Mayor Bass deals with fallout from removing Asian artifacts

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ office is working to contain backlash to her decision to remove Asian artifacts from City Hall to make way for an exhibit about the 2028 Olympics games.

Meetings have been called with community leaders after the mayor’s office was accused of acting without cultural sensitivity or respect to Asian Angelenos when it took down artifacts that had been displayed for decades. They include a Shinto shrine presented by the sister city of Nagoya, Japan, to protect Los Angeles and an intricate model of a ship used by Koreans to battle Japanese fleets — a gift from another sister city, Busan, Korea.

A meeting between the mayor’s office and Korean American leaders is scheduled for Thursday, during which city staff will give updates about the planned restoration of the "precious artifacts" and solicit ideas on how to "further celebrate and highlight" them, according to invites.

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Criticism arises

One invitee has refused to attend. Scott Suh is leading the charge to return the model of the Korean vessel — called a turtle ship because it resembles the animal’s shell — to its perch outside the mayor’s office on the third floor.

“If we have a leader like that who doesn't understand a multicultural, international city like the city of L.A., we need a new mayor,” said Suh, a former president of the Wilshire Center-Koreatown Neighborhood Council.

Suh compared Bass to former Mayor Tom Bradley who pronounced the model ship on permanent display after it was given to the city in 1982, and had not removed the artifacts when the city hosted the Olympics in 1984.

Suh questioned the need for restoring the artifacts, and its cost.

A Mikoshi shrine was given to L.A. by its sister city of Nagoya, Japan.

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Ellen Endo

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A new home

Half a million dollars is being split between building the new exhibit, which will include displaying the Olympic and Paralympic flags, and restoring the artifacts and relocating them to the Los Angeles Convention Center afterward — funds misallocated by the City Council amid a budget crisis in the view of City Controller Kenneth Mejia.

A spokesperson for the mayor said it is Olympic protocol to display the flags at City Hall — as was done in Paris and Tokyo — but did not explain why the location outside the mayor's office was chosen.

Earlier this month, Bass made history at the closing ceremony of the Paris games by becoming the first Black female mayor to receive the Olympic flag.

Rare allyship

The controversy has produced a rare instance of Korean American and Japanese American community leaders joining forces.

Historic tensions between Japan and Korea, intentionally or not, have carried over to the diaspora, particularly among the older generation, said Ellen Endo of the Little Tokyo Business Association. But she said on the issue of the City Hall artifacts, leaders stood on common ground.

Endo said she couldn’t understand why the mayor’s office wouldn’t consult any community leaders or experts at cultural organizations about moving the artifacts, or how to properly handle them.

“Why couldn't you ask somebody?” Endo said. “The Japanese community is right there. Little Tokyo is two blocks away (from City Hall).”

Endo was part of a group of Japanese American leaders who met last week with Deputy Mayor Erin Bromaghim, who works on international affairs.
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Endo said the City Hall location of the Shinto shrine, given to the city in 1960, carried significance.

"It protects not just the building, but the whole city," Endo said. "That's part of the symbolism that was involved."

More eyeballs

Other community leaders said the mayor’s office could have done a better job of communicating their plans but aren't dwelling on the artifacts being gone from City Hall.

James An, president of the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles, said the city was facing more pressing issues, such as homelessness and public safety. And the more he thought about it, he liked the idea of moving the artifacts to the convention center, which aside from housing crowds for big events like the annual Anime Expo will host Olympic events such as table tennis and judo.

“I was actually happy to learn that those gifts were being moved to a place that would be more visible so that people can just kind of share in the culture and the history of the turtle ship,” An said.

In addition to the turtle ship and shrine, a large cuckoo clock and bust of Mexican President Benito Juárez were also removed. Bass’ office said a meeting with Mexican American leaders is in the works.