BACKGROUND
First-Gen Korean American
I immigrated to the U.S. in 2010 when I was 8 years old. Growing up in a working-class, immigrant household, I looked to education and ambition as my path toward social mobility.
My hometown is Orange County, California, where I took my first steps toward becoming the creative I am today. Watching my parents struggle to adjust to a foreign country and endure years of hardship, I developed a deep passion for storytelling—using art to process emotions I didn’t yet have words for.
Thanks to the early influence of my schools (shout out to Parks Jr. High & Sunny Hills High!), I found my voice through dance, the flute, and painting.
I spent my youth not only surviving the immigrant experience—but also creating. Designing maps of my heart and the dreams of an ambitious child, I grew into an artist with purpose and perspective.
ART
I want you to feel
As an artist, I create to evoke emotion in others. I experiment with different mediums and artistic elements to investigate the relationship that my audience has to the colors, shapes, sounds, and narrative I employ in my art. I’m most drawn to the affect—the emotional response—that arises from this interaction. How people feel and interpret my art is central to my practice. It’s this emotional resonance that drives me to keep creating.
Some books I've been enjoying:
HOBBIES
Books!
I could never fully describe the joy I feel when marking a book as “finished” on Goodreads.
I’ve loved reading ever since I was a kid, and that love has only grown over the years. Whether it’s fiction, memoir, or design books, I’m always chasing stories and new ideas—and I hope I never stop.
GOALS
Light in the dark,
a blessing for those in need.
I keep a notion page of all my trivial goals and immediate ambitions; however, at the forefront of them all lives my life goal, a goal that is my purpose and internal drive:
Earn money, make friends, be happy, and eat well. But the ultimate goal is to become the light in the dark, a blessing for those in need. Be a good reflection of God and His people.
That's my purpose and goal that propels me forward every day; however, I do have smaller goals that help me achieve that purpose. Every year, I create a theme that I abide by to stay on track of my higher goal, and this year, it's SAY YES. I wanted to challenge myself to open up to novel experiences and say yes to opportunities that might not always be the most comfortable but stimulating my growth in the right direction.
So far, I've said yes to my first ever hinge date, first ever product design internship, and to social opportunities I would've said no to before. I'm excited to see what I can say yes to next (though, maybe not for another hinge date).
SAY YES
Hello there!
My name is Haven Park. I’m currently a 4th-year student at UCLA and a Product Design Intern at an EdTech startup.
As both a designer and an artist, I’m passionate about blending creativity with functionality—and always eager to keep growing across different fields.