Creating Joy Through Art with Eunju Park

You might think that art would, for the most part, be protected from the wild weather this summer has conjured. But in July, Eunju Park—recipient of the 2026 Mid-Career Artist Award at the St. Albert Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts—learned otherwise.

While participating in Whyte Avenue’s annual Art Walk, sudden, powerful storms sent Park and other artists scrambling to protect their works.

“My sister was visiting from Korea, so she was helping me,” Park recalls. “We were just holding onto the tent, hoping we [wouldn’t get] blown away.”

But that experience also showed Park how selfless and supportive everyday people could be, even in dire circumstances.

“Lots of people who were just passing by, strangers, they were getting soaked, and they were holding down [the tent], covering the table,” she recalls. “They were so nice. I couldn't believe how kind people were in that kind of situation. I was really grateful.”

That uplifting positivity is reflected in Park’s art, which uses hanji—a Korean paper known for extreme durability—to turn inspirational phrases written in the korean alphabet hangeul into gorgeous, wall-worthy works.
Parks’ artistic career began as she was finding her way through a rough patch in life: she lost her father to suicide, and she was struggling with depression. But an introduction to the k-pop band BTS helped demonstrate the power of positivity.

“Their songs are all about: love yourself. What's your dream? You are worthy. It's okay not to be okay. You can fall down and you can get back up,” Park notes. “Their songs all had positive messages.”

That positivity helped Park, and made her consider her own dreams: she’d always loved doing art with her children, so she returned to that, finding inspiration in her Korean heritage, and doing her part to preserve it.

“In Korea, Hanji was used for a lot of things for many, many years: window coverings, flooring, everything. We even made armor with this paper. So this amazing quality paper, this culture is going away,” she recalls. “I felt the responsibility: ‘I can't let this beautiful tradition go.’ So I started applying for art walks to show people what Hanji was.”

She quickly realized her art was resonating with others; Park says that sometimes when she tells people the meaning of the letters and phrases that appear on her works, some note they already felt that sentiment coming from the art.

“They feel the energy already, and then I'm saying that these messages are literally in the pieces,” she says. “They receive the message without knowing that there was a message.”

Park feels lucky to be making art in St. Albert; she moved here after meeting her husband while teaching English in Korea, and has found it to be a welcoming and supportive community for both herself and her creative endeavours.

“I feel included,” she says. I feel the tight connection. … I feel very lucky that I am in this community.”

Now sharing positivity and culture through art is what she does for a living—no matter the weather.

“It still feels surreal that I'm a full-time artist, doing what I love and spreading joy to the world,” she says. “My life has changed completely and I am very, very happy about it.”

More information about Eunju Park and her art can be found at www.kartbyjuju.com.

Article written by Paul Blinov

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