and that this will be the first conservation and restoration effort for items from Nagoya, Japan.
But members of the Korean and Japanese communities in L.A. who oppose the relocation say there was no need to move the artifacts, noting that then-Mayor Tom Bradley did not have the items removed ahead of the 1984 Olympics when L.A. last hosted the Summer Games. They’ve suggested that city officials find another location within City Hall for their Olympics display.
Peter Langenberg, a Los Angeles Nagoya Sister City Affiliation board member, said members of LANSCA and some representatives from organizations in Little Tokyo met with L.A. Deputy Mayor Erin Bromaghim this week. He said she apologized for city leaders not consulting with members of the community beforehand and called it an “oversight.”
“I’m disappointed that they couldn’t have done this in advance and consulted with people,” said Langenberg, adding that Bromaghim promised to keep community groups more in the loop moving forward.
According to Langenberg, Bromaghim explained that city leaders decided to move the artifacts to the Convention Center because they felt there would be adequate space there for a display. In addition to the Mikoshi shrine, a float with mechanical dolls and a wall clock with mechanical dolls that were also gifted to L.A. in 1989 and 1994, respectively, were also moved, Langenberg said.
Langenberg said he has mixed feelings about moving the artifacts to the Convention Center. On the one hand, he said it’s probably true that more people will see it there. But he’s concerned the items could get damaged the more times they’re moved.
“The decision has been made. But we’re still very concerned about the ultimate handling of these items and their new homes at the Convention Center,” he said.
Meanwhile, some continue to demand that the artifacts be returned to their original locations.
In July, the L.A. City Council voted 14-0, with Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson absent, to authorize the mayor to display the Olympic flags outside her office and to relocate “existing objects … — gifts to the City – to make room for the flag display.”
As part of that vote, the council also approved $500,000 to pay for the relocation and restoration of the moved items.
A spokesperson for Councilmember John Lee, the only Korean American on the council, issued a statement saying that Lee “recognizes that the gifts given to Los Angeles from sister cities are meaningful to the city and is confident that the relocation of these treasured items to the Convention Center will allow a new, broader audience to view, enjoy and appreciate them.”
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